Tenant Complaining of Bed Bugs
Discussion
Hi,
My tenants took keys to my flat on the 01/08/15. His family came back from their 3 month holiday from Morocco on the 22 Aug. They contacted the local children's welfare agency and reported bed bugs in the property in the middle of Nov 2015 i.e. 3.5 months after moving in.
Previous tenants made not complaints. I worked in the property, while prepping it up for rent, for 2 weeks and had no bites.
It is my belief there were no bed bugs when the keys were given to them. They reported nothing for the first 3.5 months.
There's mixed comments on websites as to who is liable. Does anyone have an idea on this sort of stuff?
My tenants took keys to my flat on the 01/08/15. His family came back from their 3 month holiday from Morocco on the 22 Aug. They contacted the local children's welfare agency and reported bed bugs in the property in the middle of Nov 2015 i.e. 3.5 months after moving in.
Previous tenants made not complaints. I worked in the property, while prepping it up for rent, for 2 weeks and had no bites.
It is my belief there were no bed bugs when the keys were given to them. They reported nothing for the first 3.5 months.
There's mixed comments on websites as to who is liable. Does anyone have an idea on this sort of stuff?
I'd suggest they brought them with them from Morrocco:
http://insects.about.com/od/truebugs/f/what-causes...
Most often, bed bugs travel in luggage after someone has stayed in an infested hotel room.
http://insects.about.com/od/truebugs/f/what-causes...
Most often, bed bugs travel in luggage after someone has stayed in an infested hotel room.
I'd be inclined to use a qualified pest controller and then pass the bill to your tenants.
That's how I deal with fleas and bed bugs, the problem with letting the tenant deal with it is that often they'll just delay getting anybody out until they can afford to pay for it and by then you end up with a whole block of infested flats instead of one.
That's how I deal with fleas and bed bugs, the problem with letting the tenant deal with it is that often they'll just delay getting anybody out until they can afford to pay for it and by then you end up with a whole block of infested flats instead of one.
I used to work for a pest control outfit, my specialism is food factories but some of the lads did hotels etc. Bed bugs are a bit of a nightmare and bloody hard to remove. They don't live in mattresses, weirdly, but elsewhere in the room and they climb into bed with you as you sleep. Nice thought. Fpr this reason spraying mattresses is useless, you need to get to the bottom of the problem and they take some finding. A lot of hotels now fit bug traps to bed legs for this very reason.
I'm not expert in their removal, I do know that (in contrast with fleas) you can't jusy blast a bit of water based insecticide on the carpets and walk away.
I suspect that they were lurking in a corner and you never saw then or got bitten because you never slept there, or they brought them back from Morocco. You'll never know, the little buggers have lived in houses for centuries after all and they have the ability to live in empty properties for months without feeding. Whose responsibility is it? You need to look at your tenancy contract to know. You also need to be sure it's bed bugs and not fleas, lice or something else.
PM me if you want anything else, like I say it's not especially my thing, I'm more into warehouse moths, grain beetles and the like, but killing insects isn't rocket science.
I'm not expert in their removal, I do know that (in contrast with fleas) you can't jusy blast a bit of water based insecticide on the carpets and walk away.
I suspect that they were lurking in a corner and you never saw then or got bitten because you never slept there, or they brought them back from Morocco. You'll never know, the little buggers have lived in houses for centuries after all and they have the ability to live in empty properties for months without feeding. Whose responsibility is it? You need to look at your tenancy contract to know. You also need to be sure it's bed bugs and not fleas, lice or something else.
PM me if you want anything else, like I say it's not especially my thing, I'm more into warehouse moths, grain beetles and the like, but killing insects isn't rocket science.
Some sterling advice there and much appreciated. For a laugh, I thought i would share, Rentofleece quoted me £2.8k to apply 5 sessions of chemicals and a thermo treatment too. The next quote down was £240 for a 2 session treatment. It comes with a months guarantee after the 2 treatments. They do the treatments 30 days apart. They spray everything, bed, clothing, wardrobes, the whole lot. What do you think Battered?
http://www.pestcontrolservices.co.uk/pest-control-...
