Bedbug infestations buildings:

Even if you never see a bedbug, their bites are given in a characteristic pattern: bites in rather straight lines in groups of three, or in closely-spaced clusters of 3-4 nips.

Bedbugs, Bites, Recognition & the Law

Bedbugs (Order Hemiptera) Previously a common pest in slum and other poorly maintained properties; it is now found also in the cleanest of homes and hotels through insects being brought in with infested furniture, baggage or clothing. ... adult feeds many times. If no host is available, adults may live for up to a year without food.

During the day the flat–bodied bedbugs hide in narrow crevices; they emerge at night to feed on humans.  - also illustration of bedbug, Cimex lecutlarius, excerpted from CIEH (2010).

How to Recognize a Bedbug Infestation

So much has been written about the difficulty of eradicating bedbug pests and so many photos of those small insects are widely published that here we focus instead on how to recognize that you've been bitten by bedbugs even if you never actually saw one.

• Bedbug bites: The bedbug bites shown at the top of this page illustrate an easy-to-recognize bite pattern that distinguishes these pests from fleas and mosquitos (who do not bite in such regular patterns). These bites, appearing on four travelers who stayed at Las Guacamayas resort in Selva Lacandona, Chiapas, Mexico in 2019, were a terrible plague.

Efforts by the owners of this otherwise charming jungle resort and parrot preserve have covered mattresses with plastic and change sheets on the guests' beds daily. Those measures were not effective. Chiapas is a hot humid climate - conditions that bedbugs consider just wonderful.

Dermatologists, on seeing insect bites in clusters and rows such as we show in the photo at the top of this page, refer to the bites as "Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner" - intending to explain that feeding adult bedbugs will bite several times in the same area, traveling in a rather straight line from bite to bite, in groups of three.

Really? Individual allergic sensitivity to bedbug bites varies widely from essentially no reaction to bites that itch for weeks and remain as marks on the skin for a month or longer (author speaking from personal experience - df).

• Bedbug offal: may show up as small red blood spots on bed-linens, often marked by the humans whose bites oozed a bit right after being bitten, or as cirular excreta marks on the bedsheets. Other bedbug offal includes the cast-off skins of bedbug nymphs (pretty small - you may not recognize them).
• Bedbugs themselves, looking quite like the CIEH illustration above but much smaller and often more grey-brown in colour, might be seen scurrying away if you turn on the lights in the middle of the night but it's easy to miss these insects as they do not reamin on their hosts continuously and may only be biting for a few minutes at a time.
  
  However you might spot bedbugs in the seams of bed linens (or your clothing, or your luggage) - use the corner of a credit card to scrape along a sewn seam in clothing or linens or luggage and you may pop out some of these pests.
• Bedbug habitats include more than clothing and bed linens and the luggage of travelers. You may also find them in cracks and crevices of the building, behind wallpaper, behind floor trim, in cracks in plaster, openings around electrical receptacles, light switches, and even behind pictures hung on the wall.

Watch out: Multiple visits by a pest control expert who may use a combination of heat and pesticides are generally required. Amateur do-it-yourself bedbug eradication is not likely to be effective. The treatment site, apartment, or building must be prepared for treatment as the pest control expert will advise - otherwise effective treatment is not possible.

How do Bedbugs Get Into a Home or Apartment

1. Bedbugs may be brought into the building on used furniture, clothing, luggage. An activity as simple as sitting on bedbug-infested seats in a movie theatre can bring bedbugs home.
   
   If you suspect that you might be bringing bedbugs home from having visited a bedbug-infested jungle resort or a city movie theatre, take care. Travelrs who find that they've been bitten by bedbugs during their trip might, on arrival home, leave their luggage outside, still packed. Inside put clothes immediately into a hot-water treatment in a washing machine followed by high-heat dryer treatment, and of course proceed to show and inspect yourselves for hitchhiking bedbugs.
   
