Topic: Rental Properties - Looking for Advise

[RunsinLight]

I rent an apartment in a house. The landlord lives in the other half of the house. Basically I have insects in my apartment which originate from pets they have in their half of the building. Does anyone have any advise for dealing with these kind of situations with a landlord? I have talked to them many times they are nice people. The problem isn't as bad as it used to be but... I still have these bugs around at times.  I understand there will spiders etc.. which  occasionally get into any house. However this situation is different.

[mrthompson]

Ask the landlord if he/she has thought of hiring a pest control specialist.  If the landlord is hesitant, you could suggest paying for half.

[barrie1]

You also have the legal right to contact your local board of health as well. I work parttime in the Property management field and look after a small no. of apt buildings, I have to know the rights for both sides and you do have them for sure. 

[ArticSteve]

local board of health

If you mean the Public Health Unit they only have a mandate to control the spread of disease.  This sounds like a typical pest problem.

If you can't come up with a solution that suits both you and your landlord then moving is the only option.

[dr_spock]

What kind of insects?  Ask the landlord to spray the place.   When I had an insect problem, I caught a few of them in a jar to show the landlady.  I visited the landlady.  I placed the jar on her desk and said I have a little problem...  Next day the pest control guy was spraying my apartment. 

[safristi]

FLEE the place.....................................

[RunsinLight]

What kind of insects?  Ask the landlord to spray the place. 


They are crickets. Its very streaky. I can go a month without seeing one. Yesterday I found two. It is certainly not to the point of infestation. I thinks it is just a case of carelessness on someones part. Spraying I don't think would help my situation because more would just get out of some cage unless whatever they are or aren't doing changes.

[dr_spock]

How about a pet lizard to eat crickets?  Or invite the landlord over for diner? 

SPICY PARANTHA WITH GROUND CRICKETS

What you need

For roasting the crickets:
1,000 frozen crickets
1 tablespoon of oil
1 teaspoon of salt

For the parantha:
11/4 cups whole wheat flour
11/2 cups cricket flour
1 tablespoon green chilies
1 tablespoon cumin powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons oil
1/4 cup fresh chopped cilantro
1 cup buttermilk

What you do
Preheat the oven to 450 F. Spread the crickets on a large baking tray and mix the oil and salt to season them. Roast in the oven for about 20 minutes. Bring them out and cool.

With a food processor, grind the crickets until they are fine, to make approximately 11/2 cups of cricket flour.

Kneed the parantha ingredients together and make sure that it is soft and dough-like. Kneading can also be done in a small dough mixer at a slow speed.

Let the dough rest for 15 minutes so the flavours can blend.

Roll out into small, round tortilla shapes.

Preheat a heavy-bottom pan or flat pan (please make sure that it is not smoking), put the parantha on it and let cook for a few minutes. Once the bottom is slightly brown, add a hint of oil on the side to make sure the parantha does not stick to the pan. Flip it over, add a little bit of oil again and let it cook for a few more minutes until browned.

The parantha as can be served with a vegetarian recipe like Jackfruit from our book, or any form of strong and spicy chutney.

Serves 7.