TENANTS, PROPERTY OWNERS AND PROPERTY MANAGERS

HOW DO I KNOW IF I’M MOVING INTO AN INFESTED UNIT OR HOME?

TENANTS: A huge and common problem for anyone that rents is moving into an apartment or single-family residence that has bed bugs. In many cases, not even the owner knows if there is a problem lurking.

Sometimes a tenant that is not affected by the bites will have them and not know it. When “bedbug infestations” build, they start to move into surrounding units affecting their neighbors. When or if they move out and a new tenant moves in, within a short time the new tenant has to deal with the problem.

Before you move-in, ask the property owner if bed bugs have been present at any time prior to you moving in. Then ask about their bed bug policies, procedures and prevention routines. If they have nothing in place, it’s safe to say that you may have a problem somewhere down the line and they need education.

Don’t feel bad about asking for an inspection for bed bugs BEFORE you sign the lease and ask to see the paperwork.

We often refer both tenants and property owners who rent out their property to read a book written by the founder of the International Bed Bug Resource Authority (IBBRA) Bed Bugs for Landlords, Tenants and Property Management: Concerns, Challenges, Education and Prevention for Landlords and Tenants

The book covers everything you need to know including, bed bug history, identification, inspection, health, legal, control methods and economic consequences for all in rental environments. She addresses all these perspectives and more with an open and honest reality to help people understand the importance of education and early detection. She even shows you how to qualify a certified bed bug extermination company.

Read more here PDF that opens outside your site so they don’t leave your site.

If you’re moving into a single-family residence and the new property doesn’t have a bed bug detection system in place, it’s not expensive and you can always pay for it yourself.

For those who are moving into a multi-unit or shared wall environment you will be left wondering if a unit upstairs, downstairs or next door has bed bugs.

Regular inspections with our K9s would be a great benefit for you.

HOW DO I KNOW IF MY TENANT(S) HAS BED BUGS?

PROPERTY OWNERS/MANAGEMENT GROUPS: Bed bugs are a very serious problem for owners and managers of rental property and most of the time you don’t know it is happening. Even your best long-term tenant that always pays rent on time and takes care of your unit can have them and you will never know until someone complains.

FINGER POINTING JUST BACKFIRES!

We know it isn’t you putting bed bugs in your units; yet the burden falls on you to fix the problem or face a possible lawsuit. As these lawsuits increase, some property owners are trying to hold their tenants responsible, which always backfires because they hide the fact they have them and attempt to self-treat using products that spread bed bugs to other units.
Ultimately, your tenants will come and go but you still own the building, which, once it becomes seriously infested can drain your pocketbook!

NOTE: If a new tenant brings in bed bugs, according to Massachusetts’s Law MA 105 CMR 410.550, you are responsible unless it is a single-family dwelling.

DON’T BE IN THE DARK

If you haven’t come up against a bed bug problem yet, just hang in there, eventually you will.
But why wait?

Ask for our most popular Proactive Inspection Program (PIP) for both apartments and single-family rental properties.

This has become one of the most important preventative programs available to assure bed bugs were not left behind by a previous tenant.

Don’t stop there – Quarterly inspections of all units assure that infestations don’t start building to the point they affect surrounding units. We’ll work with you to establish bed bug policies and procedures as well as provide canine inspections on a regular basis.

WHAT IS THE BEST APPROACH TO PREVENT INFESTATIONS?

Conducting a canine bedbug inspection before a treatment, targets areas where bed bugs are hiding. Knowing exactly where bed bugs are hiding helps dramatically reduce pesticides and concentrates treatment efforts to the targeted area for a more successful elimination.

This means less pesticides used, less disruption, less damage to the furnishings (no need to dismantle and re-assemble as with a visual inspection), earlier occupancy, less overall costs and above all peace of mind that the little buggers were truly eliminated.

Since standard pesticide treatments aren’t always 100% effective, having our dogs inspect after a treatment (15 – 30 days after chemical treatments) will give you the peace of mind to sleep better knowing the bed bugs are gone.

BED BUG NEWS YOU CAN USE
Massachusetts Protocols for the Prevention and Control of Bed Bugs in Multiunit Housing

In Massachusetts, landlords are responsible for eradicating insects as required by the State Sanitary Code. 105 CMR 410.550: Extermination of Insects, Rodents and Skunks, 105 CMR 410.750:, and starting at 105 CMR 410.820: Inspection Upon Request. Mass Legal Help has written “Help! I have bedbugs in my apartment! which contains a plain language discussion, based on the CMR, which can guide the unlucky tenant through the steps to take when faced with this itchy situation:

Resources About Bedbugs | Mass Legal Services: http://www.masslegalservices.org/content/resources-about-bedbugs