Tenant will not let me put down poison for rats

[Jacob Souers]

Yesterday my tenant informed me that they have found two different rats in my new single family rental property. When I told them that I’ll get a pest company to come out and handle it, they are asking that I do nothing until they move out in three weeks. They are afraid that the professional pest company will poison their dog. This is not the first time they have been hard to work with and I really don’t care what they want at this time. If I have rats in my property, I’m going to allow professional to help solve the problem before it gets worse. Should they have a say with how I handle this situation?

[Nathan Gesner]

Pest control companies service homes with kids and pets all the time. Tell your tenants the have to provide access or you will charge them for any damages caused by delay.

By the way, mouse/rat problems are often tied to poor housekeeping. Your tenants may want you to stay out because they don't want you to see how they live or that they are attracting the pests.