Tips for Fighting Bed Bugs on Campus
Heading off to college is an exciting time in the life of young students. New places, new friends, new adventures. But, lurking in the dormitory is a friend you didn’t expect, and the roommate you certainly don’t want. Say hello to Cimex lectularius – aka the bed bug. With a dramatic rise in reported bed bug infestations nationwide, the campus dormitory has been hard hit. It’s certainly easy to see why, too. Living in close quarters with hundreds if not thousands of other students, while socially ideal, is a real challenge when it comes to this rebounding menace. Once entrenched, bed bugs are extremely difficult to get rid of.
But, there are steps you can take to minimize the threat. Routine visual inspections are a good place to start. Bed bugs are crafty and smart, hiding in places that keep them well hidden, but allow them easy access to their feeding target – you. This is decidedly a bad problem for you, the student. When it comes time for exams, getting a good night's sleep is crucial, and bed bugs do not make for a good study partner, unless you're planning on becoming an entomologist (aka bug doctor).
Check your mattress thoroughly – they can hide in the seams, and under the bed. They also hide behind wall hangings, floorboards, and electrical outlets. If you notice little reddish brown spots or streaks on your bedding, it could mean bed bugs. It could also mean you spilled some of your fast food last night, but that's another story.
Perhaps the most prudent step in the prevention of bed bug infestation is to encase your mattress and pillow, and protect your laundry – a common hiding place for these pests. This should be done from the first day you take over your dorm room, following a thorough initial inspection. It will serve to prevent the bed bugs from getting inside your bedding, and it will make it that much easier to detect them early – a key element to winning this difficult battle.
Bedbug.com offers a Smart Buy for Dorm Rooms that will give you the highest quality and effective encasement tools you need. It includes mattress and pillow encasement, plus laundry bags for both clean and dirty laundry – a staple item of any dorm room! And, last but not least, should you suspect bed bugs in your dorm room, immediately notify your campus housing administration.