Options after finding out house is full of rotting rats

[gardengirl]

Hi Ken, yes, it sounds like the landlord had the rats poisoned at some point before. I have yet to talk to him myself but it sounds like the landlord had the rats poisoned previously. Apparently the Pest guy also removed dead rats from the upstairs suite in the past.

Can anyone advise the best way to involve the IHA?

Thanks everyone, the guidance is much appreciated.

Unfortunately, Interior Health's inspectors have no juridiction when it comes to private homes. The only thing you can do is, as others suggested, talk to the landlord, call the Residential Tenancy Branch, call 811 and/or check out health link bc's website.

Perhaps not Interior Health, but maybe the building inspection people. Although I think Interior Health does keep records of things like septic tank servicing. There must be some regional government which looks after building safety issues.

[Ken7]

My question is this; the OP moved in in December. The rats were poisoned before then. Why is it only now that the smell is being noticed? Surely after 3 months or more, the bodies would have dried up and the smell dissipated?

You can keep meat cool and from stinking, wait until it begins to thaw. I had left a chicken breast out of the freezer in may garage, once spring came it became to smell!! That's is likely why no real odor until the outdoor temps warmed up some.

Have you spoken to the landlord and if so, any update?

[rangerkev]

Hey guys, thanks for the suggestions. Currently, the landlord (who is out of the country currently) and the pest control guy are figuring out what the best course of action is. I imagine that either he will go through whatever needs to be done to deal with the problem properly, or he won't. If he decides not to go through with it I do believe the woman downstairs will move out. I would still like to talk to the pest guy for myself before I make up my mind.

I did call TRAC (Tenant resource & advisory committee) and they told me I should give him a reasonable amount of time to deal with the situation, then I should contact dispute resolutions. I will let you know when I find out what he landlord decides.

*Edit - I forgot to address the smell. I imagine that the people suggesting the thaw of spring is the culprit are correct. It's an old house with heating issues so I imagine they had just been somewhat frozen and there wasn't much of an odor until it started warming up.

K

[Hmmm]

I would have left immediately! Give me my money back, but I'm gone NOW.

[drpepper]

I have been following this thread for a bit now and find it quit interesting. I am in the pest control industry and have asked myself questions like, why would they bait an attic or vents knowing that the issue is rat which are large and will stink when they die and will become an issue when/if they rodent falls in behind the wall to die. There is no way of knowing if the issue is one or several of rats as the smell of one can be overwhelming. The correct method in this is using rat traps in the attic to physically capture the pest so you have the body and you can get rid of it instead of it rotting in behind your walls, ceiling or floors. Again bait should not be used in this manner. There is a deodorizer out in the market that the pest guy will have access to, it is a gel form that can be placed in the wall or attic that will absorb the odor. There is also a protein eater as a fogging method that can also get into the areas where the smell is. The matter of fact a well established pest control company would have access to several of options in removing this odor. Previous posts have mentioned that the smell will go away within two weeks and in my professional opinion that is the case.

I am not the pest control guy looking after this client nor the one that overly exaggerates when it comes to this huge rat infestation that the Okanagan area is having..I know who it is as well and that is not the way of gaining business. This is all I have to say in this matter.

[FSmith59]

Contact Mike Holmes.

1-888-563-5699

[Graphite]

This thread is full of alarmists.

Hanta virus is found in deer mice and is spread by feces, urine and saliva.

Water rats, those are another name for muskrats aren't they? If so, those are pretty big vs a normal rat

Any word from pest control or landlord yet?

Sounds like you guys ended up in an unfortunate situation but doesn't seem like anyone is a slum lord, since they hired a pest control company.

Just calm down and take it one step at a time.

[kgcayenne]

...said by someone not living with the stench and inhaling particulates from carcasses rotting in his/her walls.

[LANDM]

I believe someone already mentioned a product that may deal with the stench. The odors are not on a particulate level. They would be molecular.

[kgcayenne]

LANDM, Chem 11 was a long time ago, huh?

[LANDM]

LANDM, Chem 11 was a long time ago, huh?

Yeah, a *really* long time ago, and so were all of the subsequent chem courses. Too bad you apparently rely on chem 11.

Airborne suspended particulates will certainly cause smells......think of smoke, for example.
However, a dead rat in a wall will not be generating particulate matter. Rather, the odour molecules will be released to stimulate the appropriate receptors to let us know there is something dead around.
You can, however, explain how a dead rat encased in a wall will be giving off particulates in adjacent rooms.....should be a fun read.

[Graphite]

So was this ever resolved?