Landlords and Pest Control #whatbugsme

Slum Lords in Maryville TN

You want to know what bugs me? Landlords and pest control! I’ve been dealing with landlords, tenants, and rental properties for a long time in East Tennessee, and let me tell you, it’s a sad sad situation in most areas. Usually I get a call from a landlord saying they have bugs everywhere and claiming the previous pest control company was just spraying water. If you have a company that is just spraying water, they need to be fired. One of the biggest problems I find is that these rental properties are small, broken down, unsafe, filthy, moldy, bug-infested dumps. And they wonder why they need pest control. Since they’ve changed pest control companies every year for several years and none of them have been able to fix this, let’s figure out why.

One, they probably pick the cheapest crap they can find because all they wanted was that little piece of paper that says, “I paid the pest control guy, and if it doesn’t work, I can go yell at him.” All it does is cover their butt, and that’s not going to fix the problem. They want that proof of service and they don’t give a hoot whether it’s fixed. All they want to do is shut their tenants up so they can get another month’s rent. They won’t pay what it takes because they don’t care.

Why is it so bad?

Now, tenants have their own responsibilities in this and we’ll get to that in just a minute. In the meantime, if you are a landlord, you have bug problems, you’ve been through a whole bunch of companies, nobody’s fixed it, everybody’s complaining, it’s only getting worse, and you spend a whole bunch of money, it’s because you pick the wrong ones. It’s because you’re not willing to do what is necessary.

If you’re going to have a rental property and you’re going to have tenants, you’re going to have to do what it takes to keep it bug free. You need to keep the place from being broken down, seal holes, fix things, seal leaks, fix leaks, and whatever else needs to be done. You also need to be willing to get rid of the tenants that refuse to clean. If the tenant is not going to clean, then getting rid of the bugs is going to be a huge pain in the rear. You have to do your part, and you have to be willing to do that part. When it’s all clean and fixed and there are no bugs, you can charge more, which is really all you want anyway.

The solution in Maryville

So, let’s talk about how to fix it and why it hasn’t worked so far. I had an account that was 12 units. The place was a dump and half and the tenants were absolutely nasty and filthy. I sat down with the with the landlord and the manager and told them, “This can be fixed, but you have to do something.” So they met with all the tenants and made sure they understood they needed to clean up or they would be gone. Most of them got on board and cleaned up, and you know what? The roaches were gone just like that! In a couple months every single apartment went from having roaches on top of roaches on top of roaches to having ZERO roaches. It can be done, but are you willing to do it?

Here is the other aspect. It isn’t going to be cheap. That’s a big job. You can have it cheap and fast, but it won’t be good, or you can have it fast and GOOD but it won’t be cheap. You’re going to have to do what it takes. The good thing is, if you do what it takes one time, and you maintain it, that maintenance is a whole lot cheaper than having to fix it again. The tenants do have their own responsibility to keep the place clean. They have to tell you when they have issues, but then you have to take care of those issues. Communication is key!

Landlords. let’s talk

So, landlords, let’s talk! For 20 years, and I’m sure much longer probably since the dawn of time, renters have complained constantly about the landlords. Of course, the landlord says the tenant won’t do what they ask and it just goes back and forth. Who knows what the real truth is. Here’s the deal though, if you’re the owner, it’s your problem whether they created it or not. If you end up kicking them out, it’s still your problem that you have to fix, clean up, and kill all the bugs. So let’s talk and take care of it! It’s your property! You know what bugs me? Landlords and pest control! But I love to kill those bugs!

Slum Lordshttps://www.tiktok.com/@phoenixpesttn/video/7253083431016500526?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id=7202744643644917290