If you live in your own house and there are pests in that home, the problem is often easier to endure because you know the responsibility for solving the problem lies with you. But when you live in a rented home and there are rats, mice, or roaches running all over the place, it is a major issue.
Pests in a rented home are a big problem because people typically expect more when they pay others to do something for them. The last thing on your mind when you move into a rented apartment is that you will have to share the home with bugs or rodents. A pest-infested rental is a good reason for tenants not to pay the rent or take legal action against a property manager.
This is why, as a property manager, you do not want pests in a property under your management. A pest invasion of your rental property will undo all the work you have done to manage and market the home. A rental home can have many great qualities, but those qualities will disappear the moment tenants discover pests inside the home.
Pests represent everything bad you can think of in a rental home and they are a danger in many ways.
Pests are a danger to tenants
Some pests like mites and bedbugs live on human blood. Their bites are painful, unhealthy, and can trigger allergies or even cause death.
People spread diseases through their bites. People can also fall ill when they come into contact with pest urine and feces. Pests will expose tenants to the risk of food poisoning by walking all over their food.
Pests destroy property
In an attempt to find nesting materials, pests will attack tenants’ books, clothes, and other personal belongings. They will also damage the wiring and plastic pipes in the building.
Pests also pose a threat to the structural integrity of your building. They will bore holes inside the walls and foundation of the building. Termites will feed on the wooden structures of the building.
Pests contaminate and waste food
Pests eat more than their weight in food and waste a lot more food than they consume. They may rip holes in bags and cause the food stored inside them to spill out and waste. Pests will make food unfit for human consumption by leaving feces, saliva, and urine on them.
Pests impair tenants’ quiet enjoyment of the home
Pests will frighten your tenants and embarrass them when they have guests in the home. Some tenants find the presence of pests so disturbing they will abandon the home if they spot a rat or cockroach. Pests will keep your tenants from enjoying their home in peace.
Pests are a danger to your business
Whatever interferes with tenants’ comfort and their belongings poses a threat to your business. That threat is multiplied many times over if that same issue poses a danger to the physical structures of your building. Pests will drive away your tenants and impact negatively on your revenue.
How to deal with pests in a managed property
What is the best way to deal with pests in a rental property? It is not possible to prevent pests in a rental home by implementing a one-time solution. Pests are highly mobile and intelligent creatures. They can always find a way to get back into the home.
The best way to handle pests in a rental home is to create a program of scheduled pest control measures in the home. Instituting regular pest control measures in the home will let you deal with seasonal changes that increase the risk of pest infestation.
When you enlist the services of a pest control expert to fully inspect the rental on a schedule you ensure the following results.
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Consistent results
Regardless of the season of the year, you can guarantee your tenants the same level of comfort, safety, and convenience. This is because the pest control expert monitors the rental home to identify emerging threats in the environment or tenants’ habits that can expose the home to the risk of pest invasion. You will build a level of confidence with your tenants that will help you reap the most benefits for your business.
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Prevention via timely action
When your rental property is inspected regularly for pests and environmental changes which encourage pest infestation, you can stay one step ahead of pests. Instead of waiting to act when tenants report pests in the home, you can actually prevent invasions. This is the best way to protect your business and your tenants from all the ill effects of pest invasion of a rental home.
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You will make more money
With satisfied and happy tenants in your rental home, you will have fewer vacancies or other issues that will impair your revenue. You will also reduce the risk of damage to the physical features of the home. This will help you manage the maintenance costs for the property better. In a nutshell, preventive pest control will help you keep the value of your property and let you make more money.
