Windsor Hills Townhome Ant Problem??

[Karen4120]

Hi Everyone,
Just returned from a 10 day stay at Windsor Hills in a Townhome. The resort itself was awesome and very close and convenient to Disney. The only problem (and it turned out to be major) was sugar ants everywhere. I mean.....hundreds. We had one problem after another. First my son noticed them under the pullout sofa. WE called the mgt company and they were suppose to handle it. We went off to the parks thinking they were taking care of it only to return at 11 p.m. with a mess. Raid took care of it and after much cleanup on our part we were back to normal. Then 2 days later my younger son woke up with at least 20 of these ants in bed with him. We were pretty sure he had snuck some food upstairs and thought it was our fault. Then 2 days later we had an unreal infestation in the closet and our 15 yr old son's entire wardrobe had to be washed. Not a drop of food to be blamed. WE had hundreds of ants. WE called the mgt company and this time they did send someone out to spray but they left the mess for us to clean up. It was gross! Gross! I just emailed the owners of the unit to let them know how we were treated. It was pretty bad. I know insects are everywhere but this just seemed to be very abnormal. I sent the owners pictures of my son's clothes that were in the dresser just ant infested. We washed all the clothes and dead ants were everywhere. I spoke to someone staying a few townhouses down and they had ant problems too...not as bad as us but still a problem. Anyone else come across this problem?

We would still stay at Windsor Hill's again but next time maybe a 4 bedroom home with a RELIABLE managment company that I do more homework on.
Karen.

 

[beachgrl001]

Oh no that is horrible! I sent you a pm

 

[willise]

We are staying in a townhome in Oct. May I ask what townhome you were in or who the owners were so I can probably avert this problem?

Thanks

 

[isla bonita]

Bugs are a problem in Florida but as soon as you see one the man/co should have gotten the pest control in and had it taken care of.

We have owned for over 2 years and have a contract for inside and in our assoc. dues outside. Have we seen ants only once but as soon as we did we call and it is taken care of. I would def. inform the owners because I am sure they are covered if not tell them to get right on it. Sounds yucky to me.

 

[Bouncy Bumble]

Now, I'm worried. I'm staying at Windsor Hills next week. In our welcome letter, the owner said to ensure we don't leave any food out due to "visitors", but I figured that was just big things, like breads and fruit. But, if little crumbs can cause this type of ant problem, that's going to be no fun. I have two little ones and don't want to chase them with a vaccuum!

 

[beachgrl001]

Now, I'm worried. I'm staying at Windsor Hills next week. In our welcome letter, the owner said to ensure we don't leave any food out due to "visitors", but I figured that was just big things, like breads and fruit. But, if little crumbs can cause this type of ant problem, that's going to be no fun. I have two little ones and don't want to chase them with a vaccuum!

Me too!
I sent the OP a pm asking about which rental co. it was. and I'd also like to know the addresse of the TH. I am so looking forward to our stay there. Now I am soooo worried and thinking I should contact the owner and see what he says. BUt I wanted to wait for more info before I do so. In any case I will be taking his e-mail/phone# with us if the management co. dosent react promptly to any problems I will be calling him in the uk! I am also worried that because we are arriving on a sunday will things be more lax if there is a problem??? Bouncy, please pm me(or post on here) when you get back and let me know what you thought of the place. I would really appreciate it.
thanks

 

[Karen4120]

Hi,

Our problem was with Academy Management. I totally blame them. I called them and assumed they would follow thru. I was on vacation and did not feel I should have to make 2 to 3 phone calls a day. When we had our first problem and they didn't show up, we had no choice but to run out to a supermarket at 11 p.m. and buy Raid and cleaning supplies. We assumed then that the cleaning staff just missed something under the sofa and it was the reason why we had the ants there. Had I known the ants were coming back in droves....I'd have woke them up with an emergency call for sure.

The townhome we rented was seethemousetownhouse on Manseshaw Lane. I did notify the owners and asked for 10 percent of our rental back due to all the inconveninces we had. They were going to talk with the management company and get back to me. They told me they pay lots for pest control etc. They did not seem overly MOVED by my pictures and that surprised me somewhat. The house itself was perfect, just this ant problem was really bad. They also did not seem upset that their management company treated us this way. That was somewhat unsettling for me. I expected them to be so upset at the whole thing and shocked.

I would call your managment company and inform them that you heard that there was a general ant problem in some of the townhomes. Ask when your rental was last treated. Let them know you expect to see NO ants. Good luck and hopefully you can avoid this problem.
Karen

 

[Brian Noble]

I would view this as a realitvely isolated occurance---if anything, consider avoiding this management company. *Any* home in florida could suffer through a problem like this---the only question is whether or not the management company reacts quickly to the problem.

And, if it helps you feel more comfortable with staying in the development, we stayed in a townhouse there in February, and had zero bug problems.

 

[Bouncy Bumble]

I don't even know who the management company is - I've dealt directly with the homeowner the whole time. I don't think he's given me that info, just said it would be available when we get down there.