   Generally the combination of washing and drying clothes in a hot dryer - set to its highest temperature. A half-hour or longer in a dryer at high heat can kill most bedbugs in items that can be laundered. It's that high heat that finishes them off so don't just wash bed-buggy clothes and hang them out to dry. Seal cleaned, previously bedbug-suspect clothing in clean plastic bags until you're sure the bedbug infestation has been cured.
   
   Luggage can be unpacked outside and clothes bagged for cleaning or disposal. The luggage itself should be either disposed-of or meticulously cleaned (vacuuming including seams), disinfected (fogged or steamed), and quarantined for a month or longer. Even without food adult bedbugs can survive for a year and bedbug nymphs can survive for three months. If your luggage remains at below-zero temperatures for four days or longer you may have killed them off.
   
   But some other items such as mattresses and upholstered couches can be difficult to make bedbug free. Using bedbug-resistant covers can help.
2. Bedbugs may already be in the building but may not have been detected, or may have had surge in the growth of their bedbug population as building conditions change.
   
   Poor housekeeping, particularly homes or apartments of people who suffer a hoarding disorder, increase the risk of having a bedbug problem.

Watch out: don't panic over bedbugs. We know people who, in a panic, have thrown out all of their belongings - and then sued their landlord for their replacement. In fact most belongings can be successfully treated to remove a bedbug infestation.

Watch out: if your home has a bedbug infestation, it's not likely that amateur do-it-yourself treatments are going to be effective. You will need help from a licensed pest control expert. Home approaches such as renting a carpet steamer are not likely to be an effective bedbug remedy. The temperature of steam leaving the equipment falls off very quickly as steam is aimed at thick carpets or upholstered couches and chairs. It does not reach deep into such materials and so will not kill bedbugs nor mold infestations if they are present.

Question: the California health department inspected my apartment for bedbugs - now what?

What does it mean when the Health Department in CA inspects an SRO and a tenant receives a code violation notice for "dead bed bugs on wall?"

There will be follow-up pest control, but if the pest control company cannot eliminate the bed bug
infestation of a room, what will happen to the tenant afterwards?

(The notice states "The Health Department will take follow-up actions if these issues are not addressed". )

- Anonymous by private email 2019/05/07

Reply:

First for some perspective, if a building and its contents are bedbug infested it will be very difficult to eliminate the problem if only one room is treated. Bedbugs are devils to get rid-of.

In the U.S., in California, as of 1 January 2017 (for existing tenants) and as of 1 July 2017 for new tenants) a new CA law requires

1. Landlords must provide tenants with information about how bedbug pests shall be reported to the landlord

2. Landlords must notify tenants within two days if a pest inspector finds bedbugs in the rental unit

The landlord is NOT required to inspect rental units for bedbugs (presumably in the absence of a bedbug complaint)

3. The tenant must cooperate with a landlord in both the detection of and treatment for a bedbug infestation

4. The landlord may not rent, nor even show to a prospective tenant, a rental unit that has an active bedbug infestation

5. The landlord may not retaliate against tenants who report a bedbug problem

Does a landlord have to treat a bedbug infestation?

While you'd need to consult an attorney for an accurate legal interpretation, my understanding is that a landlord in most jurisdictions in most countries is required to provide safe, habitable housing - that would include free from vermin.

Does a Co-Op Board have to treat or pay for bedbug treatments?

Unlike rental properties, a co-op board may not be legally required to pay for the treatment of a bedbug infestation in an individual co-op apartment.

Other examples of common sources of IAQ and allergens and insect pests indoors such as animal allergens, urine reoval, and odors are discussed at links given at the end of this page.

Watch out: regardless of whether or not a building owner or manager or co-op board is obligated to pay for treating individual apartments or co-op apartments, if a bedbug infestation is not treated promptly, properly, and thoroughly, the infestation can spread quickly throughout a building, ultimately affecting everyone and ultimately increasing the cost of extermination.

