'tis the season for the house centipedes to begin running amok here on Sanford Avenue. my first encounter with one of these creepy creatures was a truly memorable experience that came to the bloody (and stinky) conclusion upon gerald's slaying of the offending beast with a can of raid. that was nearly two years ago, and i have since become a hardened cohabitant with these guys...sometimes i just let them live, seeing how long it takes till they run away. i usually go by the three minute rule. if they are out of my sight in three minutes, i'm over it and they get to live. i think it's because i know they eat other far more offending creatures (ie spiders and silverfish).
BUT it has taken me this long to get over it, and i have to admit that when i see a really big one (we're talking three+ inches body length) quickly slivering his 30 legs over my walls, i get a little creeped out. my new neighbor amy is having a bit harder time dealing with it (which is one hundred percent justifiable) so she did the rational thing, and called the landlord about having her place sprayed. good ol' billy promptly refused, stating that it is not his fault/liability that they are there. it just happens, so he doesn't have to do anything about it. he apparently thinks it won't do any good. amy is thinking about breaking her lease over it, and i have yet to find any definitive dictates regarding pest control responsibility within the missouri state statutes and the st. louis housing authority.
however...i realize things could be worse. i could have the crazy termite infestation like katie and kate are dealing with over in D.C. compared to their drama, i'll take a couple house centipedes any day.
5 comments:
billy's a dick.
hehehehehe. billy firestone aka rollie fingers! ;)
I have a response for this- First tell Amy to check her lease and see if there is any statement in it saying that the habitability of the apartment must meet some standards or is covered (frankly saying the bugs just happen is like saying pipes breaking just happens- both are habitability issues)- if the centipedes bug her that much she could argue that they are making the apartment uninhabitable. YOU must check the lease first of course (this is according to the housing lawyer I work for)... good luck- bugs are gross!
Thanks Kathy!!!
I will let her know, and I'm gonna check the lease. She was talking to him yesterday on the phone and he totally chewed her out for even mentioning that she was going to ask a lawyer about it. I mean, he just doesn't want to pay for it to be sprayed, but he's such a jerk!
I bet you are glad you don't have to deal with landlords anymore! I'm jealous ;)
As someone who has lived with an "infestation" and researched the topic... I believe the landlord has to make an effort to make it livable. Now for just a few bugs that aren't worth getting an exterminator is one thing, but if it is overwhelming then I think there could be a case. In our case our landlord made a concerned effort, they just kept on reaapearing. Now he ignores us :-P
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