Animal in my wall, call the landlord or kill it myself?

[spddrcr]

So for the past 2 days I have been hearing loud scratching noises in one section of wall. I know calling the landlord will involve several days worth of back and forth phone calls. I have the skills and tools to cut a square of drywall and replace it so should I do it myself?

 

[Caddywumpus]

Renter- Nope. make the landlord do it. if it sounds like bloody murder call the cops.

 

[mean dad]

Call the landlord...no, wait. Email the landlord, and mention something about airborne pathogens from dead animals.
My landlord ignored my requests for him to fix my back fence until I mentioned my fear of the neighbor's dog attacking me or my dog. Apparently the specter of a negligence lawsuit changed his schedule, and it was fixed a couple days later.

 

[spddrcr]

Its a house so no neighbors that close

 

[RightCoastBias]

Its a house so no neighbors that close

They make .22 rounds that are intended for shooting critters in the home. They're less likely to penetrate drywall/wood after exiting the animal.

 

[spddrcr]

Actually let me refraise, I deal with a propertie management company, the owner actually told me last month that if there was anything I wanted to do myself that it was ok. Getting things fixed in the past have taken forever and I would rather not deal with a dead rotting animal in my wall.

 

[mean dad]

lol, and the wall isn't cut yet?

 

[Shaggy]

Actually let me refraise, I deal with a propertie management company, the owner actually told me last month that if there was anything I wanted to do myself that it was ok. Getting things fixed in the past have taken forever and I would rather not deal with a dead rotting animal in my wall.

Why waste your time, effort, and money on something that is not your responsibility?

Make his ass do it/pay for it.

 

[westie]

Actually let me refraise, I deal with a propertie management company, the owner actually told me last month that if there was anything I wanted to do myself that it was ok. Getting things fixed in the past have taken forever and I would rather not deal with a dead rotting animal in my wall.

That makes me cringe.

 

[planegray]

I'd want to know what it is first, if it's rats; the best solution is to cut off their entry/exit path and set baited traps.

If it's racoons or squirrels, you still need to cut off their access, but it's better to get them out first. paper towels soaked with bleach with run racoons off, not sure what to do about squirrels :dunno

 

[splat]

I agree, why deal with it then pay out of pocket to fix it? Especially of the third party (property mgmt) is making money for dealing with the matters that come up.


Would really suck to have to pay for something you found while tackling the problem yourself.

 

[Entoptic]

Call the landlord and here is why. This time of year animals are about to have babies and if you happen to open up a wall and find out you set off the spring loaded raccoon or possum trap its on you. If you do drill into the wall you will not be able to just grab the critter. They aren't contained to one area and all you would be doing is giving them access to your house while trying to figure out where and how they got in.

Get a professional that will trap the critters without cutting into your walls. They will or at least should go around the house and recommend you patch all the holes they find.

 

[Yakoo752]

use a flame thrower - guarantees eradication

put out some glue traps (for rats) and see if you get anything first.

When I rented a house, my landlord and I had a written agreement that I would do minor things and bill him for it. Rodent eradication would be one of those things.

 

[Ironbutt]

Dude.. You know how to drywall.. go get a few BB guns a case of beer and go to work.. haha..

 

[Aaron1515]

So for the past 2 days I have been hearing loud scratching noises in one section of wall. I know calling the landlord will involve several days worth of back and forth phone calls. I have the skills and tools to cut a square of drywall and replace it so should I do it myself?

As a barfer and a landlord. Contact your landlord first. If you can do and have proper tools, don't do it.( depends on how close you are to your landlord). Your landlord is responsible for things like this. That is why you pay rent. If you do it you will get blame for things. That will open a whole different window you don't want to go through.

 

[Britny]

Scratching in the walls? Could be a poltergeist. Not sure if glue traps will work for those.

 

[Climber]

Imagine a device that you push through the wallboard, then once through can expose a small sponge with skunk oil on it.

That should clear them out of the wall if they can get back out.

 

[fraz]