Re: Tenant wants to break lease due to ant problem

Re: Tenant wants to break lease due to ant problem by Joyce (OK) on March 23, 2009 @18:15

Here's a partial restatement of the WA LL/T act's LL responsiblities provided by the Dispute Resolution
Center
"4. Provide for control of insects, rodents and other pests, except when caused by tenant. (In single
family residences, landlord does not have to control infestations that occur during tenancy.)"

Note the exception. Note also that ants may be following water sources, such as condensation on windows or pipes, which are natural and not within the control of the T. Or they may be enticed into the unit by food and water sources left out by the T. Check the source of the infestation and determine whether it is your responsibility under the WA LL/T law, then take the appropriate action.

[ Reply ] [ Return to forum ]

Re: Tenant wants to break lease due to ant problem by Janine Nock (California) on August 19, 2009 @13:05	[ Reply ]

We keep our kitchen clean, take trash outside daily, so no crumbs are left. How are apartment building is on top of a mega colony of argentine ants. These ants form super colonies, 100's of queens. They came to SoCa in 1910 and have no enemies to take them out. They are in my bedroom, they enjoy bodily flows (underwear mostly, they really like if your a chic and it is that time of the month) they are forming a highway to our tub do to lack of water. They will also eat off of you if you have a cut or dry skin. Waking up with an ant highway eating you sucks. The ground moves outside do to the amount of ants that have come up from the ground. IT is a problem, I mix boric acid, water and sugar puts a small death rate to their millions of workers. So when you say they need to wash their dishes in SoCa clean all you like because if there is a mega colony they never leave. Plus our landlord will not take care of the problem. I would like out of my lease, do to the ant problem.

Re: Tenant wants to break lease due to ant problem by Anonymous on May 2, 2010 @10:41	[ Reply ]

So we have cleaned all the dishes after every meal, put away all foods and wiped down the counters and cabinets then get up in the morning and theres a whole new colony on the counters. We have reported this problem we have bought numerous chemicals and the landlord has never made any attempts to fix the issue. Not only are they in the kitchen but the bathroom and around the doors. I would say there is your normal ant problem that a can of raid will fix and then theres this kind I want out of the lease I am sure there are no ants living with my landlord.

Re: Tenant wants to break lease due to ant problem by Rebecca (California) on January 7, 2013 @18:57	[ Reply ]

Actually that is inacurate. I have a practically spotless and very clean home and had a huge ant issue. My lease states I'm responsible for pest control so I hired people to spray my home and get it resolved. Older homes, temperature and environment contribute to an ant problem much more than food being left out or crumbs being around your home. I had been spraying down all of my surfaces with bleach on a daily basis (where I could) and I had a massive amount of ants in my living room (where I do not eat food), my bedroom (also where I do not eat food)as well as my kitchen, bathrooms, and dining room. Don't be so hasty to be nasty to someone when you don't know whether or not they are messy or not.

Re: Tenant wants to break lease due to ant problem by Tara on July 12, 2016 @09:04	[ Reply ]

I have a ant problem and my house is clean . They go for the garbage but come in across the kitchen ,so they crawl on the counters . As a tenant I am not happy on leaving my garbage outside or putting my cans of soda and food somewhere they wont find it . This is not the way to live . All my neighbors have the same problem . My landlord is not responding to any calls

Re: Tenant wants to break lease due to ant problem by Angela (CA) on July 27, 2017 @15:05	[ Reply ]

An ant infestation is not just a problem when food is left out. If there is a queen, the ants will keep looking for food. There were ants crawling on my closed peanut butter jar--dead ants along the seal, luckily none got in-- ants crawling into my freezer (there's apparently a gap in the seal--they quickly freeze to death), ants in my bathroom, ants on the trash can even though we have been taking the trash out daily and wiping down the can. Spraying doesn't help. The queen needs to be located and killed. We have set out 16 ant traps hoping to kill the queen but, if it's a very thriving and active hive, it won't matter.

Re: Tenant wants to break lease due to ant problem - Landlord Forum thread 175715