Pest Control | Do you include it?

Question

Do you include pest control as included as part of the lease/rent? Or do you leave it up to the tenant to pay for this?

Our current policy allows the tenant to pay for it, or not. Its their decision. However recently we had an issue with mice in a property. After calling the various pest control companies, I haven't found one that will come out only once to "fix" the issue. They all required a contract/subscription to set up service for a year. I get the premise behind it. They can't guarantee a one time application will fix the issue and just like maintaining a house, routine pest control is how you avoid pests to begin with.

An argument I hear of mandating pest control is that you are forcing chemicals to be sprayed in a unit/house where someone might not want it. Could be viewed as a liability.
The other argument is that if you as the property manager don't mandate it, the risk of the property becoming infested with pests increases. Also a liability because of costs to remediate it, loss of rent, etc.

We do quarterly inspections. Part of this inspection is to check for cleanliness, amongst a laundry list of other checks.

Leo Stein · Answer

Emory, I'd keep the policy simple and written down. Here is how I think about it. Treat the first 30 days of a new tenancy as the owner's responsibility, since an infestation that shows up right after move-in usually comes with the house. After that, routine pest control goes on the tenant, spelled out in the lease with a short list of what counts as routine, like ants, roaches and spiders. Rodents are different. Mice almost always mean a way in, so I'd send someone to find and seal the gaps, because setting traps without closing the entry points just repeats the problem. Your woods and the backed-up house tell me that is where I'd start. Since the companies you called only want annual contracts, ask a handyman or exclusion specialist for a one-time quote. Keep photos and invoices on every call. The liability question is one for a local attorney to confirm. Not legal advice. Happy to compare notes by message.

Jaimee LaTorra · Answer

Most of the policy stuff above is solid. Worth noting too that the lease needs a prompt-reporting duty from the tenant, “report signs of pests within X days,” because the expensive version of every pest problem is when it's been ignored for a month. In the lease language I see landlords use, that one clause does more than any cost-split formula. It also answers your chemical worry directly. You can pair it with a written treatment-notice step (notice before entry and a documented alternative like bait stations/exclusion for a tenant who objects to spray), so “tenant didn’t want chemicals” becomes a documented choice instead of your liability. And since every company only sells annual contracts, a one-time exclusion quote from a handyman/specialist (photos and invoice) is how people usually handle a seasonal mouse issue.

Matthew Tregoning · Answer

I’d separate the treatment decision from the source of the problem. For mice, the valuable part of the first visit is often a documented entry-point inspection—gaps at utility lines, vents, doors and the foundation—because a recurring contract won’t solve an opening. Adding those photos and repairs to the quarterly inspection record would make it easier to see whether this is a property condition or an isolated housekeeping issue.

Patrick O'Sullivan · Answer

I’d split it into two jobs. Sealing gaps, adding door sweeps, and setting snap traps in enclosed stations is usually fine for a handyman. Applying rodenticide or other pesticides in someone else’s home often requires a licensed applicator, so check your state’s rules first.

Since the house backs up to woods, I’d time one of your quarterly inspections for early fall and focus it on the exterior before the cold sets in. It’s also worth rechecking the sealed spots at the next visit, since mice can chew through foam and patch jobs that looked fine at first.

Leo Stein · Answer

Jim, I agree that preventive inspections and sealing entry points do more than waiting until mice show up. Tying pest checks to the quarterly inspections also gives owners a natural way to catch gaps, droppings or moisture before it turns into a bigger repair. It helps to spell out in the lease that tenants report pests right away and allow access for treatment. Do you split who pays by whether the problem was there at move-in or came from how the unit is lived in?

Jim Johnson · Answer

I'd lean toward including routine pest control rather than leaving it optional for tenants. The mice situation is a good example of how quickly that can become a bigger property issue. It doesn't have to mean spraying chemicals every quarter, either. Preventive inspections, sealing entry points, and treating problems when needed can be part of the approach. Your quarterly inspections already give you a good opportunity to catch issues early.

Mike Fisher · Answer

Emory, one angle nobody has put a number on yet: the tenants. You said they are incredibly clean and take great care of the house. That is the real asset here, and a mouse problem the owner drags their feet on is one of the quieter reasons good tenants decide not to renew.

So I run it as retention math, not pest math. A one time exclusion visit plus a few follow up trap checks is a small bill. One month of vacancy, a turn and the leasing time to replace a tenant like that is many times more, and you might not find another one as good.

What has worked for us in the Chicago south and southwest suburbs, where every October the mice come in from the yards and fields: pay for the exclusion, tell the tenant the date it is happening, check back in two weeks, and put a fall exterior gap check on your quarterly inspection list for every house. Tenants remember who fixed it fast.

Mike, M Property Group LLC

Divin Kanyama · Answer

@Emory Clayton A balanced approach is for the owner to handle preventive service and any infestation tied to the building—entry points, moisture, shared areas, or conditions that existed before move-in—while the tenant remains responsible when the issue is clearly caused by sanitation, improper food storage, or failure to report it promptly. That protects the property without automatically making the owner responsible for every pest issue.

The lease should spell out those responsibilities, reporting deadlines, access requirements, and how fault will be documented. Routine service also does not have to mean indiscriminate spraying; a licensed provider can use an integrated pest-management approach focused first on sealing gaps, traps, sanitation, and targeted treatment, with advance notice and accommodations for legitimate health concerns. Quarterly inspections are helpful, but mice usually require exclusion work as much as treatment, so the underlying access points should be addressed. Local habitability laws vary, so the policy and lease language should be reviewed by local counsel.

Richard (Ryszard) Cieplechowicz · Answer

I would not mandate a service contract. Put the rule in the lease instead: the tenant reports pests right away, and the owner pays for pests that were there before move-in or come from the structure, like mice entering through a gap. Tenant pays when it comes from how the unit is kept. Seal the entry points yourself first, since most companies sell a year plan when a one-time seal and trap visit would do. Quarterly inspections are a good place to catch droppings early.

Emory Clayton · Answer

It sounds like yall are handling the pest control during a turn over period. How are you handling this? Is the pest control being applied by an internal employed handyman?

Pest Control | Do you include it?

Pest Control | Do you include it?

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