Spider infestation !

[zxvtrp]

What is the name of your state? Indiana.
I moved in January, but my job takes me out of state a lot. When I was away in January, my pipes froze and burst. I agreed with the landlord that it was my fault and that I would repair them myself. Being here only a couple of days at a time, I repaired parts of it at a time when I was here. I have most of it repaired, except for a couple of small leaks. The weather warmed up, and when i was under the house, I noticed several spider webs had been constructed, so I sprayed under the house before I left again for my job for a couple of weeks. When I returned, there were several webs in the house and after 1 day I killed 5 brown recluse spiders. I completely cleaned the house and sprayed inside to rid the house of these dangerous spiders. Now that I rerturned again, I found and killed 3 black widows but I haven't seen any more brown recluses. The problem now is, I'm afraid to go back under the house. I informed the landlord, but he said I shouldn't have sprayed under the house, because thats what brought them up into the house. I informed him that he should have sprayed before I moved in to control these spiders. He says he did and he's not responsible for new ones. He also says I should have finished the repairs to the water pipes before it warmed up and I wouldn't have this extra problem. What can I do now? I can't crawl under the house for fear of getting bit, so I can't complete the repairs on the water pipes. Isn't he responsible for killing these dangerous spiders? Help in Indiana !!What is the name of your state?

 

[MyHouse]

Set off Raid Maxx Foggers in and under the house before you go on your next trip. Be sure to close off vents under the house before doing so. It's good that you travel because you can be away while the foggers are going and all the stuff is settling. Leave closet doors open before you set off the foggers. Put one in the attic too if you think that is necessary. You probably don't keep a lot of food in the house since you travel, but be sure all food is sealed before you do this.

 

[Cvillecpm]

Any type of infestation - roaches, spiders, ants, etc are usually the tenants' responsibility after move in. You should have called a professional pest control firm prior to self-remedy attempts.

Your landlord is correct, the spiders would rather be outside the house than inside and your attempts to spray have caused them to migrate into the dwelling.

Spraying the entire house is your best option.

 

[LindaP777]

Brown Recluse and Black Widows??? Remind me not to go to Indiana!

 

[ADBunting]

Hold the phone...

How is burst pipes due to weather your fault? And WHY are you handling all of the maintenance on something that your landlord should be handling?

How are they coercing you into taking over their responsibility? A landlord has to maintain the building that you are living in. Period. The spiders are not your fault, the plumbing is not your fault and I think this landlord has you suckered into believing that you are supposed to not only do, but pay for all of the maintaining of their property.

If you owned it, SURE. But why are you allowing this creep to con you into letting them get out of taking care of their own place?

Bottom line is this scammer is responsible for EVERYTHING INCLUDING PIPE REPAIRS. You shouldn't have to do ANYTHING. YOU didn't cause freezing temps. That is HIS liability for owning something and renting it out, NOT YOURS!!!! You have an electrical short? THEY fix it. You have a backed up toilet? THEY fix it.

DO NOT let this person get away with lying to you.

JEEZ. I'd start looking for another place.

April

 

[moburkes]

Probably because he was away for his job, and he didn't keep the heat high enough, which caused the burst pipes.

 

[Cvillecpm]

AD - tenant left the property and probably TURNED THE HEAT OFF which caused the pipes to freeze. It's OK to turn AC off when away in the summer but NOT OK to turn the heat off. Heat should not be turned lower than 55 or 60 degrees.

 

[zxvtrp]

spider infestation

I did turn the heat down low while I was away(trying to save money on my gas bill), but the vent openings on the bottom of the house are wide open. I think they would have frozen even if I left the heat up, as it got down to 4-15 degrees for about a week, while I was gone. Thanks for all the responses, I going to buy the Raid Maxx before I leave this coming week. When I come back, I'm going to crawl under the house and take my chances. I'll keep my cell-phone close in case I have to dial 911. zxvtrp

 

[seniorjudge]

I did turn the heat down low while I was away(trying to save money on my gas bill), but the vent openings on the bottom of the house are wide open. I think they would have frozen even if I left the heat up, as it got down to 4-15 degrees for about a week, while I was gone. Thanks for all the responses, I going to buy the Raid Maxx before I leave this coming week. When I come back, I'm going to crawl under the house and take my chances. I'll keep my cell-phone close in case I have to dial 911. zxvtrp

Put spider poison down before you start crawling around.

 

[Alaska landlord]

Bottom line is this scammer is responsible for EVERYTHING INCLUDING PIPE REPAIRS. You shouldn't have to do ANYTHING. YOU didn't cause freezing temps. That is HIS liability for owning something and renting it out, NOT YOURS!!!! You have an electrical short? THEY fix it. You have a backed up toilet? THEY fix it.

Not exactly, don’t confuse the LL’s house for Daddy’s house. If you cause the electrical short, then you get billed for the repair. If you clog the toilet and can’t unclog it, then we call a plumber and based on his determination as to the cause of the clog, you may get a bill for that too. Making sure that pipes don’t freeze is the tenant’s responsibility. If something was wrong that could have contributed to the freezing of the pipes, then it was his responsibility to bring it to the LL’s attention.

 

[FarmerJ]

Blocking exterior vents in the winter with styrene and a board & some thing leaning against it is not unheard of during worst part of winter, If needed, If your going to live there another winter request in writting to the LL heat tapes. They do help prevent freeze up, Also look into buying a plug in unit that detects when the heat is off, a simple strobe light can be plugged in thats set near a window, A trusted nieghbor who would do the phone call can notify the LL if the Strobe light is seen at night time.

 

[LindaP777]

DO NOT let this person get away with lying to you.
April

April, this is a legal forum. Please don't misinform people. Tenants do have certain responsibilities when it come to taking care of the place they are renting. It's not all up to the landlord.