Okay, I am working on the basis I need to get the flat treated and the tenants wont do it. I will deduct it from their deposit on exit but agree it beforehand.
http://www.pestcontrolservices.co.uk/pest-control-...
Okay, I am working on the basis I need to get the flat treated and the tenants wont do it. I will deduct it from their deposit on exit but agree it beforehand.
battered said:
I used to work for a pest control outfit, my specialism is food factories but some of the lads did hotels etc. Bed bugs are a bit of a nightmare and bloody hard to remove. They don't live in mattresses, weirdly, but elsewhere in the room and they climb into bed with you as you sleep. Nice thought. Fpr this reason spraying mattresses is useless, you need to get to the bottom of the problem and they take some finding. A lot of hotels now fit bug traps to bed legs for this very reason.
When backpacking in Australia, I worked in a hostel for a while in cairns. They're rife in backpacking circles for reasons I'm sure you can imagine, metal framed beds were the preferred choice as apparently they didn't like climbing up the metal. I remember you could often find them in the seam of a mattress, they like to get cosied in the snug bits where material folds against itself. You'd often find their s
t or dried blood spots in these bits, as well as the actual creatures themselves. I remember once finding a nest of them on a computer chair out by the Internet terminals, nestled between the cushion of the base and the backrest, hundreds of them, absolutely disgusting. But to echo what you said, very difficult to kill, very difficult to dispose of. Horrible little bds. It seems they're one of those creatures that many people can get bitten by, and not even know, or barely have a mark, yet some people come out in welts. I'm sure after backpacking around aus for 2 years I must have been bitten plenty of times, but I never had any evidence of it (which is usually 3 bites in a row-ish, they seem to like to trundle as they snack.)Lostprophet said:
Hi,
My tenants took keys to my flat on the 01/08/15. His family came back from their 3 month holiday from Morocco on the 22 Aug. They contacted the local children's welfare agency and reported bed bugs in the property in the middle of Nov 2015 i.e. 3.5 months after moving in.
Previous tenants made not complaints. I worked in the property, while prepping it up for rent, for 2 weeks and had no bites.
It is my belief there were no bed bugs when the keys were given to them. They reported nothing for the first 3.5 months.
There's mixed comments on websites as to who is liable. Does anyone have an idea on this sort of stuff?
Tenant - 200%My tenants took keys to my flat on the 01/08/15. His family came back from their 3 month holiday from Morocco on the 22 Aug. They contacted the local children's welfare agency and reported bed bugs in the property in the middle of Nov 2015 i.e. 3.5 months after moving in.
Previous tenants made not complaints. I worked in the property, while prepping it up for rent, for 2 weeks and had no bites.
It is my belief there were no bed bugs when the keys were given to them. They reported nothing for the first 3.5 months.
There's mixed comments on websites as to who is liable. Does anyone have an idea on this sort of stuff?
I had 2 indian tenants do the same to me - no problmes for the first 6 months of their tenancy (or before) and then they went on Holiday.
Not to skegness.
Not to Torquay.
But to India.
Ill let you guess the rest.
Was quite funny when the male tenant swore blind there were no bed bugs in India, then when I asked what we could do to get rid of them he said 'Leave the mattress outside overnight, the heat kills them'
This site has all you want to know, and quite a lot that you'd probably not want to know about them
http://www.bed-bugs.co.uk/index.html
http://www.bed-bugs.co.uk/index.html
LOL at the indian tenants. Trying their luck. How did you get rid of the buggers... the bed bugs that is.
These Moroccan tenants prob brought them into the property from their hols in morocco!
What is frustrating is the local welfare officer called me, then made out it is my issue. She left a voice mail saying the children are living in "unacceptable condition". I played ball until I posted on here and read the advice and looked a bit more at the evidence. She then went on to say she will advise them of their legal rights if I dont do anything about it and also I will be in breach of local environment health laws. She said I am responsible as I provided the furniture and the mattress in the master bedroom looked old.
