Ant Problem that wont go away..whose responsibility?

[softmonkey]

You have gone far above and beyond your duty with two pest treatments, this is sufficient documentary evidence that you have tried to address the problem, and it is clear that the tenant is the cause. Do not throw any more good money after bad.

Your tenant may have lived in a different climate or well-sealed house in the past and may simply need to be educated about sealing food in containers and clearing food bins daily. This plus a couple of natural deterrents like cinnamon powder and vinegar/water spray have always worked for us.

PS - during the worst heatwave I had truly desperate ants come in just for water from the sink, though the kitchen was pristine and there was not one scrap of food to be found. In this case we did resort to a can of bug spray squirted directly into the floorboard crack they were using.

[Bazza]

I add a clause the Tenancy Agreement -

"7. Pest Control: The tenants are responsible for maintaining the property to be pest free during the term of the tenancy."

Although the RTA is rather vague on the subject, if they then sign the agreement it is pretty clear who is responsible.

Cheers,

Bazza

[pennyk]

I have had an ant plague in the house, and it was really hard to get rid of them.
Did the pest treatments make any difference?
We found that we needed 2 pest treatments to get rid of them. But since then, we've had no problems for at least the past 2 years.
While talcum powder and other home remedies get rid of a few ants, if there are lots of them the pest treatment seems to be the only thing that worked.
There should have been a warranty as part of the pest treatment, for 6 months or so. So, I would also go back to them and say that it hasn't worked.

And, the tenants need to be told to leave no food out in the kitchen or anywhere else!

Pen

[jaycee]

most of the sprays used by pest controllers don't have a residual life of 6 months anymore. For some pests 3 mths warranty is offered, not all. Termites are different.

[Roadrunner]

/passes Dazz a roll of stickytape.

[Dazz]

Originally Posted by Roadrunner

passes Dazz a roll of stickytape.

.....yes indeed.


If I was the Tenant, I would definitely go to the shop and buy a roll of stickytape, pop on the knee pads and spend a leisurely couple of hours scratching around the backyard dabbing each individual ant as they pop their head out of the mound.


You could even start a little game with the kids, and say for every 10,000 ants captured, you have saved some faceless Landlord $ 1.00 I'm sure most renters would be more than willing to play that game for a couple of hours a day for a month or two.


Quick question though - does anyone know at what rate a queen can produce at ??

[Roadrunner]

Touche!

Myself and Mrs Roadrunner are in fits of laughter with tears rolling down our cheeks!

You've just made our night

[pennyk]

Originally Posted by jaycee

most of the sprays used by pest controllers don't have a residual life of 6 months anymore. For some pests 3 mths warranty is offered, not all. Termites are different.

both the pest treatment we had with the ants, 2 years ago, and the one we had just recently had warranties. I think the most recent one was 6 mths for ants and big cockroaches, and 3 mths for small cockroaches. On our most recent treatment, we had warranty offered by both companies we approached for quotes. These were both for insects/ spiders rather than for termites.
Pen

[jaycee]

Hi Penny,
I am sure warranties were offered, not doubting that. Just surprises me that warranties of 6mths were offered on cockroaches/black ants.....

[pennyk]

Originally Posted by jaycee

Hi Penny,
I am sure warranties were offered, not doubting that. Just surprises me that warranties of 6mths were offered on cockroaches/black ants.....

maybe we were lucky! In both cases, we used the warranty as well. it took 2 treatments to get rid of the ants, and 3 for the cockroaches. So, we definitely took advantage of them...
Pen

[moneyfinder]

Yes it depends on the agreement. But in my opinion the tenant should always keep their place clean. Ants can be found everywhere, they can sense food anywhere.

Originally Posted by TPFKAD

I had a squizz thru the RTA on this point and it is very vague indeed. In fact, the whole Act is very vague when it comes to specifics w.r.t. housing problems.

The only thing I could find remotely attributable was this :


RTA 1987 :

Section 38.1

It is a term of every agreement that the Tenant shall -

(a) keep the premises in a reasonable state of cleanliness ;

(b) notify the Owner as soon as practicable but within 3 days of any damage to the premises ; and

(c) not intentionally or negligently cause or permit damage to the premises


and


Section 42.1

It is a term of every agreement that the Owner shall -

(a) provide the premises in a reasonable state of cleanliness ;

(b) provide and maintain the premises in a reasonable state of repair having regard to their age, character and prospective life ; and

(c) comply with all requirements in respect of buildings, health and safety under any other written law in so far as they apply to the premises


Doesn't mention anything other than that.

Leaving smelly and sugary food scraps out for the ants and any other vermin to feast on.....what do you reckon ?? 38.1 (a) and 38.1 (c) may apply....but if you wished to push it, they would probably argue that 42.1 (c) applies just as much, and therefore you would be stuffed.


As I said, it's as vague as all hell and dreadfully written legislation.


Fear not though, in several states (Vic and WA I know of) the Tenancy Unions are pushing to have the RTA's re-written to be more in favour of the Tenant if that is humanly possible.


Good luck !!

[duckster]

Instead of leaving food out for the ants leave out some ant rid and the ants eat it and take it back to the nest and kill the whole colony.