Bed Bugs in University of Nebraska Dorms

Recently, we reported about the University of Nebraska’s bed bug infestation. Well, they have dealt with the infestation, but at quite a hefty price! The cost to get rid of bed bugs at the University of Nebraska was estimated at over $300,000!

Getting rid of bed bugs in dorm rooms

Getting rid of bed bugs in dorm rooms, or anywhere, is a painstaking job. The University had 2 different pest control companies search room by room for the tiny critters.

One big challenge that the University faced was that of bed bug phobia or the social stigma that students faced in acknowledging that they had bedbugs in their dorm. Many students were afraid of admitting they have bed bugs; while other students admitted that they would be weary of “hanging out” with a student who had an infestation. Naturally, this causes a problem when searching for and eliminating bed bugs.

Preventing bed bugs in dorm rooms The University of Nebraska has taken measures to warn students not to bring used furniture and mattresses back to the dorms – all in an effort to avoid future infestations. But is it enough? What about bed bugs in carpets and clothing? And, what if student’s simply can’t afford to heed that advice?We recommend that students, and even University’s, begin investing in bed bug mattress covers. In fact, in response to the recent bedbug outbreaks at college campuses across the US, Bedbug.com has created the scientifically engineered and bed bug proof smart buy for dorm rooms. This package deal saves student’s money by including the essentials for bed bug prevention!

Smart Buy for Dorm Room Value Pack includes: 1 Pillow Encasement 1 Twin XL Mattress Cover 2 Laundry Bags Price: $89.99

Bed Bug Law Suit over infested mattress earns one woman $225,000

A recent bed bug related law suit filed against Calidad Furniture gains one woman $225,000 and contiruted to putting the furniture company out of business!

Adrian Jackson sent her 2 children to see the pediatrician as a result of ‘bumps and rashes,’ which turned out to be bed bug bites. Sources report that the amount she was awarded by an Anne Arundel County jury was nearly $100,000 dollars more than she expected, in what has been called “one of the largest bedbug liability judgments in the country!”

This law suit reiterates 2 important bed bug prevention points:

1. The need to be extremely cautious when buying used, and even new, mattresses. Read more about protecting mattresses from bed bugs.
2. The high cost of bed bug infestations; to home-owners as well as business owners!

Bed Bug Court Case Verdict goes to the Landlord

In the past, we at Bedbug.com have gotten many questions about bed bug litigation and what the law says when it comes to bed bug infestations in apartment buildings.

While we are not qualified to give legal advice to landlords or tenants, we did  come across the verdict in a recent case, which decided that the landlord was not responsible for bed bugs after having done his due diligence in reporting past infestations and allowing the buyer to inspect the apartment before signing. To read more about this case, please visit http://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=8341f9cd-8907-4959-a65c-b0880722866a.

Sleep Tight!

Bed Bugs in Student Housing

Bed bugs are biting in student housing in both Nebraska and Alaska this month! It seems that no fraternity is safe from bed bugs today!

How disturbing it must be to return back from a relaxing vacation to find bed bugs in your dorm room. The University of Nebraska-Lincoln has been working hard to contain the bed bugs and the bed bug related drama, which quickly spread across the campus. They have already hired bed bug sniffing dogs and are prepared for the possible expensive task of bed bug eradication on the campus. Bed bug mattress covers have been recommended to students as an affordable way to prevent bed bugs in dorm rooms.

Anchorage, Alaska has also seen an increase in bed bug infestations over the past few years. The University of Alaska Anchorage recently published an article about a student complaining of itching from bed bug bites. They have taken measures there to contain the infestations, preventing the spread of bed bugs to other student’s. They also discussed their frustration with some of the governmental initiatives against bedbugs.

Read more..

• Click here to read more about bed bug prevention in your area
• Buy bed bug encasements for your dorm room

Bed Bug Infestations in North Carolina Homeless Shelters Get Out of Hand

Homeless shelters in Winston-Salem and Greensboro have recently reported many bed bug infestations. To deal with the problem, they have had to buy new mattresses and pillows and tighten their check-in procedures.

Bed bugs are known to travel on clothing, so one of the best ways that homeless shelters can prevent re-infestation is by washing the clothing of any new members who are admitted and looking into bed bug mattress covers for their beds.

Many shelters have had to look to government funds and even request extra donations to control their bed bug infestations.

Bed Bugs Bare Witness in Detroit

Landlords and Tenants have been trying to get rid of bed bugs for a long time now. Often, lawyers get involved with the bed bug law suits.

