insects

[Vanessa1824]

I have a airbnb in the country on 33 acres. In the spring/ summer mknths insects such as flies and wasps are more apparent. I have had 2 guests complain about flies during their stay or when they arrive there has been a dead bug on the ground . Like they they woke up and they ate dead on the windowsills. Should i disclose this in my listing or how do i disclose it. To be honest i would have thought that people who book on farm would be less sensitive to this, but i guess not. what should i do? 

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Vanessa1824 we get spiders at certain times of year. As such we warn people of this in our listing.

[Vanessa1824]

how do you warn the customers? We recently had a dead stink bug upstairs in our loft and not only did the guests complain they wanted their full cleaning fee back…..

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Vanessa1824 we just write in our listing that spiders come in at certain times of year. I can't remember the exact words or find them when I look at our listing so will have to sort this out!

[Ruth413 · Accepted solution]

@Vanessa1824.  We have the same problem.  Being in the countryside with lots of trees etc.  We did have a guest leave at 1am in the morning because they woke up and saw a spider.  

Because of this, I have noted it in the listing under the heading "Things to Know".  Below is what I have written and hopefully guests read this and know what could be possible.

 "Being in the middle of the countryside and trees, the area is tranquil and full of wildlife. This does include various types of insects, which at certain times of the year try to venture inside. Although every effort is taken to prevent insects inside the property, we obviously can't guarantee you won't get a visit from the odd woodlouse or spider"

[Vanessa1824]

ah ok; thank you for that! I will type something up similar. I find it wild that guests want to stay in the country and are worried about wildlife or insects but i guess it’s what happens! 

[Quincy]

Great tip @Ruth413! I've never thought about adding a piece of text like that to my own listing before 😊

I'll remember your advice in case I start hosting again in the future! 

[Victoria2051]

Can you please give me some insight? I am currently staying in 1bd 1ba apartment. And since day 1 there has been many fruit flies flying around. I assumed it was because the door had been opened so many times to get our stuff inside, that flies came from outside. Days later…. There is now a fruit fly infestation. They are in every part of the apartment, I can’t even cook without getting harassed by the fruit flies. I politely expressed my concerns and asked the Host if they could buy a Zevo flying insect plug in and they refused. They blamed it all on me for having trash in the garbage can and fresh fruit. Ive lived here in south FL and have never experienced such infestation in my life no matter how much trash I have in my home. Now there are ants! I have already spent my money here and I won’t be able to get a full refund. Or reimbursed for buying bug products for just one Airbnb stay.. Am I over reacting? What should I do? 

[Kitty-and-Creek0]

@Vanessa1824 

We are in the wilderness with all the wildlife. We list mammals, reptiles, crustaceans  and insects under "dangerous animals" and also have a disclaimer like @Ruth413 does. We also clean for dead flies and live spiders shortly before check in time.

[Fred13]

We are proponents of telling guests that if they are thinking of something we are not (a catering resort) and not what we are (a self-catering place) best not to book with us.

We also remind them, if they add friends, make sure they understand where they are going.

Result thus far? - No more confused guests.