Fleas

[gwendally]

The tenant with a cat just wrote to tell me that their cat has fleas, they hope it doesn't spread to my dog River.

Fleas.

Can I just tell you how much I hate being a landlord? Almost as much as I hate cats.

Any ideas how to handle fleas in one apartment of a three unit building?

Comments

[exvapi]

Exterminator.

[gwendally]

I assume that's on me as the landlord to pay for, right?

I'm going to ban animals now. It literally never occurred to me that I might lose a month's rent to exterminators.

[exvapi]

I was referring to the cat.

[gwendally]

It's the beginning of winter in New England and mice are finding their way into the building. I'm pretty sure that the cat - an indoor cat - came into contact from fleas from the mice that I already heard were upstairs.

We handle mice by setting some traps. It's not a huge problem, it only happens this time of year, really, when the outdoor critters decide they'd rather be indoors. In another month they will have found another way to be warm (or be dead.)

[_evalution]

http://www.avvo.com/legal-answers/who-pays-for-flea-extermination---landlord-or-tena-1279637.html

[_evalution]

http://www.thelpa.com/lpa/forum-thread/266160/Tenant-with-flea-problem-caused-by-their-pets.html

this thread was an interesting read.
it sounds like you won't really get rid of fleas if her cat is infested unless she treats her pet.

[jette]

You *can* demand it is an indoor pet only and require "pet rent" or pet deposit. Or not allow pets. But sometimes it is so hard to rent with a pet that you'd get more rent if you allow them.

(You can't demand pet rent if they have a doctor's note, though.)

[crazyburro]

Hear occasionally about someone having their dog or cat declared an emotional support animal so they can rent somewhere they want to live that bans animals.

[gwendally]

The person who was getting Section 8 who wanted my front apartment was claiming that. It was amusing because I wasn't actually not allowing dogs and the lie was starting to tumble away as we talked.

Also, her references didn't know she had a "service animal". LOL.

[crazyburro]

how about an emotional support pony?

http://www.airliners.net/aviation-forums/general_aviation/read.main/5279035/

Wonder how this thing does in heavy turbulence... can it use those tiny little bathrooms on planes?

[ellisbell]

Does the cat go outdoors? You mention that it's an indoor cat, but do they let it out at any time?

[gwendally]

I don't think they do let him out. I know they sometimes have to watch out that he doesn't escape, so it isn't impossible, but I think they mean to keep him indoors 100% of the time.

[ellisbell]

Gotcha.

When we lived in Florida, our cats got fleas, and they didn't go outside either, ever. The fleas were coming in on our shoes/socks. They were very prevalent.