But this is the first case I’ve heard of where a lawyer brought bed bugs into a court room to prevent his client from being evicted from his Detroit apartment. And apparently, it worked! His client, Frank Manion withheld rent until the bedbugs were eliminated. Despite past attempts by the landlord to get rid of the bed bugs, Manions landlord was forced to persist and hire a new exterminator to kill the bed bugs in the apartment building. Hope the landlord has enough foresight to encase those mattresses!

How far would you go to have your landlord get rid of bed bugs in your apartment?

Finding a Bed Bug Free Apartment In NYC

The No Bedbugs Allowed Apartment Search

Trust me, finding a bed bug free apartment in Manhattan is no easy feat. However, hope is not lost if you are willing to put a bit of bed bug prevention effort into your apartment search.

Top Bedbug Search Tips:

1. Look at bedbugregistry.com and make sure there have been no bed bug sitings in the apartment building you’re considering moving into.
2. If there have been bed bugs in your apartment building, look into how your landlord dealt with the infestation.
3. Ask your landlord before signing the lease. By law, landlords must provide you with a bed bug disclosure statement about any bed bug infestations in the past year.
4. Be nosy! You’re landlords may have something to hide, but chances are that neighbors in your building will be knowledgeable and forthcoming about recent bed bug infestations.
5. Look into purchasing entomologist tested bed bug proof encasement products to prevent bed bugs from infesting your mattresses and box springs.

Links you may also be interested in:

• Bed bug tips when moving into a new apartment
• How to prevent bed bugs in your home
• Bed bug prevention products

Schools Teaching Parents about Bed Bug Prevention

Bed bug infestations can be really scary for parents, who don’t always know how to best eliminate bed bugs. Bedbug.com was recently notified that the Danbury School System will be hosting a bed bug information forum this Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Danubury High School.

We are thrilled to hear that bed bug information is being distributed to parents in a preventative manner. Our mission at Bedbug.com is to prevent bed bugs from entering your home by providing entomologist tested bed bug mattress and luggage encasement products, specifically for children and families. We highly recommend that you encourage your child school administration to host similar bedbug forums to help reduce infestations in your neighborhood!

Bug Bed on “I’m a Celebrity”

 Bugs in Bed Challenge on “I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here”

This past week on the “I’m a Celebrity” show, the blue team won the horrific “Beat the Bugs Challenge”, also known as the Bed Bug Challenge. Imagining your warm bed at home infested with bed bugs is bad enough, but these participants had to spend the night in beds within Perspex boxes with all kinds of jungle critters crawling around.

Each team got to choose which “bed bugs” went into the other teams boxes – snakes, rats, cockroaches and crabs are just a few of their options. The team that spent the most time in the bed bug infested beds won the challenge. The blue team won with 35 hours and 56 minutes, while the orange team only had a total of 29 hours and 22 minutes. Maybe if the  orange team had bed bug protection, they could have stood a chance against the blue team.

This challenge kept many of the participants up all night and had many of them in tears. But then again who could sleep with so many bugs in bed? After watching that episode of the TV show, its not easy crawling into bed while hoping nothing else is crawling in. Sleep better with a bed bug mattress encasement that can keep the bed bugs out.

Bed bugs on Airplanes

Traveling with Bed Bugs

Finding bed bugs in hotels is old news, now you might find the bed bugs on airplanes! After taking a British Airways flight from Los Angeles to London, one business class passenger discovered bed bug bites all over her arms and legs. Believe it or not, this is not the first of bed bug infestations found on airplanes. Last year a business class passenger found bed bug bites on his body after taking a flight with United Airlines. Looks like bed bugs also use airplanes to travel!

British Airways ignored complaints about the bed bugs one passenger discovered until a website publicizing the airline’s bed bug infestation went viral. The airline ended up having to get rid of bed bugs from two of their planes. Many airlines along with British Airways, have faced this issue of bed bugs in the past but it has never been publicized so as not to affect business.

How to Prevent Bed Bugs on Airplanes:

Airlines are responsible for preventing bed bugs on flights, but apparently they aren’t doing enough to protect their passenger. Take extra caution to make sure you don’t end up with bed bug bites coming off that plane!

1. Bring your own bed-bug proof pillow and blanket to protect against bed bugs while on your flight
2. Use anti-bed bug luggage liners and bed bug proof garment bag encasements so that your clothes are protected from bed bug infestations
3. Be careful about bringing bed bugs into your home – clean your luggage and clothing before entering your house

Read more about bed bugs on airplanes at www.forbes.com/sites/melaniehaiken/2011/11/21/bed-bugs-on-airplanes-how-to-fly-bed-bug-free/