Can they come in and spray toxic pesticides or poisons inside my rental apartment against my will?

[michelangelo]

I recently discovered a mouse in my apartment, which I caught on a glue trap and had a maintenance person remove. There doesn't seem to be any more mice, but who knows? The management says that they want to send a pest control person in to take care of placing traps or poison. The problem is actually that the structure is damaged inside and needs to be repaired so that nothing can get in. I'm concerned that the owner and management will not repair the structure as necessary to actually fix the problem but instead will spray toxins and poison. I told them I refuse to have toxins or poisons placed in my apartment (these chemicals are highly toxic and carcinogenic). They're telling me to let the pest control people "do their job." I do not object to an inspection. I only said I don't want anything toxic sprayed or placed.

The only thing my lease agreement says is the following:

"Resident will allow Owner to enter the premises at reasonable times to make such repairs, supply services, protect the premises, and exhibit the premises to prospective residents, purchasers, workmen, contractors, or mortgagees. Without limiting other forms of reasonable notice, written notice of such entry delivered or posted on resident's door 24 hours prior to the entry shall be reasonable notice. Owner may enter the premises without notice or consent in the event of an emergency. Written notice of entry shall not be required where the repairs are performed within 7 days of a request by resident or when owner is accompanied by a public official conducting an inspection or a cable television, electric, gas, or telephone company representative or in any other situation where notice is excused by law."

Can they come in and spray toxic pesticides or poisons inside my rental apartment against my will?

[dalon]

I completely agree with what you are saying. When we were living in an apartment we found that the glue traps worked just fine. What was annoying was having to use them so often. If you keep the place well sealed you should be okay. Plugging up small holes with scrunched up tin foil will prevent them from entering.

Since you have complained about a mouse problem [I assume this is how the landlord knows] then you are asking the landlord to remedy the problem which means he has the authority to do it his way. While you have good reason to be concerned about toxic residue from my understanding as long as a person clears out for several hours there is suppose to be no ill effects.

I realize this would not be good enough for you and you are probably right. I would advise the landlord that you no longer have a mouse problem and therefore it is unnecessary to do anything in your apartment. In future deal with the mouse issue yourself. Just keep in mind that the tiny little droppings that are difficult to see can be more toxic than the sprays you are concerned about. Also emphasize that you have a respiratory problem and some serious allergies. This may discourage your landlord from allowing the place to be sprayed. Of course you would need to justify why you are able to deal with the monthly common area fumigating that is routinely done.

Since landlords are required to maintain the health and safety of their buildings I do not know if you have the right to interfere with the process they choose to use. But it's worth expressing your concerns.

I've not heard of using sprays to get rid of mice. If the idea is to spray behind the walls to kill these vermin off, my concern would be the stench their dead carcasses would leave behind. I remember a mouse getting under our bedroom carpet one evening. It wedged itself so tightly under the carpet it could not escape and it died. The only way we knew what happened is it stunk to high heaven.

[gustav]

Your lease says your landlord can "supply service, protect the premises". That includes whatever means he deems necessary to get rid of a vermin or other pest problem.
So yes, he can send the pest people in to do whatever they feel is necessary.

[giulio]

As long as they are not toxic to people and legal to use in the US you can not prevent the landlord from doing it. Eradicating pests falls under protecting the property.

[oakley]

"Resident will allow Owner to enter the premises at reasonable times to make such repairs, supply services, protect the premises, and exhibit the premises to prospective residents, purchasers, workmen, contractors, or mortgagees. Without limiting other forms of reasonable notice, written notice of such entry delivered or posted on


that statement, says it all, they do have the right, sorry

[nissim42]

Yes, they can. Be aware that it is NOT "your" apartment. It is theirs, and they do maintenance on it. They give notice, you cannot refuse.

"Resident will allow Owner to enter the premises at reasonable times to make such repairs, supply services, protect the premises...." This is supplying services and protecting their premises.

I work in an environment where pest control sprays twice a week and has been for 15 years. No harm has come to any of the hundreds of employees who have been here in that time.

"Landlord: Give me one example of a pesticide to eliminate rodents that is non-toxic. Do you actually believe a pest control service is NOT going to use toxins?" - Toxins used in mouse pest control are harmful if ingested. Just don't eat the stuff they put down. Even if you DID ingest them, you would need to ingest quite a bit, as I assume you are much larger than a common mouse. There is actual science behind this, they don't just go in and spray things around willy nilly.

[edmondo93]

Yes...you'd rather have cockroaches?