By: Karolina

Karolina — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 11:57:03 +0000

Hi Katie, I’m very sorry for what is happening. Two tnetamerts are often not enough.Because your boyfriend is allergic to the bites, though you are not, you now know that the infestation is still present. This is lucky because otherwise you may not have seen the sometimes subtle signs or a live insect to indicate an ongoing problem. That is all that is happening here, the infestation is not yet eradicated. It doesn’t mean, or not yet at least, that you have failed. You need continued tnetamerts until it is eradicated. Whether you need a better pest control company depends on what has been done by this one. You need to discuss this with the landlord (it’s in both your interests to get this resolved and you can work together; in fact, if you don’t, you may not succeed). One question is whether the adjoining apartments have been inspected? Infestations spread and it’s important to contain your infestation and also to ensure there is not another as yet unidentified infestation in the building. What happened after the second treatment, is there another treatment scheduled? Another question is whether you moved out during treatment? This is often problematic because bed bugs may remain hidden and only emerge to feed. If you are not there, they may stay hidden and never encounter the tnetamerts that are meant to kill them. So if you’ve been away, the bugs may be only now coming out looking for you (bad) but meeting their deaths (good, provided that the pest control company did a thorough job with appropriate materials). You can’t stop after any number of tnetamerts and say, done. You (meaning you, the landlord, and the pest control company) need to actually verify that the infestation has been eradicated, by inspecting thoroughly.Moving is not a solution in most cases. You don’t want to bring this infestation to your next apartment. If you do move, you should look for a fumigator (Vikane gas) for your belongings.Also, keeping the relationship productive with the landlord is critical for many people and may be critical for you. Your landlord is responsible for pest control in your building but this does not mean that he is at fault. Neither are you. Do not seek an adversarial relationship with your landlord because it will definitely prolong the resolution of this problem. Your next step is a discussion (with the landlord and with the pest control company) about how to solve this problem and what steps need to be taken. You can also evaluate with your landlord the feasibility of other treatment options, like thermal. The goal of this conversation is to solve a problem, so threats are not going to be useful. Your landlord has been responsive so far, so your best bet is to continue working on the problem together. You can eradicate bed bugs but you need to learn more about what a good treatment looks like, how bed bugs work and why they’re still around (for example, the eggs are protected and often inaccessible and when they hatch they allow the infestation to persist) and what steps to take to ensure everyone is doing what they’re supposed to as much as any of this is within your control. Check the resources page and spend some time reading about bed bug protocols. You may want to start with (PDF) as it explains what a good pest control company may do (though protocols vary, you will see the importance of inspection and thoroughness).

Comments on: Landlord Law – Lesser known Regulations you should be aware of!

By: Karolina