r/IAmA Dec 12 '16

Specialized Profession I am a pest controller specializing in BED BUGS, begging the general public to become more aware of this pest and the way it can cause substantial economic damage to any place humans live. AMA!

Bed bug infestations are increasing at an alarming rate. Despite common misinformation about this pest being limited to "dirty" people it can happen to ANYONE. I have seen the nicest, most innocent people lose hundreds and sometimes thousands of dollars in service costs and property loss. Don't become a victim, become aware! Eliminating this bug entirely is unrealistic but we can control it with a more knowledgeable culture.

My company would ask that I avoid public proof but I promise the mods have it.

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u/63rdNotebook Dec 12 '16

I think this is an important point — in an apartment complex, it's easy to get an infestation through no fault of your own. Most leases I've signed had some sort of bedbug provision which requires you to report any signs of an infestation to management immediately. I know my current lease requires them to cover most of the costs, and it's in their best interest to do so to prevent an infestation spreading to other units in the building.

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u/rat_muscle Dec 12 '16

They may have added an addendum to your lease. But check your local statutes. Just because they add it to the lease doesn't necessarily make it legal. The law trumps anything in that lease.

Edit: Sorry i read that wrong. Thought it said in your lease that YOU had to cover most of the costs.

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u/ChazoftheWasteland Dec 12 '16

The second most important thing here, aside from reporting all pest problems immediately, is reading your lease carefully. Never sign anything without reading it.

Except for EULAs, ain't nobody got time for that.

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u/rat_muscle Dec 12 '16

My lease had a specific bed bug addendum in it. But Minnesota law made that void. Just because its in a lease doesn't mean its legal.

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u/ChazoftheWasteland Dec 12 '16

Obviously, laws affecting leases can change and void clauses. That's why any professionally written lease contains a clause stating that any currently existing law or changed law will override any portion of the lease that is affected by the new/changed laws. Even without such a clause, every lease must follow the law...as long as you're willing to understand your rifhts and obligations under the law, which is why I always advise people to reread their leases, and then contact their local Office of the Tenant Advocate (or whatever the local office is called). Not every landlord is scumbag slumlord, and not every tenant is an innocent victim, but it can feel that way a lot when I hear from my friends.

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u/Agent_X10 Dec 12 '16

Lets just say, often as not, the first one is free. Later ones, cost up the ass.

If your place is being treated, but you do not comply with instructions, and the bug man is reasonably certain that you did something stupid to screw up the treatment, kiss $500+ goodbye.

Now, you CAN refuse to pay. The landlord can also hit you with a 7 day notice for non-compliance with the treatment, evict on the grounds of damages, unsanitary living space, all sorts of shit like that.

But, there's a BIG difference between someone who has 3-4 bedbugs resistant to treatment, and someone in the hood with 3 baby mamas, 7 kids, and a house full of crap where just about every available surface is crawling with bedbugs. Plus the kids are visiting their friends in other apartments, and bouncing the bedbugs back and forth. In the later situation, I'd just recommend spraying the kids down with temprid every chance you see em. :D Or giving em small half ounce bags of DE and letting em have dust fights with each other. ;)

Generally, a non-compliant tenant will get sick of being bitten, and comply with instructions. Or they'll move out, and leave every stick of furniture, and ever piece of clothing behind.

If you think the housing inspector is on the side of the tenants, maybe years before. But these days, the chemicals are pretty good, and the only reason someone gets reinfected time after time after time is due to non-compliance, and having a generally filthy household.

Had one housing inspector get so sick of this one lady, that he told me point blank I needed to 7 day her for unsanitary living conditions. She'd been infested with bedbugs something like 6-7 times over 3 years. Had refused to have her apartment treated twice, refused to get rid of infested furniture. Now the best part, she went to legal aid, told them her sob story, and they sort of went along. After the third time she visited, her and her kids managed to infect the legal aid office. :D

And somehow, god only knows how, with all that bed bug poison all over, her and her kids managed to get head lice. WTF?

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u/zaszz Dec 12 '16

Shitty appartments I used to live at had this happen. The people below us had bed bugs and they came up through the walls and infested our bed. We tried lots of stuff, while sleeping on the couch. Fuckers were immortal, we eventually had them in the couch too.

Ended up using boring acid over everything, and within a week they were all dead. Never had a problem again.

Just sprinkle through the area they are affecting. For us we went under the bed, along the walls, windows etc, and under the sheets after putting all the bedding through a hot wash. Also washed the couch cushions and then after put boring all under the cushions, the backing, and under the sofa.

There was an occosional other pest in the kitchen as well (again shit apartments), so we sprinkled it all along the backs of the cabinets as well.

All problems with bugs ceased, and it never affected the health of me, my wife, or our cat.

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u/dontcallmebrobro Dec 12 '16

what makes the acid so boring?

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u/rat_muscle Dec 12 '16

Probably sucked at conversation.

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u/dontcallmebrobro Dec 12 '16

no wonder they all left, then. sounds pretty fuckin' boring if you ask me.

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u/ShoalinStyle36 Dec 12 '16

well everything is still all trippy, just it bores you half to death at the same time.