We know that one of the downfalls of living in such an amazing country as ours, can be that other creatures enjoy living here too. Often they crawl, slither, hop and skitter their way around the place and most people don’t quite reach the same excitement levels as Steven Irwin used to when unexpected visitors arrive, wanting to share their living space. And some renter’s reactions can feel a little extreme, particularly if they haven’t lived in the area before.
Not everyone is comfortable ushering a giant Huntsman spider from the bedroom ceiling. It really does depend upon where you grew up sometimes. The words “just hit it with your thong” or “have you got a long handled shovel?” don’t necessarily provide an adequate solution to someone who is struggling to slow their heart rate to an acceptable level and stop their legs wobbling.
And when it comes to rental properties, who is responsible for the removal of what, can be a little tricky at times, but we find common sense usually saves the day. As an example, Spiders are a creepy crawly that bother some people more than others. If there is an infestation of redback spiders, the treatment would fall under the owner’s umbrella of responsibility. The odd cobweb here and there or a random Daddylonglegs, well, the renter should be able to deal with that themselves.
A simple way to make it easier to determine who is responsible for what when it comes to pests, and massively reduce drama (always our goal), is to ensure that preventative measures are taken wherever possible. For example between tenancies scheduling a professional pest treatment for spiders, cockroaches and ants is an easy way to start things off on the right foot.
For those owners with houses rather than units, a regular pest control helps to keep these seemingly harmless little fellows outside where they belong so they don’t cause too much damage. In NSW the matter of Pest Control and what the landlord and tenant is responsible is well documented however there are so many different types of situations that we come across that the legislation can be open to interpretation.
Your Property Manager is well versed on pest management in rental properties and will work with your tenants to resolve any troubles – however it is also important to be mindful that not everyone’s reaction or expectations are going to be the same as our own. Ants may drive one person irrationally around the twist, but for others, it might be something like Bush Turkeys.
Like we mentioned before, common sense really comes into play when determining the best course of action to take.
