How To Protect Your Apartment When Living Vertical

So you steam clean your luggage when you come home from a business trip or throw new clothes purchases in a dryer right when you walk in the door. Do you think your neighbor in the apartment next door, above or below does this too? Doubt it. Sorry. The truth is when you are living vertical in an apartment or co-op chances are someone is going to have a run in with bed bugs. Are you protected from their infestation?

Here's our action plan for keeping your neighbor's bed bugs out:


1. Know what steps your board or landlord should be taking if there is problem in your building

Renters: Your landlord must eradicate all bed bug infestations in your building, which means the infestations must be identified first. As recommended by the Bed Bug Advisory Report released by the city last month, landlords should inspect surrounding apartments for signs that the bugs have spread. Any apartment connected horizontally or vertically to an infested one should be checked, and so on, until reaching a unit that comes up "clean."
A landlord who fails to inspect apartments surrounding an infested one could be found liable in housing court for negligence, says real estate lawyer Steven Wagner.

Owners: Co-op boards have the same responsibility as landlords to stop the spread to other apartments. Most condo bylaws require the same of their boards. Regardless of the minimal requirements, it’s smart for a board to proactively manage any level of bed bug infestation in order to preserve property values and prevent a much bigger clean up cost should the infestation get out of hand.

2. Defend your perimeter

Hire an exterminator with a strong track record and references. Your exterminator will inspect, identify, and propose a plan of attack from preparation, to treatment to follow up.

3. Use caution in common areas

If there is a bed bug problem in your building, you will want to take some extra measures in the laundry room.
Avoid communal folding tables and make sure you get back downstairs to remove your laundry from the machine before someone puts your stuff on the table.

Bed bugs and their eggs can survive cold-water washes, so if you follow up an infested load with your own cold-water wash and then take something out to air dry, you could in theory be pulling out a live bed bug or egg along with it. To kill both bugs and eggs, dryers must be on high heat (122 degrees minimum) for about an hour.

If you have a storage bin, consider putting all your belongings in sealed plastic bags or airtight tubs to prevent cross migration from someone’s infested suitcase, for instance.

4. Think twice about socializing with your building buddies

You may want to cut back on socializing within your building for awhile. Odds are your neighbors are feeling the same way.

If not, remember that bed bugs like to travel in your stuff--backpacks, purses, clothes, etc--rather than on your person, so keep your personal footprint to a minimum.

If you think you’ve been exposed to bed bugs and they’re now sharing your space, call a professional immediately. As a bed bug expert here in the New York area, Top Level Pest Control can help keep your home safe from unexpected visitors.