Dreaded bed bugs

[hikermtnbiker.livejournal.com]

A tenant is concerned that they might have bed bugs and has asked if I would have a pest company come in and test for them. Given that should they be found that I will also treat for them, can anyone suggest a reputable company with whom they have had experience with both testing and treatment? I'll check earlier tags but I wanted up to date info.

Also, this is a brand new complaint and not a pre-existing problem. While I have no complaints about paying for pests that come in from outside (mice, ants, etc.) this problem is most likely of the tenant's making, albeit unknowingly. I think that some cost sharing would be appropriate in this situation. What do others think?

Comments

[marphod.livejournal.com]

There certainly is the possibility the tenant brought in the bed bugs. However, there is going to be no way to prove it. The could have been brought in by a guest, or even by someone working on/cleaning the unit.

If you can show with high likely-hood that it is the tenant's fault, it wouldn't be inappropriate to ask for them to split the cost or deduct the cost from their security deposit account. (You have it in a separate escrow account, as the state law requires, right?)

That is going to require showing that the tenant brought in found/curbside furniture or otherwise infected items, though.

[vonelftinhaus.livejournal.com]

Best Pest if your looking for someone- but again like the above poster has commented

[koshmom.livejournal.com]

Here's Massachusetts law regarding bedbugs. Apparently the first time the landlord is responsible for the exterminator but the tenant is responsible for laundering their own belongings and discarding responsible furniture that can't be exterminated. The landlord/exterminator company will supply the tenant with appropriate literature and instruction on how to keep them away. If they come back, it's the tenant's responsibility. I *think* that's what it says below, but I'm no lawyer, you should read it yourself to confirm my guess.

http://www.massrha.com/index.asp?Type=B_BASIC&SEC=%7B64182B49-BBBE-4175-BF22-1190950A27D5%7D

[squirrelitude]

We recently hired New England Canine Detectives LLC to check our apartment. (Luckily, the dog reported a negative -- I apparently have contact dermatitis or something.) Bedbug dogs are supposed to be pretty effective, although you may want to do some research on who they were certified by. We didn't ask the landlord to pay for the detection dog, but would have asked her to pay for the entire treatment. (We're very good about bedbug prevention, but it can still happen.)

"Reponsibility" is a tricky question. Some years back I had bedbugs in student housing, but I think they came from riding on Amtrak. I now wrap my luggage in garbage bags and launder my clothes on arrival, but it would not be fair to say that was even *mostly* my fault.

Your tenants might agree to weighted cost-sharing, though -- perhaps a 25/75 split, with no assignment of blame.

[ringrose.livejournal.com]

My strong suggestion, based on a landlord I knew who had a bedbug problem (thank goodness it wasn't me, I can't imagine how I'd treat our house) is that you get a dog to sniff. If the dog confirms bedbugs, heat treat it with a company which has a guarantee. And when they evaluate the property before treating, deal with every single thing they comment on, and get their _confirmation_ that it is adequately dealt with. A comment that "these books might be packed too tightly" results in a failure to honor their guarantee.

Chemical treatments (including ones provided proactively by your tenants) are a bad idea because they don't work well, and bedbug-sniffing dog owners will not bring the dog into a place which has been chemically treated recently. Too much danger to their expensive noses.

[lunarcamel.livejournal.com]

I have not personally used their services but I encountered MD Weaver (http://www.mdweaver.com/) in doing research on something else. I actually spoke with some folks there and their methods (they use these really cool little bedbug traps where the bugs crawl in and get stuck) are chemical-free and seem pretty effective.

Good luck.

[countlibras.livejournal.com]

I'm nearly 100% sure that my best friend used Ecologic Entomology when her household had bedbugs. She was really happy with the company, and hasn't had any problems since they treated the house. They are not in the Davis Sq area though.