Bedbug Laws & Bedbug Control Procedures

• CALIFORNIA BEDBUG LAW [PDF] Contra Costa County Bed Bug Task Force 2 www.cchealth.org/ipm Tanya Drlik, Integrated Pest Management Coordinator, Contra Costa County TanyaDrlik@hsd.cccounty.us retrieved 2019/05/07, original source: https://cchealth.org/bedbugs/pdf/Bed-Bugs-Law-California.pdf
• CA Assembly Bill No. 551 at https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=201520160AB551

• CIEH, PEST CONTROL PROCEDURES IN THE HOUSING SECTOR, [PDF] (2010) Chartered Institute of Environmental Health, CIEH, National Pest Advisory Panel (NPAP), Website: www.cieh.org retrieved 2017/11/15, original source: http://www.cieh.org/uploadedFiles/ Core/Policy/Environmental_protection/ Pest_management/NPAP/ pest_control_procedures_in_the_ housing_sector.pdf
  
  Excerpts:
  
  The presence of pests in dwellings has a considerable impact on the lives of inhabitants, particularly the more vulnerable members of the community – specifically the old, the very young, the disabled and those with health problems.
  
  These guidelines have been drawn up by the CIEH National Pest Advisory Panel (NPAP) after consultation with local authorities, the British Property Federation, the Accreditation Network UK (ANUK), Housing Associations, the Chartered Institute of Housing, the pest management industry and enforcement agencies. Advice has also been sought from government agencies involved in research and enforcement, as well as other bodies which lay down auditing standards.
  
  The impact of bedbugs is normally classed as an irritant, although large numbers of bites can be debilitating and secondary infections occur. Loss of sleep can result where the host is conscious of the presence of the bedbugs or is not anaesthetised to their bites. There is also a high risk that the infestation will spread to adjacent rooms or neighbours residences where their presence would constitute a statutory nuisance. 
• U.S. EPA, TOP TEN BEDBUG TIPS [PDF] (2012) U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, retrieved 2019/06/17 original source, https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/documents/top_ten_tips_8-28-12.pdf
• U.S. EPA, HOME PAGE on Bed Bugs: Get Them Out and keep Them Out, Home Page: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, retrieved 2019/06/17 original source, https://www.epa.gov/bedbugs
• Adrian, Benjamin, Olivia Dooley, Chen Huang, Michael Levkowitz, TACKLING BEDBUGS, a Starter Guide for Local Governments [PDF] (2016) W. Evans School of Public Policy & Governance, University of Washington, for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, retrieved 2019/06/17 original source, http://npic.orst.edu/pest/bedbug/tacklingbbstarterguide.pdf
  Excerpt:
  
  While bed bugs are not known to spread disease, they are considered to be a pest of public health significance.
  
  Bed bug bites can cause allergic reactions and secondary infections in some people. Individuals who are living with bed bug infestations may be losing sleep, feeling overwhelmed by the problem, or being shunned by friends and family members who don’t want the infestation to spread to their homes.
  
  Expenses related to bed bug management can be high when you factor in pest control company costs, time to clean and prep a home for treatment, and potential costs associated with the disposal and replacement of furnishings.
  
  Despair can lead people to drastic measures such as using home remedies containing hazardous materials that create a much larger health concern.

...

Continue reading at INSECT INFESTATION / DAMAGE - home , or select a topic from the closely-related articles below, or see the complete ARTICLE INDEX.

Or see these

Insect Pest, Mold, IAQ Articles

• ALLERGENS in BUILDINGS - home
• ANIMAL ALLERGENS / PET DANDER
• BEDBUG PESTS
• BLACK LIGHT & UV LIGHT USES
• CAT DANDER in BUILDINGS
• DOG or OTHER PET BITING / CHEWING DAMAGE vs INSECT DAMAGE
• INSECT INFESTATION / DAMAGE - home

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