Cockroaches in Tenants stuff prior to full move in
Investor · Anoka, MN · Member since 2016 · 2 posts · 1 vote
I have a family moving into one of my rentals today. We signed the lease last week and were waiting to conduct the formal walkthrough till today. I allowed them to move a few things in prior to their official move in date of today as I was completing some construction projects within the home.
Yesterday evening as we were finishing up some of the painting we moved a pot/pan of the tenants and inside were two cockroaches. There have never been cockroaches in our home prior to this.
What should I do? What are my options?
Thank you so much!
You need to stop the process of move in immediately. If the cockroaches were alive you need to have a discussion with them immediately. If they are already in you need to discuss with them what you found and that you have never had roaches. You will need to inform them that you will need to do weekly inspections and if any cockroaches are found you will have to have a exterminator in and charge the tenants for the cost.
If they have brought in roaches unfortunately your tenant choice has turned out bad and you may have to get rid of both the tenants and the roaches). Hopefully there is another explanation but not likely. In the end you may be facing having to evict.
Express your concern and remind your tenant to read their lease about keeping the place clean and free of pests. It's your word against theirs about where the roaches came from. Let them move in and do a fire/safety inspection in 30 days. You might even pay for one extermination treatment at that time if roaches are found with the understanding the tenants will pay for future pest control treatments inside of their unit. Best of luck with your investment.
You need to stop the process of move in immediately. If the cockroaches were alive you need to have a discussion with them immediately. If they are already in you need to discuss with them what you found and that you have never had roaches. You will need to inform them that you will need to do weekly inspections and if any cockroaches are found you will have to have a exterminator in and charge the tenants for the cost.
If they have brought in roaches unfortunately your tenant choice has turned out bad and you may have to get rid of both the tenants and the roaches). Hopefully there is another explanation but not likely. In the end you may be facing having to evict.
Just saw your post. It's night time. People will be in bed by now and the cockroaches will be waking up. Since the move-in was today, not much you can do other than have an open and honest discussion about the situation with your new tenant.
Note on your move-in documentation that the unit was free of pests prior to their arrival and be clear about your pest management policy. Learn as much as you can about cockroaches and how to eradicate them. I'd put the extermination cost on the tenant.
Not sure, but would a shock ozone treatment do any good?
What a disappointment,
Tell tenant what you saw.. I hope you killed the roaches...
Call your exterminator. have him put out bait traps besides doing the extermination.
Recheck bait traps get unit on regular schedule.
It's going to be hard to prove they weren't there before... you word against there's right now.
Pay for the initial pest service and follow up.
Keep the unit on scheduled service for at least the next 3 months.
I'd see what the pest guy says about the unit before passing any charges on to the new tenant.
Tell tenant that any pest service after 90 days will be at their cost, if you think you can at this point,, with the lease signed you may not have much option to change terms.
Unfortunately roaches love cardboard, and especially the glue on the box, and any box they may have picked up for moving could have had them in the box hid under in folds and they wouldn't have noticed them.. I'm just saying it's hard to prove where they came from.
main thing is get unit serviced. Pest control is part of multifamily living..
Step one in the process is to have a exterminator into the property to determine if roaches were in the property prior to the tenant moving in. You need to do this immediately. At this point if you move quickly a expert should easily be able to determine this fact. If he says they were not there by evidence of his inspection prior to their move in then you put the blame on the new tenants and hold them responsible for all treatments.
You never take responsibility for any costs before determining who is likely responsible. Being a responsible landlord does not require that you immediately step up to the plate with a open wallet. If you can determine the tenant is likely responsible you make them pay. Only if you are uncertain or confident they are not responsible does the landlord pay.
It is always the landlords responsibility to take quick action but as part of this you must determine who is responsible not simply assume it is the landlord. Fix the problem and bill the tenant when ever possible.
For starters, I would set up an appointment with an exterminator or professional. See if you can identify the species and read up on the best methods for tackling the issue (see link below).
In the meantime (before move in), I would get the over counter traps (little black ones) designed for roaches and put them under cabinets, appliances, etc (blue tape can hide them on the near walls of cabinets or back side of appliances).
Then I would get the peanut butter type product designed for roaches that is in a syringe and inject a small dab into nooks, crannies, even inconspicuous places (like inside wall plates).
Sprinkle some boric acid based powder (often with a sugar/flour or pheremones) under appliances, behind them, around the hot water heater, etc. The refrigerator is a favorite spot of some breeds.They will crawl through this powder and bring it back to the colony, if any.
I would confront the issue honestly and directly with the tenant in a non-confrontational way. Be factual. Explain what you saw and how you now must be very proactive now to manage the issue.
I think you are in it together now with the tenant ( signed and moving in). And you must now prevent an infestation together-- with teamwork.
For example, make sure the tenant leaves out no standing water or food, for example. And ask them to leave all traps and leave the powder dry and in place. Show them your steps at preventing a colony from forming.
Ask the tenant to be on the look out for cockroaches and schedule inspections. Show them the tell tale black marks they make before crawling behind moldings, cabinets, etc. Make sure they keep you in the loop.
It may be a concern they have more passengers in their other boxes and furniture. So look at treating this before it comes in or have it inspected and un-boxed out in the icy cold yard or driveway, gone through carefully, and then brought in. Leave the cardboard outside for example.
And your state's extension office indicates small items may be frozen to sterilize them (but it looks like 0 degrees):
http://www.extension.umn.edu/garden/insects/find/c...
I would look at treating any attics, crawlspaces, and garages, too. If this is a multi-unit, you need to treat other units. If you do it right, you should not see anymore in a few weeks.
With persistence and a thoughtful approach (as opposed to chemical warfare) you can beat cockroaches. I did.
Best of luck.