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What to tell guests about pests?

Pest Control

Icaruss started this discussion 13 years 11 months ago

At the moment we are having a bit of trouble with mice in our hostel. The weather has turned cold and a few have found a warm place somewhere in our hostel. They seem to evade our traps so were are trying out poison. I`m sure we ll be able to get rid of them.

These mice don`t seem to be shy. Yesterday evening and this morning while I was having a chat with a guest I saw one running around. I apologised to the guest and he didn`t mind.

I always show the guests around. I`m just wondering if I should tell the guests about the mice while giving my little tour and apologise in advance. Or just hope that the mice don`t show themselfs and if they do apologise later.

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gordo

13 years

the last hostel i was working - taht shall for now remain nameless - had a big problem with rats. never saw the damn things, but boy you could hear them running around in the ceiling cavity.

i wouldnt recommend using poison because rodents have this annoying habit of dying in the most difficult to reach places... and as bad as mice/rats can be, decaying mice/rats are probably worse. i dont know teh best way of getting rid of them but poison can act slowly, giving them enough time to hide in the buildings crawl space and die... and then rot and smell.

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ACBBPatrick

13 years

At the moment we are having a bit of trouble with mice in our hostel. The weather has turned cold and a few have found a warm place somewhere in our hostel. They seem to evade our traps so were are trying out poison. I`m sure we ll be able to get rid of them.

These mice don`t seem to be shy. Yesterday evening and this morning while I was having a chat with a guest I saw one running around. I apologised to the guest and he didn`t mind.

I always show the guests around. I`m just wondering if I should tell the guests about the mice while giving my little tour and apologise in advance. Or just hope that the mice don`t show themselfs and if they do apologise later.

Definitely, do not tell the guest before hand. The best method is to refer to the situation upon mutual discovery in a humorous off-hand way and in fact that goes with all your embarrassing "issues/situations" that crop up in the hostel from time to time. This reduces the shock factor and usually helps gain a bit of sympathy.

By the way, love the tour idea upon checkin. It's a big part of our checkin procedure. We do it very informally and use it to impart knowledge about the area, inquire about the comings and goings of the guest and to familiarise the new guest with as many of the current guest as possible during the tour.

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Plakian

13 years

Try getting a cat; it worked for me. Feed it early in the morning so that it goes hunting at night.

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Icaruss

13 years

do not tell the guest before hand.

Worked quite well thanks to my acting talent. I chased a mouse together with a guest. Nobody seemed to be much annoyed by it and as predicted I gained some sympathy. thanks for the tip.

love the tour idea

Yeah, I like giving a tour. At the end of the tour I know the guests very well and in a friendly way all the rules have been told.

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