Should Home Owners Declare They Have Cell Phone Towers Next To Their Home For Health Reasons

Sitter Questions, Advice & Chat
1

I am currently doing a sit to find when I arrived here it is 70 metres from a mobile phone/cell phone tower.

I have had bad experiences in the past being close to these. A homeowner last year lied to me on a zoom video (I have the recording) that there were not any near her home. Turned out one was 40 metres away and 200 metres away.

I heard her talking to local people who actually had their home next to a certain phone tower, and she told them she knew exactly where they were. Strange she didn’t know one was right behind her house and 200 metres up the road where she walked the dog every day, but she knew where someone lived near one not far away!!!

I am not sure how I am going to get through 2 weeks so close to a phone tower. It will be very difficult as I am allergic to mobile/cell phones and don’t even own one. I will have to keep going out to get away from it, and not be here to keep the dogs company.

A sit I did last November, I had close to an anaphylactic reaction to two towers that were 600 metres away, and the greyhounds I was looking after were hyperventilating. One of them you could see his heart pounding out of his chest. The last week there they were very irritated, agitated, kept wanting to go outside to pee, and very very restless, as they must have turn the frequencies up and there were ambulance sirens going all week. I was so unwell by the end, I had to go and stay somewhere for a week to recover.

I feel that home owners should disclose to sitters if there is one so close by for health reasons. I am afraid to ask them the question now after what happened last year, as many people do not know what they are or what they look like.

I was very shocked to arrive here a few days ago to see one so close to the house. The older dog is hyperventilating, on neuro meds, got major health issues, often panting, and pacing like he wants to get away. Even the younger dog doesn’t have energy to walk far when I take them walking.

So far all my feet and hands are swollen, I have no energy, my head is pounding, and I am very fatigued and lethargic. Hope I make it.

2

I’m sorry about your health issues, I frankly have never heard of an allergy to cell phone TOWERS but I am am not a doctor.

I would say that sometimes if there are rare conditions/situations HO probably won’t think to disclose them. Frankly cell towers are everywhere now and if this is a serious condition you should seek out sits in rural areas. Anything in an urban area just assume you will be near a tower.

Housesitter ng is not a ‘right’ where HO have to make sure their space is ADA compliant, etc. it’s more of an as-is where-is situation.

So, honestly house-sitting may not be the best mode of travel for you.

3

Since that’s the case, presumably you asked the HO whether there were any close by, prior to confirming the sit? What was the response?

4

Your health and your bodily responses are respected without question.

That said, there are so many variables to which people may be allergic, sensitive to or otherwise have negative health repercussions in any given home that to have requirements or check lists of every single aspect of possible “contagion” would be endless and quite tedious on the part of the homeowner.

These checklists and requirements are expanding virtually day-by-day courtesy of THS “improvements” and are doing nothing to better the experience for the majority of sitters and HO’s.

My suggestion is that you ask each potential HO about the proximity of towers and any other potential health concerns when you speak for the first time. This way neither of you is wasting your time and you get confirmation as to whether or not the sit is safe and appropriate for your body & needs.

Since you’ve had experience with untruthful HO’s, not trusting potential HO’s is understandable. Sadly, declaration will provide no additional reassurance.

5

And also request an address to perform due diligence, as cell towers (at least in the US) are public information.

So better due diligence on OP’s part as this is not a common allergy/condition.

6

I read that you have been on the platform for over 8 years so I find this a rather extraordinary question. You appear to be a very smart lady. Could this have anything to do with the book you have written which was attached to your profile here about chronic fatigue and is more likely or possibly the cause, or contributes to, your health issues. I would have thought the very first question you would have asked the HO would have been about towers, or ask for the location of the home so you could do your own due diligence after so many positive sits you have done? There are many online sites in Oz (I see you are from Kyogle), but now New Zealand? NZ would have similar sites I imagine, that show you exactly where the towers are.

10

There are many issues that might be a problem for you but not for most other people. For instance, some people will react to peanuts and really shouldn’t be in a home where there were recently peanuts laying around. Homeowners on THS don’t have to warn about this, but if a sitter had a deathly allergy to peanuts, it would be on them to bring it up in a chat before the sit was confirmed. I’d suggest in the future you ask all homeowners about cell phone towers and other issues that are important to you.

11

Peanuts laying around …

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12

Thanks @MaggieUU that’s now my new screensaver :rofl:

15

I had to check that it wasn’t April 1st today. There are certainly some entertaining thread this morning!

16

Actually, it’s PI Day !!

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17

Not everywhere….:laughing:

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19

All,

This is just a reminder to stay on topic. Feel free to start a new topic for humor.

Thanks.

20

@karenfay The best thing to do if you have things that can badly effect your health on a sit is to mention such to the HO before the sit. Due to my asthma I can’t be in a home with air fragrances. Also with my eczema I can’t sleep in bedding washed in bio washing powder. I bring both up with HO’s before a sit is confirmed. I found HO’s very understanding tbh.
If you mention the towers and a HO lies then it’s different.

21

As there are only 12 months in a year, there’s no possible confusion. I live in a place where dates are day/month/year but we still “celebrate” PI day today.

22

To be honest, I have no idea where cell phone towers are. If I were asked about this, I would have to do a search but I wouldn’t want to be responsible for that.

I think the best option is for @karenfay to ask for an address very close to the sit, in case HO doesn’t want to disclose the address before confirming, and then carry out the search by themselves and decide if the distance is safe for them.

Every now and then, there’s a topic beginning with “Should HOs declare/disclose…?” Generally, most members (including myself) agree that it’s in the affected party’s best interest to check all deal breakers before committing. It’s not possible to think of every single aspect that might be relevant to all possible applicants.

23

wrong. Americans often write, 5/7/26 and we dont know if they mean 5th July, or their strange 7th May. 9/11 is another classic example, in most of the world that would read as 9th November, but we know it was 11th September.

24

What I meant is you wouldn’t read 3/14 as the 3rd day of the 14th month.
Today, 14th March or 3/14 is globally considered Pi day. It was established in 1988.

25

yes but the first 12 days of each month, doing things the USA way, DO cause confusion, in the rest of the world, as we dont have this problem, anytime.