If you’re ending a rental lease agreement, it’s likely you will need to book an end of lease pest control or flea treatment, especially if you have a pet. As we all know, it can be a bit stressful moving, so here’s all you need to know about end of lease pest control and how Rebel Pest Professionals can help.
Do you really need an end of lease pest treatment?
At the end of the day, your lease agreement sets out your requirements at the end of the lease. There are variations in the requirements between states, but if you have had a pet on the premises, you will be required to carry out a pest control treatment.
What type of pest control treatment is required?
Weirdly, most rental agreements will state you need to fumigate the premises if you have had a pet on the premises. Fumigation is the wrong word. Fumigation is a specialised treatment which involves spraying an insecticide into the air throughout the house. The type of treatment that is generally required is a surface spray to areas both inside and outside the house, where the pet has been.
What pests are being targeted with the treatment?
As pets are associated with fleas and ticks, these are the principal targets for the treatment, although often the lease agreement won’t specify this. In infested homes, as fleas and ticks will be found inside and outside the home, both areas will need to be treated.
The main reason most agreements don’t specify the pest, is that it’s the tenant’s responsibility to hand back the property free from a range of pest, such as cockroaches, ants and spiders. So, if these are present at the time of you leaving, the treatment needs to cover off these pests too.
What if there aren’t any pests?
This is an interesting question. From a pest control licensing point of view, we need to carry out an inspection before any treatment and only treat if pests are present. However, the lease agreement states that a pest control treatment needs to be carried out (whether or not pests are present). If pests are not present, we will carry out a suitable preventative treatment to meet the requirements of the lease and ensure the home is pest free for handover.
Can I do it myself?
Generally, you cannot carry out the treatment yourself, as the lease agreement will often state that you need to provide proof of treatment. I.e., An invoice or receipt.
But to be honest, do you really want to do it yourself? End of lease pest treatments are generally not expensive (unless it’s a very big house with a major pest problem), and it’s better for you to spend your energy on organising the move.
When is the pest treatment carried out?
The pest treatment is the last service carried out before you hand the keys back. It’s important to have the pest treatment after the house has been cleaned, otherwise the pest treatment will be removed during the cleaning process.
What do you need to do before the pest treatment?
Essentially you need to have moved out (all belongings removed) and the house cleaned (see below). You need to plan to ensure we have at least a full day before the lease ends.
End of Lease Cleaning
End of lease cleaning is a standard requirement – you need to hand the property back in the state you received it. To make it easy for tenants, Rebel Pest Professionals can organise your end of lease cleaning too. We partner with a professional cleaning company, but rather than you needing to deal with two companies, just give Rebel a call and we’ll arrange it for you, reducing the stress.
How can Rebel Pest Professionals help?
Once you have an end of lease date, give Rebel Pest Professionals a call and we can book in the pest treatment (and cleaning if desired). Make sure you call us as soon as you know you’re moving out, to ensure we have availability. We can then carry out the treatment prior to you handing the keys back.
Once the invoice has been paid, we can send through the receipt for proof of service. We can copy the real estate agent if you require.
(If you’re buying a new house, we also provide pre-purchase timber pest inspections to help with your purchase decision).