
05-21-2007, 12:54 PM
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Junior Member
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Join Date: May 2007
Posts: 4
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Co-habitating with yellow jackets for 3 months
When I first moved in in October I noticed dead and dying bees in my sons room. A few were flying around but never a swarm. I put it on my checklist that gets filled out when you first move in. I called the property management since I don't have the landlords address, etc. My son and I (bedrooms,office, and bath on upper level) had to sleep on the couch for the first month since I found a few bees on my bed covers and he woke up in the middle of the night to a queen crawling across his face. The landlords called and said they were angry that the property management hadn't told them about it sooner. I said I had told her shortly after I moved in. The property mgmt lady told me she did email them right away and she has proof of it. So, they send their relative out to find the bees nest. He searches all over and says he can't find it. Turns out the yellow jackets were living in the walls. When I went to change a lightbulb 14 kindof dropped out. The relative had sealed up all cracks and any place possible for them to crawl out of the walls and into the upstairs. The moment they did that they started invading the downstairs. I couldn't even fix my kids dinner. We had to go out to eat all the time. When I tried to cook a bee would just land in the food or the pot I was cooking in. I was disgusted. I complained that something should be done but all the exterminators said nothing could be done. The nest should be dead. They were all surprised that the bees were still active. But since it is not spring or summer the nest is not active enough for them to locate it. They finally had an exterminator come out with the property management lady and he told me that really there is nothing to be done. I asked about spraying or dusting and he said it would be totally ineffective. The same thing 3 other exterminators told me when I called. The landlords attitude was like too bad just live with it. As if since they couldn't kill the bees that I still needed to pay market value rent. I asked for a reduction of rent for the time I had to put up with living with yellow jackets in my house I was renting. I said it devalued the property compared to what I had agreed to rent. I agreed to rent without sharing the place with yellow jackets. At first we couldn't go upstairs and then after he sealed the upstairs we couldn't use the downstairs (we closed the door). My daughter had to sleep on blankets at the foot of my bed on the floor since her room was downstairs and we could barely use the kitchen. Nothing like starting to make dinner, opening a kitchen cupboard for something and a bee falls straight out into the bowl of what I was preparing. My mom was a witness to that and said they should definitely be compensating me for putting up with this.
Am I the only one who has put up with this? The bees didn't die out until January. I always knew I would try to see if legally I could go back and get part of my rent money back for the months I put up with the bees but wanted to wait until I am going to move out since I don't trust them and if they knew I was taking legal action regarding the bees they would retaliate or not make needed repairs.
Is there any rights for that or am I just once again at the mercy of the landlords?
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