Property Manager Nightmares Bed Bug Infestations
Property Manager | When tenants call with maintenance issues, the last problem a property manager wants to hear is there is a potential bug infestation. A spider or two hiding in the closets, especially in a home that hasn’t been lived in for a while is common, but when your tenants begin to report bug bites, itching, and seeing many bugs, a big problem may be on your hands.
Most bug infestations can be taken care of with a quick call to the pest control vendor you work with and a few sprays around the home, but there is one type of bug that a property manager fears–bed bug.
What Are Bed Bugs?
Bed bugs are small insects that feed on warm blood from live animals. Bed bugs are wingless and cannot fly. Bed bugs are hard to kill and have been around for thousands of years, but they are visible to the naked eyes. Adults can grow to .25 inches but after feeding they bloat double the size.
Bed bugs like to live in soft, dark spaces where humans are in frequent contact such as beds, couches, chairs, clothing, and other surfaces. The bugs commonly feed between 12 am and 5 am, when humans are sleeping and do not notice the small bites.
How a Property Manager Gets Rid of Bed Bugs
There isn’t much the property manager can do to get rid of bed bugs other than call pest control and instruct the residents on how to get rid of bed bugs. Getting rid of bed bugs usually takes multiple treatments.
Bed bugs are most commonly brought in when tenants change. Bugs are brought in on furniture that is infected. One big problem that a property manager will face is when the tenant believes there were bed bugs in the home before they moved in. to avoid these types of accusation the property manager needs to make sure that the rental home is inspected and treated for pests after each move out. Records should be kept on all treatments and inspections for rental homes.
When tenants call with maintenance issues, the last problem a property manager wants to hear is there is a potential bug infestation. A spider or two hiding in the closets, especially in a home that hasn’t been lived in for a while is common, but when your tenants begin to report bug bites, itching, and seeing many bugs, a big problem may be on your hands.
Most bug infestations can be taken care of with a quick call to the pest control vendor you work with and a few sprays around the home, but there is one type of bug that a property manager fears–bed bug.
What Are Bed Bugs?
Bed bugs are small insects that feed on warm blood from live animals. Bed bugs are wingless and cannot fly. Bed bugs are hard to kill and have been around for thousands of years, but they are visible to the naked eyes. Adults can grow to .25 inches but after feeding they bloat double the size.
Bed bugs like to live in soft, dark spaces where humans are in frequent contact such as beds, couches, chairs, clothing, and other surfaces. The bugs commonly feed between 12am and 5am, when humans are sleeping and do not notice the small bites.
How a Property Manager Gets Rid of Bed Bugs
There isn’t much the property manager can do to get rid of bed bugs other than call pest control and instruct the residents on how to get rid of bed bugs. Getting rid of bed bugs usually takes multiple treatments.
Bed bugs are most commonly brought in when tenants change. Bugs are brought in on furniture that is infected. One big problem that a property manager will face is when the tenant believes there were bed bugs in the home before they moved in. to avoid these types of accusation the property manager needs to make sure that the rental home is inspected and treated for pests after each move out. Records should be kept on all treatments and inspections for rental homes.