Ask an Expert

When bed bugs move in down the hall

Teri Rogers Headshot - Floral
By Teri Karush Rogers  |
June 29, 2010 - 7:25AM
BrickTankQ logo.Icon2.jpg

Q. I rent in a condo building and I just found out that an apartment down the hall has bed bugs. What can I do to keep them out of my apartment? What should the condo board be doing? And who pays?

A.  When a condo board learns that one apartment has a bed bug problem, it should bring in an experienced bed bug exterminator to help get rid of those bugs as well as check for any cross-infestation, says BrickTank Expert and real estate attorney Jeffrey Reich.

The standard protocol is for an exterminator to inspect all apartments vertically or horizontally connected to the infested one.

“If any test positive, then the exterminator continues to inspect vertically and horizontally connected apartments until that exercise results in a negative result for all apartments tested,” says property manager Dan Wurtzel.

Pest control expert Gil Bloom says if the bed bugs are down the hall only, you may still be able to sleep at night.

“It poses little threat to you unless in the process of preparing for their treatment, items are placed in the common hall or moved through the hall unwrapped while being discarded,” says Bloom.

Items that need to be discarded should be “shrink wrapped, bagged or otherwise contained,” says Bloom, and not stored in the building or held for recycling. Afterward, hallways should vacuumed or steamed.

“The next question is how much social interaction you have with the apartment down the hall,” says Bloom. “Do you visit each other, do your children or their nannies?”

Here are Bloom’s tips for keeping your apartment bed bug free:

  • Isolate it as much as possible by using a sealant (not simple caulk) to seal gaps under moldings and around wires, pipes and service lines.  Before sealing you might want to apply a pesticide-grade diatomaceous earth dust to “assist in nixing any travelers”
  • Place passive insect monitors in closets, under beds and radiators or HVACs. You could also put interceptor traps under bed legs.

As for the cost of taking proactive measures, many condo bylaws allow the board to bill the unit owner responsible for the infestation, if the source can be established, notes Reich. But that should take a far backseat to containing the bed bug problem to begin with.

Trouble at home? Get your NYC apartment-dweller questions answered by an expert! Send us your questions via our feedback form.

See all BrickTank Q&A's here.

Related posts on bed bugs:

NYC bed bug disclosure bill sailes through legislature

Bed bug insurance? Apparently not

The neighbors have a right to know about your bed bugs

New clues on spread of bed bugs through apartment buildings

Bed-bug sniffing dogs: Dont't fall for false positives

Your neighbor's bed bugs

Co-op hair-raiser: The $250,000 bed bug bill

 

 

Teri Rogers Headshot - Floral

Teri Karush Rogers

Founder & Publisher

Founder and publisher Teri Karush Rogers launched Brick Underground in 2009. As a freelance journalist, she had previously covered New York City real estate for The New York Times. Teri has been featured as an expert on New York City residential real estate by The New York Times, New York Daily News, amNew York, NBC Nightly News, The Real Deal, Business Insider, the Huffington Post, and NY1 News, among others. Teri earned a BA in journalism and a law degree from New York University.

Brick Underground articles occasionally include the expertise of, or information about, advertising partners when relevant to the story. We will never promote an advertiser's product without making the relationship clear to our readers.

topics: