uselesshappy asked:
I had lived in my current house for 4+ years and NEVER had bed bugs nor complaints from any of my tenants. I lived in the 2nd floors. Then my 3rd floor tenants moved out. I had the 2nd and 3rd floor completely renovated. I moved up to the 3rd floor. Then 3 months ago, new tenants moved in to the 2nd floor. They come to me now complaining about bed bugs. This is new news to me. They’re blaming the house for having bed bugs that are biting their kids. But never in the years i lived there have i had them. My 1st floor neighbor doesn’t have them, either. So I think they must have brought them in when they moved. They said they never had them too in their last house.
I had lived in my current house for 4+ years and NEVER had bed bugs nor complaints from any of my tenants. I lived in the 2nd floors. Then my 3rd floor tenants moved out. I had the 2nd and 3rd floor completely renovated. I moved up to the 3rd floor. Then 3 months ago, new tenants moved in to the 2nd floor. They come to me now complaining about bed bugs. This is new news to me. They’re blaming the house for having bed bugs that are biting their kids. But never in the years i lived there have i had them. My 1st floor neighbor doesn’t have them, either. So I think they must have brought them in when they moved. They said they never had them too in their last house.
Am I responsible for the bed bugs and for taking care of them as the house owner?
Either way, I have no problem taking care of the problem, but the fact they keep blaming the house, i think is wrong.
“don’t have the temperament to be a landlord.”?
Are you f-ing kidding me? i’ve done EVERYTHING for them. From buying them a new fridge, fixing a so called leaky faucet, etc. There is nothing I haven’t done for these people. I NEVER said I wouldn’t call up the exterms, but wanted to see if it was right of them to put the blame on me.
No you’re not responsible. If they have bed bugs, then it is because their sheets and bed clothes, and/or, furniture has the parasites in them. Don’t take the blame for someone else’s nastiness.
Did your new tenants bring their own beds and bedding with them? If so, you are NOT responsible for the problem. You may want to advise them how to treat for bedbugs, and even go so far as to purchase a couple cans of bedding spray to give them to to spray mattresses, carpets and stuffed animals, pillows, etc. However, it will be THEIR responsibility to launder their own sheets and other bed linens. Sounds like you have some problem tenants on your hands. I’d advise finding a way to evict these people ASAP before they start demanding more. If you just remodeled, and there are bedbugs in the apartment, they brought them with them.
We had a similar issue at the apartments I work at. This site was really helpful. The biggest thing is make sure they are really bedbugs. You should go here, they have a lot of good info. Such as DO NOT use foggers because it will only move them to another area (or apt). They are saying the only way to rid a place from them is to bait the area and continue living with them so they have to go through the poison to get to you, they will then slowly die off… And DO NOT use insecticides…
Good Luck…
Why hassel yourself over the blame game. They are your customers and is it not in your best interest to help them and keep them happy?
They may seem to want to point the finger at your building so that they won’t have to face the fact that they are “responsible”. Bedbugs aren’t really vermin “of filth”, just little bugs that like to suck blood.
It’s likely that the bugs hitched a ride on their furniture, but, again, what does that matter? Just make reasonable efforts to help them and you just might enjoy a positive and profitable relationship with them for a long time.
I agree with 33. Something that no one has considered. Did the people move in using their own vehicles or did they use a rental truck? If they did use a rental truck, there could have been bed bugs from the previous truck renters. This could easily have been out of anyones control. I think your focus should be on making sure that the infestation doesn’t spread. To that end, I’d hire a good exterminator. Not only will this insure that the infestation doesn’t spread, but will show that you have concern for the welfare of your residents. If ultimately all you care about is collecting the rent each month, perhaps you don’t have the temperament to be a landlord.