<p>I know that bed bug extermination is very costly and can result in the loss of a lot of personal items. I have a relative who had a house infestation due to a tenant. The total bill of extermination was $15,000 (including loss of property). I am already concerned about cost of college and do not want to add the burden of bed bugs . I also understand that it is an epidemic that is extensive and hard to avoid when you are dealing with people traveling and living in groups. That being said, I am interesting in hearing about which colleges have had a bed bug problem so far. I really appreciate your assistance.</p>
<p>I’d guess that most colleges have had to deal with this problem. If treated right, there should be no loss of property. My son has his dorm room treated at Thanksgiving and semester break one year, even though it was another room on his floor that actually had the infestation. He was told to remove all food and toiletries prior to the treatments (o.k., so a small loss of property there;)!). I certainly wouldn’t eliminate any schools based this problem.</p>
<p>Our very trustworthy/honest home pest exterminator from upstate NY commented recently that others in his industry are ripping people off with their prices on this particular pest. </p>
<p>He charges around $200. per floor, and at most $1,000 to address an entire house that’s become infested with bedbugs. Someone who had to pay $15,000 for relief may have been gouged. Even with loss of property – I presume they had to toss a lot of furniture – it seems much too high for a homeowner to pay for this relief.</p>
<p>If your student goes to someplace like NYU, in a city that has had a serious bedbug problem in recent years, you can phone the Housing office now, to ask how they treat their dorms between years, to settle your mind. </p>
<p>Then, if he attends, tell your kid NOT to buy any used “soft” furniture (mattresses, upholstered chairs) from Craigslist ads. Also, do not “save money” by pulling in wooden furniture items left curbside for the trashmen to remove. </p>
<p>When he gets beyond dorm living to off-campus, he’ll learn to ask the potential landlord if the apartment’s been treated between tenants.If the answer doesn’t satisfy, just keep looking for another apartment. There are work-arounds to this problem for a young adult student.</p>
<p>I can’t imagine limiting a student’s college list for this. Naturally you are concerned about finances, in general, but here I think the “ick” factor has clouded your thinking just a bit.</p>
<p>Also, it seems that to charge parents/tenants for extermination is not fair. My daughter had bedbugs in her off-campus apartment and the landlord paid for the extermination. It was horrendous, for sure-- cleaning every bit of clothing, throwing away open food containers, etc., but the cost of the extermination was borne by the landlord.</p>
<p>One of my son’s roommates in his 4br/4 bath off campus apartment tested positive for bedbugs. They apparently hadn’t gotten out of that one bedroom (none of the other roommates including my son had complained). The landlord paid for a treatment, which was high heat. We removed all of my son’s clothes and spent the day at a laundromat, washing (unnecessary) and then running everything through the hot dryer (heat kills the bedbugs) just to be safe, even though we were pretty sure none had reached his room. I was petrified that he might bring them into our house. The landlord said if a 2nd treatment was needed the residents would have to pay. So far, no more problems.</p>
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<p>Check the housing laws of the areas where the apartment unit is located. In many areas like NYC, all responsibility/costs of extermination are to be borne by the landlord if the unit is a rental to a tenant under the local housing laws. Especially considering bedbugs are considered a health hazard under those laws and as such, an issue which the landlord has the responsibility to address. </p>
<p>Helped one friend whose landlord tried to stonewall him on this issue when I helped him draft an official letter reminding said landlord of that responsibility under NYC housing laws.</p>