Considering there were no reported issues for the first 4 months, I can only say it was not an issue with the flat when they moved in.
So frustrating.
These Moroccan tenants prob brought them into the property from their hols in morocco!
What is frustrating is the local welfare officer called me, then made out it is my issue. She left a voice mail saying the children are living in "unacceptable condition". I played ball until I posted on here and read the advice and looked a bit more at the evidence. She then went on to say she will advise them of their legal rights if I dont do anything about it and also I will be in breach of local environment health laws. She said I am responsible as I provided the furniture and the mattress in the master bedroom looked old.
Considering there were no reported issues for the first 4 months, I can only say it was not an issue with the flat when they moved in.
So frustrating.
Care workers/health workers/social workers will always blame the landlord. Each local authority has their own spin on who's responsibility it is, but in general a landlord is responsible for rodents, but fleas/ticks/mites/bed bugs etc are the tenant's responsibility.
Where the council will get involved is for instance if Flat A pass the bugs onto Flat B, that's why I always book the treatment and know that the issue is dealt with. You will also have proof of the treatment if the tenant goes to environmental health.
My local authority have a pest control department who do a good job, I pay £60 for a flea treatment (2x visits) and £120 for bed bugs (2x visits)
Wait until the care worker gets on the phone about how damp and mould is having an impact on their client's health.
Where the council will get involved is for instance if Flat A pass the bugs onto Flat B, that's why I always book the treatment and know that the issue is dealt with. You will also have proof of the treatment if the tenant goes to environmental health.
My local authority have a pest control department who do a good job, I pay £60 for a flea treatment (2x visits) and £120 for bed bugs (2x visits)
Wait until the care worker gets on the phone about how damp and mould is having an impact on their client's health.
CoinSl0t said:
Care workers/health workers/social workers will always blame the landlord. Each local authority has their own spin on who's responsibility it is, but in general a landlord is responsible for rodents, but fleas/ticks/mites/bed bugs etc are the tenant's responsibility.
Where the council will get involved is for instance if Flat A pass the bugs onto Flat B, that's why I always book the treatment and know that the issue is dealt with. You will also have proof of the treatment if the tenant goes to environmental health.
My local authority have a pest control department who do a good job, I pay £60 for a flea treatment (2x visits) and £120 for bed bugs (2x visits)
Wait until the care worker gets on the phone about how damp and mould is having an impact on their client's health.
I agree with your points.Where the council will get involved is for instance if Flat A pass the bugs onto Flat B, that's why I always book the treatment and know that the issue is dealt with. You will also have proof of the treatment if the tenant goes to environmental health.
My local authority have a pest control department who do a good job, I pay £60 for a flea treatment (2x visits) and £120 for bed bugs (2x visits)
Wait until the care worker gets on the phone about how damp and mould is having an impact on their client's health.
I checked with the local council, Barnet, and they charge £230 for the treatment. A private company I contacted charge £240 and seem to offer a better service.
Lostprophet said:
. The next quote down was £240 for a 2 session treatment. It comes with a months guarantee after the 2 treatments. They do the treatments 30 days apart. They spray everything, bed, clothing, wardrobes, the whole lot. What do you think Battered?
A fairly stiff price but 2 visits, 2 travels to, London rates, and guaranteed results, so maybe £240 is the going rate. You'd pay that for a plumber. Of course you *could* get the same results using a large can of crawling insect spray or two, one month apart, strip the room down, bedding to wash, spray all carpets, folds, mattress seams, repeat in a month. You can get small cups for bed legs, you put an insecticide gel in the bottom and stand the bed in it. Bugs can't climb out of the carpet and into the bed. You could do a deal with a mate or DIY. I'd have a reasonable chat with the tenant, nobody wants to lose deposits and you might get it done for £5 worth of aerosols with them supplying the labour. If they are intelligent and practical, you might win. If they are numpties, forget it.Gassing Station | Homes, Gardens and DIY | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff