Derelict house next door being rehabbed. What do I need to know/do?
April 2, 2018 8:17 PM Subscribe
The vacant house next door is being flipped. It's also infested. How do I keep the rats and bugs from coming my way?
After 9 years of living next door to a rather colorful cast of characters in a house that was basically falling down around them, the property recently sold, they moved out and the neighborhood flippers started cleaning up today.
I had my suspicions about the state of the interior of the home, and last week, I had to call the police for an intruder. The officers who responded confirmed that the house is infested with rats and bugs (which I am presuming means roaches and fleas.) It must be fairly terrible, because both cops kept involuntarily shuddering as we were chatting and one joked he was going to burn his clothes.
I saw live rats on their porch last week. Last summer I saw several dead rats around the property (one in my yard). Both times I reported that to the city. The new folks who bought the place are known in the area as not being terribly honest or cooperative with the neighbors.
Right now, the only permit they were able to get was to clean out the interior of the house. I don't know if they are rehabbing or rebuilding after that. But either way, I'm presuming the rats are going to try to go somewhere.
My house (wooden with aluminum siding, concrete foundation) is roughly 15 feet from theirs. No trees or landscaping on that side. I had mice a couple of years ago and tried to close up any holes on the exterior and haven't had any since. But it's a 100+ year old house.
I have two small dogs who will absolutely go after a rat if they see one. They live inside, but do like to roam around the fenced backyard when it's warm.
I'm in Columbus, OH, well within the city limits, in case environment/climate weighs into this.
What I'm looking for:
1. How to make sure they don't get in my house?
2. Can I even hope to keep them out of my yard? (Should I not even consider putting in a vegetable garden this year?)
3. Should I be considered about anything with the dogs both in terms of interaction with the rats (live or dead) and in terms of their safety regarding anything the new landlords might do to get rid of them?
4. Do I need to worry about anything more in terms of the roaches/fleas coming over?
I'm looking forward to having a cleaned up property next door, but also kind of dreading what this summer could bring.
After 9 years of living next door to a rather colorful cast of characters in a house that was basically falling down around them, the property recently sold, they moved out and the neighborhood flippers started cleaning up today.
I had my suspicions about the state of the interior of the home, and last week, I had to call the police for an intruder. The officers who responded confirmed that the house is infested with rats and bugs (which I am presuming means roaches and fleas.) It must be fairly terrible, because both cops kept involuntarily shuddering as we were chatting and one joked he was going to burn his clothes.
I saw live rats on their porch last week. Last summer I saw several dead rats around the property (one in my yard). Both times I reported that to the city. The new folks who bought the place are known in the area as not being terribly honest or cooperative with the neighbors.
Right now, the only permit they were able to get was to clean out the interior of the house. I don't know if they are rehabbing or rebuilding after that. But either way, I'm presuming the rats are going to try to go somewhere.
My house (wooden with aluminum siding, concrete foundation) is roughly 15 feet from theirs. No trees or landscaping on that side. I had mice a couple of years ago and tried to close up any holes on the exterior and haven't had any since. But it's a 100+ year old house.
I have two small dogs who will absolutely go after a rat if they see one. They live inside, but do like to roam around the fenced backyard when it's warm.
I'm in Columbus, OH, well within the city limits, in case environment/climate weighs into this.
What I'm looking for:
1. How to make sure they don't get in my house?
2. Can I even hope to keep them out of my yard? (Should I not even consider putting in a vegetable garden this year?)
3. Should I be considered about anything with the dogs both in terms of interaction with the rats (live or dead) and in terms of their safety regarding anything the new landlords might do to get rid of them?
4. Do I need to worry about anything more in terms of the roaches/fleas coming over?
I'm looking forward to having a cleaned up property next door, but also kind of dreading what this summer could bring.
Best answer: Leptospirosis isn't part of every vet protocol, and if it isn't part of yours then I would for sure vaccinate. It doesn't protect perfectly, but it is better than nothing. I would also consider keeping them inside or muzzling them in the yard until you're sure the new owner won't put down rat poison. I had a cat survive getting poisoned after my neighbor decided to poison his rats, and it was both expensive and terrifying. I would take that risk seriously.
Do you use Frontline on your dogs to guard against fleas already? Consider it, if not, to be on the safe side. Also, remove any dog poop from your yard so it doesn't attract hungry rats by itself. (yick! I know!) I also would avoid bird feed and composting for a bit, so you're not as attractive cafe for the creatures.
If I were you, I would call a pest control business and ask them about possible preventative measures to keep the rats and roaches out. I'm not sure, sadly, what those would be.
posted by frumiousb at 11:22 PM on April 2, 2018 [5 favorites]
Do you use Frontline on your dogs to guard against fleas already? Consider it, if not, to be on the safe side. Also, remove any dog poop from your yard so it doesn't attract hungry rats by itself. (yick! I know!) I also would avoid bird feed and composting for a bit, so you're not as attractive cafe for the creatures.
If I were you, I would call a pest control business and ask them about possible preventative measures to keep the rats and roaches out. I'm not sure, sadly, what those would be.
posted by frumiousb at 11:22 PM on April 2, 2018 [5 favorites]
Friends of mine had rat problems this past Fall which likely trace back to a source similar to yours. The rats used the local backyard vegetable gardens as a buffet and dug themselves a burrow in/beneath my friends' compost bin (there were no outward signs of this, it was discovered when they took the precaution of emptying the bin).
Rat poison is the cheap way of dealing with rats, so I imagine the new owners will be using it. In your place I would be very concerned about my dogs encountering dead or dying rats that have consumed poison. I wouldn't be letting them out in the yard unaccompanied, and I'd be checking the yard for little corpses each time before letting them out.
My friends ended up calling a pest control company, who put professional outdoor-style boxed traps next to the foundation. They also sealed up as many possible infiltration points as possible - sounds like you've covered that already. To determine if the rats had gotten indoors (they had) my friends put out small amounts of food (sunflower seeds I think? maybe peanut butter?) in quiet out of the way corners and monitored it to see if something ate it.
posted by Secret Sparrow at 6:58 AM on April 3, 2018 [1 favorite]
Rat poison is the cheap way of dealing with rats, so I imagine the new owners will be using it. In your place I would be very concerned about my dogs encountering dead or dying rats that have consumed poison. I wouldn't be letting them out in the yard unaccompanied, and I'd be checking the yard for little corpses each time before letting them out.
My friends ended up calling a pest control company, who put professional outdoor-style boxed traps next to the foundation. They also sealed up as many possible infiltration points as possible - sounds like you've covered that already. To determine if the rats had gotten indoors (they had) my friends put out small amounts of food (sunflower seeds I think? maybe peanut butter?) in quiet out of the way corners and monitored it to see if something ate it.
posted by Secret Sparrow at 6:58 AM on April 3, 2018 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Do not plant a typical garden this year, but plantings can be part of your strategy. Peppermint, other herbs, and certain flowers (like marigolds) are natural pest repellants; this is one reason herbs are traditionally planted near doorways. Garlic and tomatoes would be great veggies to focus on.
posted by veery at 9:27 AM on April 3, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by veery at 9:27 AM on April 3, 2018 [1 favorite]
Best answer: You could also put a dog on a short leash and do a daily basement inspection. If they start being really excited/ interested in a pile of boxes or getting behind the dryer, etc. it's a good time to set some traps/call in pest control experts.
posted by mikepop at 12:14 PM on April 3, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by mikepop at 12:14 PM on April 3, 2018 [2 favorites]
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Can you make an appointment with a local pest control place and have them come over to assess the situation? (As much as possible given that they won't be able to go on your neighbour's property.) hopefully they'd be able to give you advice on preventing an infestation at your house.
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 8:23 PM on April 2, 2018 [5 favorites]