How to Evict Mickey?

Question

Help!  I can't seems to properly evict rodents from one of my properties.

I have a 3rd floor condo in South Carolina with a rodent problem.  It is pre-existing to my tenants and they appear to be clean people.  My cleaning lady first reported signs of a rodent when she cleaned it out in August to get it ready to rent.  I had my contractor out to verify all areas are sealed of.   Additionally, we had a wiring issue where power was cut to one side of the condo which I feel may be the from the rodents chewing.

In total, I have had my maintenance contractor in there twice to make sure all openings are sealed in addition to fixing the wiring.  I have had Orkin come out and now am on to a local pest control company.  We have tried traps and glue boards. We have moved on to some kind of poison trap similar to a roach motel which is suppose to kill the nest.  Pest control said it should take 3-5 days work.  Its been 2 weeks and 3 more have been spotted.

I am already a couple of hundred dollars in to try to get rid of Mickey and my tenants are considering moving,  which I feel in understandable if I cannot get this under control.  They have seen me trying and failing to get this under control for a 2 months now and have been patient, but no one wants to live with vermin.

At this rate, Mickey may be my most expensive eviction to date.

Any and all suggestions are appreciated.

Igor Messano · Answer

3rd floor condo. Who owns the other units beneath? You can do all of the work you can afford to remove pest from your home but if the adjacent property, especially when it shares walls, has a big issue then you will never solve it. Contact your HOA and let them know that you have done everything in your power to resolve and that likely the units below are causing issues.

Karen R. · Answer

I bought a house that had been empty for over three years.. mouse and rat droppings everywhere... Poison and rat traps everywhere... I still had rats after cleaning everything and moving in. Rats aren't only interested in food, they want a warm place to live as well.

So, I invested in VictorPest Rat Zapper (Victor is the company that makes the original snap mouse traps) It runs on batteries and it zaps the rats with electric voltage, they die instantly. All you do is put a few pieces of dry dog food or cat food in it, turn it on... and zap.

Trust me, this really works. The first week I had to dispose of 5 rats and since then I've gotten about one rat every two weeks. The house has two creeks running through and I've since learned that is also a welcome mat for rats. And yes, there are such things as roof rats!

No, I don't have any financial interest in Victor Pest and I don't sell Rat Zappers... glad you brought this up, its time for new batteries.... good luck

Blair Poelman · Answer

It is reasonable to expect it is coming from another unity, but even if the tenants appear to be clean people they might leave food out all the time.

Typically rodents and pests live where there is a food source.  Eliminating the food source is the first step to solving the problem.

Ned J. · Answer

3rd floor condo is the key to this....you can do everything humanly possible in your unit, but unless the others do the same, you will never get rid of them...ever....

In a condo environment, the attack has to be way wider than your unit and it will take more than a few days...probably a month or 2 at minimum.

Unquestionably you need to contact the HOA.... they are in control of the units as a "whole/community"

Thomas S. · Answer

3rd floor rodent problem, mice don't fly so they are coming from your neighbours. You need to file a complaint with someone.

Anna Buffkin · Answer

Yes.  Mice don't fly. Lol. There was a really dirty tenant below that was ultimately fined by the HOA.  I and others turned them in.  Additionally, I think the previous tenant may have allowed them to stay and now they don't want to leave their home.

Jill F. · Answer

We've had good luck with fastrac blox and bait stations

https://www.domyown.com/protecta-rtu-mouse-bait-stations-case-12-stations-with-fastrac-blox-p-1462.html

Sylvia B. · Answer

Bucket mouse trap

Google it.

Anna Buffkin · Answer

I joked about that but the tenant has pet allergies.

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