Francien and daughters live among the mice: Intermaris waves away health risks

Francien Koster has lived for almost seven years with her two daughters Demie (23), Ronie (11) and her five dogs at the Kluut in Hoorn. The family is not well off, but they enjoy living in the Kersenboogerd and rent the house from housing association Intermaris. The family never experienced any problems with mice, until the misery started six months ago.

“We catch on average about ten a day,” says a frustrated Francien at her dining table. “We bought these adhesive mats. They work well, but it is very sad to see the mice come to an end like this.”

The woman guesses that there are hundreds of mice hidden in the house. In addition, she is ‘terrified’ that there is a short circuit or fire. According to Francien, the inspector of the pest control company had not seen such a violent mouse outbreak in a home in ages.

Uninhabitable

In the first report – on 8 June – it appears that the inspector indicates that the ‘current living situation is very harmful to live in‘, and tells the family that the mice have free rein because of overdue maintenance on the house.

But when Francien calls Intermaris to get a story, that last crucial sentence suddenly appears to be no longer in the report. Francien is told that it is partly because of her dogs and partly because of the garbage on the street.

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During the phone call, an Intermaris employee also says that the pest controller’should never have said there is a danger† And that even though it is stated in the report.

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“They lie and cheat to save money,” Francien says angrily. Because if a report shows that the mouse infestation is caused by pets, housing association Intermaris is not liable for the problem. “This is very corrupt and I just have clear proof of that. They keep each other’s hands over their heads.”

Second inspection

Francien can hardly believe the words of Intermaris and is furious. So she hires a lawyer. A week later, a second inspection is carried out by a pest controller. This shows that the cause of the mouse infestation is indeed due to overdue maintenance, which means that the mice ‘to be given free rein to house oneself’† In the second report – dated 17 June – no letter is written about any health or safety risks.

Stomach wax and headache

The family is at their wits’ end and is therefore contacting NH News/WEEFF† “The mice make nests behind our couches, our pantry and in the kitchen. The pungent smell of poo and pee coming from the mice is almost unbearable.” The family regularly cleans the house thoroughly, but they are no match for this large mouse infestation.

Francien also had to throw away a lot of her stuff, because it was smeared with belly rub and was eaten by the mice. According to Francien, the family has already incurred thousands of euros in damage as a result. “And who is going to pay for that?”, the mother wonders.

GGD: real health risks

According to Jacobje Visser, who is an expert in pest control at the GGD, there are considerable health and safety risks associated with a severe mouse infestation.

“Mice gnaw and I am very concerned about that. I find it very unusual that Intermaris indicates that there are no safety risks for the family,” says Visser. “Because they do exist: the risk of fire is very high. Mice also gnaw through electricity cables and then of course there is a short circuit.”

The GGD expert hopes that not only Intermaris will put his shoulders to the wheel, but also points to the municipality of Hoorn. “The pest controller cannot solve this mouse infestation alone,” continues Visser. “The mouse population, and maybe even rats, have become too large. I can’t imagine that only Francien is bothered by this plague. I think the entire housing block needs to be shoveled. Otherwise you will not solve this problem.”

The expert proposes that the municipality of Hoorn and housing association Intermaris ‘take it to a higher level’. “They have to look together at the origin of the problem and where they nest. Then you have to make sure that the mice no longer walk into the houses. And only then do you start exterminating, otherwise it makes no sense.”

Intermaris

Intermaris maintains that the safety and health risks are not serious enough to relocate the family. “The resident can continue to live in the house,” said spokesman Edy Klaassen.

And that while the report of June 8 stated that the situation was harmful to live in† The housing association does, however, let it be known that the structural defects will be resolved as soon as possible. Intermaris says it has no explanation for the different versions of the pest controller’s reports.

Francien had previously recorded the telephone conversation with the pest controller. Because it turned out that the inspector admitted that the mouse infestation was not caused by her dogs, but because of deferred maintenance. When Francien presented this to the housing corporation, another inspection was carried out.

“The inspector of the pest control company visited the house twice because adjustments were made to the report,” says Klaassen. “The latest report (June 17) does state that ‘due to the constructional condition the mice easily get the chance to nest’ And that’s why we’re going to solve those problems.”

“It is important that Francien also performs her part well,” Klaassen continues. “And that means that she has to close the dog food and other food properly. We have decided out of leniency to send a pest controller, because we normally don’t do that.”