Cockroaches In Newly Rented Apartment

[Mothiñoo]

Buenas dias todos!
We need help urgently

We just moved into this appartment the 30, december 2016 and ofcourse it did not show that our kitchen is basicly breeding ground for Cucarachas. This morning I encountered more or less 20 small and some big ones on our kitchen table, mostly dead. We did set up traps the 31-12.

Our dueño say that they are spraying once a month, and doesn´t sound like that we can get any more help there. Besides this, there are problems with a dripping airconditioner, inside our bedroom, the water heater work poorly, which is by the way located in the kitchen.

My question is do we have any rights to cancel this contract because of unsanitary conditions, that leaves us uable to use the kitchen? getting the deposit and the rent back? or at least more than the 15.000 that is stated in the contract. We paid 30.000 pesos to get into this dump, my girlfriend, her sister and me. Worst way to start the new year.

Thank you all, and a happy new year!

The Dane

 

[Jaredberryman]

This sounds like an apartment my friend just rented. Is it in Recoleta?

 

[RichardP]

When the power goes out for three days those other problems won't seem so bad.

You may have a nest of cucarachas which will require a bit more than a monthly spraying. It might be worth contacting an exterminator and offering to pay part of the price with your landlord. This is unfair to the renter, but might help to resolve the problem quicker.

 

[Somewhereinba]

Welcome to Argentina my friend - where the majority of things will try screw you. Have to be on your toes here or you will get taken for a ride.

 

[Ceviche]

Sorry to hear that. Welcome to Argentina.

 

[nikad]

Call the building managers, they should send the exterminators as the problem can spread. Is it a long or a short term rental? Water heaters in the kitchen are common. AC leaking and other issues, send a legal letter to the landlord, if he does not repair them, pay out of your pocket and deduct from rent. Without knowing what kind of contract you signed, I cannot really give any accurate advice.

 

[Mothiñoo]

Thank you all for the answers

The caretaker have called for an exterminator and weve bought all pest killers on the market, even acido borico. Hope it will help a little bit. Found even more babie cucarachas, even in the fridge So well, fingers crossed that they actually will do a little bit so we dont have to go hunting every night!

Thanks all. Well give it a couple of weeks and hope for the best. And learn from this experience, its luckily only 3 months. Didnt think Argentina would screw me this much already..

 

[Rich One]

my 2 cents . go to a hardware store and buy a gel to kill cockroaches in a syringe .

Cut very thin slices of raw potato, about ten or more, smear the gel in a thin layer cut the slices in halves and place them at night over the kitchen counter, sink , and all areas where you have seen cockroaches.

You will notice they have munched on the potatoes. repeat process after a few days, use all the gel.(only $80 pesos?).

Good luck

 

[Jed]

Just finished having a cucaracha battle of my own, we are in a big city and summer brings these sorts of issues. Definitely get the syringe gel they sell in the ferreteria. Roaches do not eat much so just little amounts of the gel in various corners and cracks wherever you have seen them. The gel is poison disguised as food which they eat, bring back to the nest and ideally creates a domino effect of death.

Roaches in the fridge? That sounds crazy and terrible! Not sure if this will help, but under the fridge often times there is a sheet/collector plate to catch condensation from the motor/cooling unit. Might want to check that out. Lavandina (bleach) diluted in water should be used to clean all tiles and surfaces that can handle it.

I was using the Raid roach killing spray, but that stuff smells terrible. Ended up using the bathroom spray cleaner that is for cleaning the shower/tub which is basically lavandina. Smells clean, slows the roaches down significantly if not killing them and disinfects all in one!

Lastly, not sure if this will apply to you, but there were cracks and gaps in my apartment building hallway where the infestation had set up their base operation. I put gel inside and then sealed those with silicon. Roach problem solved in 3-4 days.

As for the dueno/rental agent; approach with a relaxed, but "WE need to get this solved" attitude. Offer your help, list off what you are doing/have done and ask what they can contribute to resolve the issue. Persistence works, like giving them one call every day asking them what "we" can do and repeating above.

Dripping AC, try lowering the temp and increasing the fan speed. Also, letting it rest for a few hours might do the trick.

What kind of contract did you sign? With a rental agency, Air BnB, directly with the owner?

 

[TomAtAlki]

Dripping AC may be a plugged drain hose....very common. Just find the hose and tap on it or take it off from the AC unit and blow through it.

Things always seem worse at the beginning. You'll settle in. It's really pretty wonderful here.

T/