Bed Bugs In Apartments

Apartment dwellers beware, bed bugs could be right next door!

Once bed bugs infest an apartment complex it is very difficult to completely eradicate them. If the bed bugs have started nesting in the walls, then they will run away from the unit being treated and into the adjacent unit. They enter through outlet covers, under baseboards, and along plumbing.

Bed bugs make themselves at home on your couch or bed. They want to be close to you when your resting so they can feed on your blood. If bed bug treatment is not performed quickly and correctly, the infestation will grow and spread. The bed bugs will start nesting in all of the furniture, behind picture frames, under the carpet and tack strip, and in the walls.

Nearly every apartment complex, condo complex, and hotel will experience a bed bug infestation every year. This, in part, is due to the overturn of occupants. New occupants can bring the bugs with them, but this is not the only way bed bugs are entering the complex.

With so many families living in one building there is much more opportunity for the bugs to enter as the tenants bring them in from many different places. The tenants can bring them in while traveling, visiting relatives, or from schools, movie theaters, bringing in used furniture, even from having new furniture delivered.

Some apartment managers and owners will hire a company to eliminate the bed bugs, however many will not. Some apartment owners will try to take care of the problem “in house” which is never a good idea for safety’s sake. Some owners will pay for the treatment and have the tenant pay them monthly. Some will say that the tenant is “on there own” to take care of the bed bug problem. They may say “you signed a lease that states if you find bed bugs in the unit you must pay for the treatment.” It all comes down to the lease.

Bed Bug Treatment
If a regular pest control company is hired to battle the bed bugs, they may or may not be successful. These bugs can not be killed with the same chemicals used against crickets and cockroaches. A bed bug specialist should be hired to ensure a quality bed bug treatment.

Heat Treatments are the quickest and most effective treatment for bed bugs. Chemical treatments may work, however bed bugs gain resistance to chemicals, making them even more difficult to kill.