How to Avoid a Pest Crisis in Rental Units
We cannot stress enough how important it is to keep your rentals pest-free. No tenant wants to be in the same home as cockroaches, mice, bed bugs or any other pests. If you are faced with a pest infestation, it’s inevitable that you will deal with tenant complaints and in extreme cases tenant turnover. If you want to keep your rental units from any pests, here are some tips:
1. Regular Extermination
It is paramount that you have exterminations regularly in your property if you are to get on top of pest control. They should be carried out even if there are no pests or rodents in sight. This is a crucial preventative measure because the moment you catch sight of the critters, chances are the infestation is more significant. As such, when you exterminate regularly, you keep the rental units clean of infestations and you also suppress small problems and prevent them from mushrooming into large ones.
2. Seal Crevices and Cracks
When you seal all crevices and cracks in the property, you keep out the little critters. This should be done both on the inside and exterior of the property. When sealing the exterior part of the property, conduct a thorough check on the foundation of the building alongside pipes, doors, windows, and vents. On the interior of the property, check the basements, attics, tenants’ apartments, crawl spaces, and common areas. Don’t neglect the doors, windows pipes and vents.
The extermination process may be time-consuming, but it will save you a load of time and money in the future. To prevent mice, if you identify their hole, insert in it a mixture of caulk and steel wool as mice will chew their way through the caulk on its own. However, the caulk will be an excellent filler for the crevices and cracks elsewhere.
3. Clean the Common Areas
Now, you pretty much have no control over how a tenant manages their apartment- unless of course, they are going against the safety standards. However, the common areas in your property are under your control. You can rid the common areas of debris and trash. To do this, sweep or vacuum the areas twice a week or more to avoid infestation.
