Should I tell guests about mice or bugs at my rural rental?

Old stone cottages, farmhouses and homes by fields and woods get visitors: the odd mouse in autumn, spiders, a beetle on the windowsill. A guest who read a calm line about it in the listing tends to shrug. A guest who was not told feels misled, and that is the review you are worried about.

Being honest does not mean apologising for the countryside. It means setting the scene, then showing you look after the place.

How to word it

Put it where people read about the house, not buried in the small print. Keep it short, friendly and specific. Say what can happen and what you do about it. For example:

“This is an old stone cottage surrounded by farmland. Like most country houses, it can get the odd mouse in autumn and the occasional spider or beetle. We seal gaps, check the house between every stay and keep all food in sealed tins. If you spot anything, message us and we will deal with it the same day.”

Only promise what you actually do. If you cannot get there the same day, say “as soon as we can” instead. And skip words like “pest free”. Nobody can promise that for a house in a field.

Mention it again in the arrival guide, next to the practical bits: keep food in the tins provided, take rubbish out to the bin with a lid, close the back door at dusk.

Keep visitors few between stays

1. Take the food away. Everything dry goes in hard, sealed containers. No open packets left by guests, no crumbs in the toaster, no bird seed in the porch.
2. Close the way in. Mice get through surprisingly small gaps. Steel wool and sealant around pipes, a door sweep on outside doors, mesh over vents. See sealing gaps.
3. Look for signs at each turnover. Droppings in the cupboard under the sink, gnawed packets, shredded paper. Our page on droppings helps you tell mouse from insect.
4. Check properly after an empty spell. A house that sits quiet for weeks is easy to move into. Go in a few days before the next guest, not the morning of, so you have time to act if ants or mice have arrived.

Our page for second homes has more on houses that sit empty, and going away for months has a full checklist for long gaps.

If you do have mice

Deal with them humanely and from the outside in. Close the gaps they use, remove the food, and if some are already inside, use live catch traps along the walls, checked every day, and release the mice as local law allows. The mice and rats guide has the steps.

Skip the poison and the glue boards. Poisoned mice can die inside walls, where guests will smell them, and both cause suffering and put pets and wildlife at risk. Ultrasonic plug-ins are not a fix either: they do not keep mice out. If they keep coming back, mice keep coming back goes through the usual reasons. For rats, call a professional who works humanely.

Guests with kids and pets: place traps where children and dogs cannot reach them, tell guests where they are, and leave out anything unsuitable for a house that welcomes pets.

If a guest sees something

Thank them, apologise without grovelling, and act. Ask where they saw it, go and look or send someone, and tell them what you did. Because you mentioned it in the listing, the conversation starts from “yes, that can happen here”, not from a defence.

If they ask to leave early or want money back, follow your platform’s rules. How to respond to a guest complaint covers replies, refunds and reviews.

What you must disclose in a listing can depend on your country and your platform. Check the platform’s host policy, and if you are unsure, ask your local council, tourism authority or a host association.