What are bedbugs?
Hatchling bedbugs are about the size of a poppy seed. Once grown, the common bedbug is a reddish-brown insect that doesn’t grow much longer than 0.2 inches (0.5 centimeters). From above they are oval in shape, but are flattened from top to bottom (see photo). Bedbugs feed off of the blood of humans and animals.

Do bedbugs cause harm or spread pathogens (disease-causing germs)?
Despite what you may have heard or read elsewhere, bedbugs are not known to transmit any infectious agents. Treatment of bedbug bites usually involves self care, but in more severe cases you may need to see your doctor. The affected person should resist the urge to scratch the bites, as this may intensify the irritation and itching, and may lead to secondary infection.

Where do bedbugs occur?
Bedbugs occur nearly worldwide. They became relatively scarce during the latter part of the 20th century, but in recent years their populations have resurged, particularly throughout parts of North America, Europe, and Australia. They are most abundant in rooms where people sleep, and generally hide nearest the bed or other furniture used for sleeping. Bedbugs are most active in the middle of the night, but when hungry, will venture out during the day to seek a host. Their flattened bodies allow them to conceal themselves in cracks and crevices around the room and within furniture. Favored hiding sites include bed frames, mattresses and box springs. Clutter offers additional sites for bedbugs to hide, and increases the difficulty in eliminating them.

How do bedbugs invade a home?
Because bedbugs readily hide in small crevices, they may accompany (as stowaways) luggage, furniture, clothing, pillows, boxes, and other such objects when these are moved between apartments, homes and hotels. Used furniture, particularly bed frames and mattresses, often harbors bedbugs and their eggs. Thus, one should carefully scrutinize and consider the history of any used furniture, particularly ‘street’ items so plentiful at the beginning and end of each academic year. Because they can survive for many months without feeding, bedbugs may already be present in apparently ‘vacant’ and ‘clean’ apartments. Bedbugs can wander between adjoining apartments through voids in walls and holes though which wires and pipes pass. Bedbugs may also travel on their hosts, animal or human.

How can you tell if your residence is infested?If you think you are being bitten (usually identified by rows of welts that appear during the night) it’s best to do a sweep of your home for these pests. Furniture, luggage, bedding and clothes hampers are probably the first places you’ll want to look for bedbugs. The bedroom and other sleeping areas should be carefully examined for bedbugs and signs of bedbug activity. Folds and creases in the bed linens, and seams and tufts of mattresses and box springs, in particular, may harbor bedbugs or their eggs. They may also be found within pleats of curtains, beneath loose areas of wallpaper near the bed, in corners of desks and dressers, within spaces of wicker furniture, behind cove molding, and in laundry or other items on the floor or around the room. Sometimes, characteristic dark brown or reddish fecal spots of bedbugs are apparent on the bed linens, mattress or walls near the bed.

What should you do if you find bedbugs?If you do find them, an exterminator should be called in to address the problem immediately. Please notify the management office and your porter of the problem. We can put you in contact with an exterminator if necessary and provide you with assistance.

What can you do to manage bedbugs?
Managing bedbugs requires a multi-faceted approach that generally includes cleaning, room modifications, and insecticidal treatments to the residence.
• Mattresses and box springs should be encased within special mattress bags. Any bugs trapped within these sealed bags will eventually die.
• To prevent bedbugs from crawling onto a bed, pull the bed frame away from the wall, tuck sheets and blankets so they won’t contact the floor, and place the frame legs into dishes or cups of mineral oil.
• Caulk and seal all holes where pipes and wires penetrate walls and floor, and fill cracks around baseboards and cove moldings to further reduce harborages.

What shouldn’t you do?• Don’t panic. Although bedbugs can be annoying, they can be battled safely and successfully if you adopt a well-considered strategy.
• Do not apply pesticides unless you fully understand what you are applying and the risks involved. A professional exterminator should be consulted.
• Do not dispose of infested furniture (particularly mattresses) into common areas or on the street, doing so may simply help spread bedbugs to the homes of other people. Infested furniture intended for disposal should be defaced to make it less attractive to other people.
• Do not discard any furniture or bedding without first completely wrapping it in plastic and tying securely.
• Do not drag infested furniture through public areas.

Don’t be embarrassed if you discover that bedbugs have infested your home. The problem is not a hygienic issue, may well be brought on through no fault of your own and can affect any household in the best of locales. If you have a bedbug problem, taking care of it promptly and properly is the best way to eliminate it and to stop it from spreading to your neighbors and possibly back to you

We regret the inconvenience and appreciate your understanding.