Bed Bugs: Are They in Your Dorm Room?

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Do you have bed bugs in your dorm room? According to a recent survey done by the National Pest Management Association (NPMA), 99.6% of pest control respondents within the past year, did come across bed bugs in the homes and residences of individuals calling to report infestations. In addition to the confirmed inhabitation cases of bed bugs, professionals say its only becoming an even bigger epidemic than it has been in the past.

As noted in NPMA’s survey, most bed bug outbreaks are found in private residences such as apartments, condos, and homes. However, the bugs do not usually come from these settings. Based off studies from previous years where more bugs were found in hotels and dorm rooms, the NPMA’s latest report suggests that these temporary residences are where most people have the bugs crawl into their suitcases and clothes where they are later unpacked and released into an individuals home.

As advised from Bed Bug Protection, “vigilance” is the best way to prevent bed bugs. Due to these bug’s pesticide resistant traits and inability for professionals to simply spray as if they were only ants, the article suggests that people are always conscious of their surroundings. Specifically for college students, it suggests that students inspect the seams of mattresses before laying down streets as well as inspecting their own sheets to avoid bringing them to college.

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6 thoughts on “Bed Bugs: Are They in Your Dorm Room?

  1. Chelsea Jaye Silbiger

    While I am frightened by the fact that “99.6% of pest control… came across bed bugs in the homes and residences of individuals calling to report infestation”, I was happy to read about “bed bug mattress encasements”.
    With the proper bed bug mattress cover individuals have the ability to completely seal the mattress and box spring. According to BedBugSupply.com (http://www.bedbugsupply.com/?gclid=CL79hruN08ACFUoS7Aod-G0AXg) their mattress cover fully encases the bed “preventing bed bugs from entering, escaping, or feeding through its non-vinyl fabric”.
    It is comforting to think about the preventative measures one can take to protect themselves from bed bugs, the idea that they exists makes my skin crawl.

  2. Valerie Ortense

    I have had some horrific first hand experiences with bed bugs. Back at home, a very good friend of mine was living in some less than sanitary conditions. Her mother had left her and her two younger siblings to fend for themselves, only stopping by once a week to drop off the shopping list they would text her. Due to the lack of parental supervision, there was a constant cycle of people running through their small house: most of whom were not the most clean people. For her birthday I had no choice but to go to her house, despite how I felt about the filth. That night when I returned home I noticed trails of little red bumps all along the back of my arms and around my pant line. The itch was unreal. I went to the doctor the next day…bed bugs.
    After looking into it i learned that they spread like wild fire. One bug if already pregnant can infest an area with over 60 bugs! The rapid spread of these bugs that ran through many of my friends homes after that night was astounding. My parents went as far as having pest control come and inspect the house; luckily we were ok. It was like when one person gets sick in a constricted area, everyone around will surely share the same germ. The domino effect.

    I looked up reasons and other epidemics that spread as fast as those bed bugs and I found this which is actaully pretty interesting. http://healthmap.org/site/diseasedaily/article/deadly-virus-thats-spreading-faster-malaria-or-west-nile-31413

  3. Ann

    Your post along with the signs hanging in all of the dorms informing students to be aware of bed bugs makes the call for protective sheets even louder. But It really makes me wonder how effective those sheets are since bed bugs can lay one to five eggs a day and 500 in a lifetime.

  4. Amanda Marie Binkley

    I see the flyers posted all throughout my hall talking about bed bugs and my friends and I get scared every time we pass one. I could never imagine finding one of these bugs in my bed and its scary knowing they are probably out there somewhere. I feel like as long as we keep our rooms clean they shouldn’t be too big of an issue. The problem with that is that its hard to force those you are living with to be clean as well. Everyone has their own habits and unfortunately some people aren’t as clean as we would like them to be.

  5. Tiffany Elizabeth Breon

    This post is both intriguing and disgusting. If I’m being honest, when I was little I used to think bed bugs were a myth until one of my friends told me she had a bed bug infestation. This makes me happy that I do not live in the dorms because if I came across one of those things I would freak out. I think it’s interesting that they’d be found in hotel rooms, considering how often they are cleaned and maintained (I guess that depends on the hotel chain…). This post also reminded me of the fact that says we are never more than a few feet away from a spider at any given time, eww.

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