Bedbugs bite big time

The Meadowrun apartment complex became a victim to an outbreak of bed bugs.

According to April Cole, the assistant manager at the Meadowrun apartment complex, it is hard to pinpoint when exactly the problem occurred. "When we were notified of the infestations we took immediate action," said Cole.

Meadowrun residents were asked to remove all clothing from the apartment and launder it, move all things away from the wall areas, and remove any pets from the apartment.  They were also asked to leave the apartment from 8 a.m. until 6 p.m. the day of treatment. 

"The management staff and the management company at Meadowrun have been very proactive in the situation," said Cole.

"We have contracted a very reputable extermination company to handle all of the exterminations.  We have treated all apartments in the buildings whether or not they have had a case of bed bugs to prevent them from spreading," Cole added.

"Bugs happen," said Dan Bertsos, director of Wright State residence services. "Thankfully not very often, and I don't recall the last time Wright State had a case of bed bugs on campus."

There are various reasons for an occurrence of bed bugs. "Students often bring a variety of insects with them in the fall when they move in," said Bertsos. "Those are usually roaches and 'roly-polies,' as a result of using boxes to carry their belongings that were obtained from their local grocery store."

The most common sources why bed bugs occur, according to Cole, are international or airline travel, and used furniture.

"Three months ago when the bed bugs broke out we complained to the management about it, but to no avail," said is Nikhil Agrawal, a master's student in computer science.

"They were really mean and discriminating. The management said those were Asian bugs and had been brought to Meadowrun from our countries! Most of my friends had to throw out couches and mattresses. Bed bugs are a big problem, and Meadowrun management sucks. Students don't want to live here anymore!" Agrawal added.

"My apartment didn't even have the beg bugs, yet we had to move all of our stuff which was a big inconvenience," said Allen Cline, a junior majoring in accountancy.

"I'm most irritated about the fact that we didn't get any heads up by Meadowrun that this was happening, until we got the notice to be out of our apartment. I had to completely change my very busy schedule to work around them," Cline added.

"It was a pain having to move out all my stuff, and basically living in my car," said Cyndal Cupps, a sophomore majoring in rehabilitation services.

"It has been a week and I still haven't had the time to unpack and get my room back together. It is very frustrating and we feel that because of all the inconvenience we should get some kind of discount on rent," Cupps added.

"Unfortunately bed bugs are not an easy fix problem," said Cole. "It will take some time and effort on our side, as well as with our residents. We have scheduled inspections for the buildings that have already been treated. We will do that on a monthly basis to ensure that there is no further bedbug activity." 

"There's always the possibility that Wright State could have an infestation of bed bugs if students don't take steps to prevent them," said Bertsos.

"Good hygiene is always important. If students' bedrooms at home are not well kept, and they just grab everything and bring it to campus without washing their laundry, we could have a bed bug infestation here," Bertsos added.

Bed bugs are challenging pests to control. They hide in many tiny places, so inspections and treatments must be very thorough. In some cases, infested mattresses and box springs have to be discarded.

"If a resident does suspect that they have bed bugs or any other kind of insect infestation, they should contact one of the ORS maintenance offices, so that we can take the proper measures to eliminate the problem. Swatting the ones that can be seen won't solve the problem," Bertsos added.

"We do have a compensation plan in the works," said Cole. "Our residents will be receiving notices next week as to how much and when to expect the compensation. Our goal is to keep our community aware of the situation and eliminate the problem."

"Our residents have been very understanding about the situation and we would like to thank them for the cooperation," Cole added.