# Snakes attract rodents?! (apparently)



## Severus Snake (Oct 26, 2020)

I am moving into a new rental in NSW and the real-estate and Landlord have said that I'll have to pay for a rodent treatment due to keeping 2 snakes on the premises.

In my 15 years of having snakes I HAVE NEVER HEARD SOMETHING SO RIDICULOUS. There is no way rodents would be attracted to the smell of their natural predators, or am I just plain clueless?!


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## Sdaji (Oct 26, 2020)

You may be surprised. Rodents absolutely love snake sloughs. When I was a teenager I had a fair collection of snake sloughs, one day they went missing which seemed very odd, then I noticed rat droppings in the house, went searching for rats, managed to find a couple of nests and they were lined with the snake sloughs. Over the following 25 years or so I've found many similar examples of rodents absolutely loving snake sloughs. A fair few times I've had people ask me for snake sloughs to scare away rodents and I've known of plenty of others having similar requests. I always tell people it's a bad idea, but if they insist I usually give them some and the rodents always gladly accept the gift of nesting material.

I don't think you're going to attract rats into your house by having snakes (there's definitely going to be food anyway, which is going to do a much better job of it than snakes) but snakes do seem to have a surprising lack of ability to deter rodents, which have a peculiar attraction to them.

Don't get me wrong, your landlord is just being a painful idiot, but it's not as ridiculous as it sounds.


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## Harpo (Oct 26, 2020)

Severus Snake said:


> pay for a rodent treatment due to keeping 2 snakes



This looks like a bit of a power trip to me. I wonder what evidence drove them to make this weird request.


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## CF Constrictor (Oct 26, 2020)

In that case i would insist the landlord take care of any pest control issues well before you move in. If thats not good enough , find another rental.


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## Herpetology (Oct 26, 2020)

CF Constrictor said:


> In that case i would insist the landlord take care of any pest control issues well before you move in. If thats not good enough , find another rental.


Better yet go around the property yourself and do a detailed inspection including taking photos etc


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## Harpo (Oct 26, 2020)

Maybe in the past they had a tenant that bred mice for they're pet snake and left escapees when they moved out...
[doublepost=1603690095,1603690021][/doublepost]


Herptology said:


> Better yet go around the property yourself and do a detailed inspection including taking photos etc



Do this anyway!


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## Bluetongue1 (Oct 26, 2020)

I would suggest asking them the rationale behind this. It may be that they are under the impression you are going to breed feeder rodents and they may escape, or food spillage may attract wild rodents. Who knows until you ask? They cannot legally require you to pay for a rodent treatment before you move in. It is possible there is a known problem and they are trying to shaft you with the costs. You are entitled to know if there is or has been a rodent problem in the past. If they say no, I’d be asking /insisting for that to be put in writing. 

Tenancy Laws in NSW are the responsibility of the Department of Fair Trading. Following is a quote from the “Pest and vermin” section of one of their webpages https://www.fairtrading.nsw.gov.au/.../during-a-tenancy/health,-safety-and-security. 
“_Generally, landlords are responsible for pest and vermin issues that occur at the start of the tenancy. This is part of a landlord's responsibility to provide a reasonably clean property that is fit for the tenant to live in.
Tenants are generally responsible for getting rid of pests and vermin if the issue arises after they have moved in and if it was caused by the tenant’s activities or lack of cleanliness. For example, the tenant keeps a pet on the property or has not removed rubbish which is attracting cockroaches, ants or mice_.”

Just a little extra info, which I hope you don’t need. Rat infestations are notoriously difficult to get rid of. If someone nearby has say a pigeon loft or chicken coop or aviary that gets infested, it is not sufficient to just treat the source property. Surrounding properties all need to be treated in the same timeframe to effectively eradicate the whole infestation. Rats like to spread out and nest in nearby ceiling voids and under-floor crawl spaces that are nearby to the food source.

I realise that most of this does not answer the question asked. Also, you may be fully aware of this already. Sorry to waste your time if that’s the case.


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## Severus Snake (Oct 28, 2020)

Yeah I sent an email stating that I wouldn't be keeping or breeding live food for the snakes. And when I asked for their reasoning behind the request they turned around and said they reconsidered. I no longer need to do it.

I'm actually doubting it was the landlord, but actually the real-estate that put the request on the pet clause.


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## CF Constrictor (Oct 28, 2020)

Not surprized, there is no way they would have gotten away with it, and they knew it. 
Well done. ☺


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## Bluetongue1 (Oct 28, 2020)

It sounds like you got a fairly prompt response. If the landlord had to be involved in altering the decision, that takes time. If the decision had already been made by the landlord, then you should have been notified immediately. Either way, things don’t stack up. I think you’d be right on the money about it all coming from the agent. Real estate agents are bound by a code of practice which is part of their licence conditions. As soon as you showed any hesitation to pay the money, I say this person has backed out for fear of getting caught out. I may well be wrong, but it would not surprise me if the agent was going to ask for payment in cash and the money was somehow headed for his or her back pocket. Irrespective, they have shown their hand and I know you will be vigilante and cautious as a result.

Thanks for asking the original question. It generated some fascinating information I was not aware of - @*Sdaji*.


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