Glad to hear it's somewhat of an isolated incident, but would love to hear from the OP if they ever got their 10% refund. It's the least the HO could do.

 

[UKDEB]

I would call your managment company and inform them that you heard that there was a general ant problem in some of the townhomes

Whilst I sympathise with your predicament, I don't think it would be truthful to claim there is a general ant problem based on the feedback of one renter. We have been renting vacation homes for over 10 years and, whilst advice is always given about keeping kitchen surfaces clean and crumb-free, we have never seen a single ant.

 

[Beachbum3]

Sorry to hear of the ant problem Karen and I hope that this is an isolated case. I own a condo in Windsor Hills and have not heard of this problem before. Our condo association dues pay for pest control inside and outside. I am not really sure how the townhomes handle this.

The management company should have responded to your problem quicker.
I am sure the owner will work with you regarding your refund request since I think this is reasonable.

I really don't think anyone staying in the townhomes needs to worry just ensure from the owner that their home receives proper pest treatment. If you want to know who the managment company is just ask the owner and they should supply you with a name and number.

 

[Karen4120]

Our unit was not the only one with an ant problem. The unit 3 down from ours was having similiar problems. I met someone at the pool and we were discussing this. The difference----their managment company came right out and sprayed again. They had ants in the family room.

The problem I believe stems from the way they pickup garbage and how it is stored in the meantime. When we arrived at our unit, the garbage was still outside from the previous tenant. We checked in on a Saturday night. There is no garbage pickup on Sunday and on Monday that garbage was still there with a trail of ants leading up to it.

I still have not heard back from the owner and I'm giving him until Weds and then I'll make a pain out of myself. I think he is hoping I'll go away. I won't! Everywhere in our townhome there were posted signs about how much they were going to charge the renter for clogged toilets etc etc. I think they need to be charged for their lack of performance and for our cleaning and supermarket runs to buy bug killer at 11 p.m. after a LONG day at the park. The worst was coming home to a hamper full of dead ants! GROSS! GROSS!

Karen

 

[Karen4120]

and I also heard that the ant problem comes with rainy season which is now. We were there from 6/24 thru 7/4 and it rained every single day. Some days in buckets.

You should ask your owner if you can have the managment companies name etc. ahead of time. I'm sure they won't mind sharing that info with you. Also, I'm hoping that reading about the ant situation ahead of time will help you (or another renter) react quicker than we did and avoid a bigger problem. We assumed it was just an isolated incident due to some dirt the cleaning staff missed. Boy....we were wrong.

 

[kilee]

I'm sorry you had such a problem. Ants are a problem in the area and I know many homes will have some little tidbit of info about making sure to leave no food out. It does seem like you were put out some and I do hope the owners make it right with you.

 

[ducklite]

Here's what I don't understand, I live about ten miles from WH. I have ferrets who live in their pen that sets on the floor, so the food bowl is there as well. I vacuum the area daily with the Dustbuster, but still the food is right there in the bowl on the mat on the floor, and I have NEVER had an ant problem because of it. (Or any other bug for that matter.)

IMHO if any bug problem is that bad with no visible evidence of food, then the exterminator is not coming often enough or being effective, or there is some other issue that needs to be rectified.

Anne

 

[Karen4120]

I agree with you 100 percent. First we thought it was food that was attracting them but....when my son's freshly washed clean clothes were just overtaken by them....we knew something serious was going on. There was not a crumb to be found in the closet. We had 3 incidents of ants, in 3 different locations....under the sofa 1st floor, in my son's twin bed 2nd floor (20 sleeping with him) and then in the closet (1st floor) which was by far the worst. The first two we thought were food activated but realized there must be nests somewhere.

Karen

 

[Karen4120]

I agree with you 100 percent. First we thought it was food that was attracting them but....when my son's freshly washed clean clothes were just overtaken by them....we knew something serious was going on. There was not a crumb to be found in the closet. We had 3 incidents of ants, in 3 different locations....under the sofa 1st floor, in my son's twin bed 2nd floor (20 sleeping with him) and then in the closet (1st floor) which was by far the worst. The first two we thought were food activated but realized there must be nests somewhere.

Karen

 

[alisonlee3]

We just got back from Windsor Hills.We rented a condo and didn't any ants.Our condo was very clean.I did make sure not to leave out any opened food.

alison

 

[alisonlee3]

I also wanted to comment on the way the garbage is picked up. We got to the condo on Sunday and the previous renters garbage was still in the plastic container outside the front door.There was no p/u on Mon or Tues I am guessing because of the 4th of July.So, it was not picked p until Wed.It really should be picked up everyday.

alison

 

[Bouncy Bumble]

I heard back from my owner (he's always so responsive, I just love him!), and he said they exterminate between tenants every week. He said he's never had a problem with ants. Also, he had already given me the name of the management company, which luckily is not the same as Karen's. Three more days!! (my first smilie!)