FitProperty has emailed residents of Highfield and Sharrow Vale over concerns of mice and rat issue, after 11 complaints have come to light.
Shayna Makenji, a student and resident of Sharrow Valley, said: “We found a mouse in our house, in the kitchen, a place we could eat. Obviously, having unwanted guests has affected us and our social life.
“We just want it sorted so we can hang out in the kitchen and lounge.”
FitProperty originally emailed residents on 17 February, saying they ‘take the issue of vermin very seriously’ and offering support where necessary.
Shannon Byrne, FitProperty’s property manager, said: “There is quite a big issue in the area, we know that. We think it is stemming from the river, it’s a huge issue in the area.”
On 1 March, an exterminator from Comet Pest Control arrived to lay rat poison around the house, but not before the students had been forced to pay for a host of traps.
Ms. Makenji even remarked that the exterminator scoffed at them when they attempted to use cheese as bait, despite their best efforts to catch the mouse.
FitProperty admits they originally called the council when the first email was sent out but were unable to get a hold of them or the environmental protection agency.
Multiple people in the house have tried to get in contact with local councillors; however, the earliest date they could get a meeting was 13 March. ShefNews have also contacted the council with no immediate response.
Residents have cited house mice as the biggest issue and have said they have thrown away weeks’ worth of cereal, pasta, rice, and other dried foods.
Ms. Makenji also made a point of saying: “It raises questions about the safety of the house. I don’t know if there are other things; we had a wasp issue earlier in the summer.”
Ms. Makenji lives with six other people and moved into the house in late August with the kitchen ‘unfinished’, allowing the mouse access to the kitchen through holes in cupboard doors and cracks in the wall behind the fridge.
Marcus Graham, 23, a resident of Sharrow Vale, said: “We had some ages ago, but I think it’s more landlords that don’t care.
“It gets to a certain threshold, and where you don’t care and are quite distant, I don’t think private homes will be an issue, just the rented properties.”
The student house also mentioned how they have ethical concerns about the safety of the mouse, even saying they have named him ‘Squeak Mills’ after the rapper Meek Mills.