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How To Protect Yourself From A Bug Invasion At Your College Apartment

26 December 2014 by Luke Fields

Part of living the student lifestyle is making due with less-than-stellar digs while your scrape together your meager dollars for noodles, scrambled eggs, and peanut butter sandwiches. Paying the rent will be your reality, as will living with roommates. The messy people you live with, the general lack of storage space, and the high turnover expected from student housing means that you have perfect recipe for pests, like ants, bed bugs, cockroaches, and even mice to invade your living space. However, you don't have to share space and food with these unwanted guests if you follow a few simple rules. 

1. Wash Everything Before And After Moving

Did you know that one of the ways that bed bugs spread is through moving vans and rented trailers? One person may move bedding, furniture, or a mattress, and some pesky begs stay behind and hitch a ride with the next load of cargo. Just in case you have bed bugs from your old place, and don't know it, wash everything before leaving to protect other people from bed bugs, and wash it again when you settle in. This will reduce the risk of you having to fight an annoying battle of the bugs later on.

2. Clean Everything Yourself

Sure, landlords are supposed to have the dorm ready for you when you come, but you never know how thoroughly the previous tenant cleaned while they lived there. Especially if you are moving into a furnished apartment, you'll have to make sure that you are satisfied with how well everything has been cleaned. Before moving any of your things into the apartment:

• wash out the kitchen cupboards, and deep clean the sink. Pests like ants and cockroaches live off of food particles that people leave behind. Some neglected areas include under the fridge and stove. Some landlords won't let you move those, so if you're not allowed to move them and clean it yourself, make sure that it gets done before you move in.
• inspect your room. Look at the furnishings, and give everything a once over with the vacuum, including blinds and bed frames. 
• check the bathroom for signs of moisture problems. Cockroaches prefer a damp, humid environment. If the bathroom does not have a fan, it should have a window. If it doesn't have either, you should ask your landlord to install one, because it is actually illegal not to have one or the other in the apartment, no matter what US state you live in.

3. Keep Things Tidy

It won't really make a difference if you have books and papers scattered on the floor, or a few dishes in the sink, but college apartments become a breeding ground for bugs when:

• dishes aren't washed for weeks. The leftover food on the dishes is like a feast for ants, and you can even start to get house flies and fruit flies, because old food is a great place for maggots to thrive.
• you leave wet clothes and towels on the floor. Spiders love dark places to hide, and cockroaches especially like the cool, damp environment provided by a moist towel. Keep your clothes in a dresser, and always hang up towels after you finish using them. 
• vacuum. Most college apartments have low-maintenance carpet in the living spaces, so it's vital that you vacuum. It will be much harder to get rid of a bug infestation if insect eggs have been ground into the carpet for weeks and weeks. Food particles also get trapped in the carpet. Vacuum at least a few times a week in order to keep on top of the dirt and dust. 

It can be hard to keep things clean when you're dealing with messy roommates. However, if you do end up having a problem with lazy loafers, and if the mess actually does attract ants, roaches and flies, you can notify the landlord, who will take care of the problems, click for more information, and call in a professional pest control service. If the mess of the apartment is the fault of the occupant, the cost of the treatment may actually come out of your roommate's damage deposit. 

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