Pest Control

The University is contracted with an exterminator to treat the residence halls and 34th Street properties on a weekly basis and to immediately respond to emergency situations. To report a problem, submit a maintenance request via DrexelOne. In an emergency, contact the front desk or House Director on call immediately.

Bedbug Situations

Bed bug situations can occur in any enviornment, from the most luxurious hotels to low-scale housing units.

The information provided here has been compiled from several sources to give you some background information on bed bugs, what Drexel University does to prevent situations, and what you can do if you feel bed bugs are present in your room.

What you can do:
The most important thing to remember is not to panic. Finding bed bugs can be a stressful situation, but it is important to let the professionals handle the situation to avoid spreading the bed bugs.

Things not to do:

Remove any items from your room
If items are removed they could possibly spread bed bugs to other areas of the building.
Do not attempt to control the bed bugs on your own
Notify a Residential Living or University Housing staff member. A detailed protocol is in place which includes an assessment by a contracted pest control vendor.
Do not relocate yourself to another room

Treatment

If bed bugs are found in your room or suite, University Housing will work carefully to find you a temporary location while your room is treated. University Housing will also provide you with a list of items that can be taken with you to your new room. Note that any items taken from your current room must be laundered in a hot cycle dryer to ensure bed bugs are not being transported.

Your first instinct might be to move to another room to get away from the bed bugs. This action might spread the bed bugs to the room you move to. After reporting the problem, there are a few additional things you can do to ensure you do not spread bed bugs.

Clean up and clutter and place any clothes in garbage bags.
Bag laundry and wash it in hot water

Clothes might have bed bugs or bed bug eggs on them, so it is important to properly clean them. Put linens and clothes that might have bed bugs on them into a garbage bag and take them to a local laundromat. After placing the items in the laundry machine, replace the used garbage bag with a clean garbage bag. Use a hot water cycle to clean clothes, as bed bugs are sensitive to the heat. If you cannot wash the clothes in hot water, make sure you use the dryer on the high heat setting. Dispose of any garbage bags that have been in contact with the items by throwing them in a dumpster.

Bug bites and itching
Just because you have itchy unexplained marks similar to bites does not mean that it is necessarily from bed bugs. There are many things that can cause bed bug like symptoms. A step you can take to help with your potential problem is to visit the Drexel Student Health Center.

Bringing Bed Bugs Home
Transporting bed bugs home is something to be concerned about. Here are some tips that can help to ensure bed bugs do not hitch a ride home with you.

Examining the room for potential hiding places of bedbugs, such as carpet edges, mattress seams, pillow case linings, bed boards, wall trim or other tiny crevices in which bedbugs could hide.
Looking specifically at the mattress seams for signs of bedbug activity: droppings, eggs, bloodstains or even bedbugs themselves, hiding in tiny folds and seam lines.
Keeping a flashlight nearby while sleeping to immediately observe suspected activity during the night without having to get up out of bed which would otherwise give them time to hide in safety.
Not leaving clothing lying on the bed, or any location of possible exposure and instead use hangers or hooks capable of keeping all cloth distant from the floor or bed. Suspend new shopping in bags the same way.
Closing all luggage (suitcase, travel bag etc.) when not in use. This way, during the night the bugs may move over the top of the bags and have difficulty getting inside.
Elevating luggage off the floor to luggage stand, tables or chairs which can also be hiding places.

What to do if you think bed bugs are in your room/suite

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How are bed bugs introduced to an environment?

Myth: Bed bugs infestations are caused by poor sanitation.
Fact: Bed bug infestations must are caused by bringing in an item that has bugs or eggs associated with it.

There are several means by which dwellings can become infested with bedbugs. People can often acquire bedbugs at hotels, motels, or bed-and-breakfasts, and bring them back to their homes in their luggage. They also can pick them up by inadvertently bringing infested furniture or used clothing to their household. If someone is in a location that is severely infested, bedbugs may actually crawl onto and be carried by people's clothing, although this is atypical behavior except in the case of severe infestations, bedbugs are not usually carried from place to place by people on clothing they are currently wearing. Bedbugs may travel between units in multi-unit dwellings, such as condominiums, dormitories and apartment buildings, after being originally brought into the building by one of the above routes.
This spread between sites is dependent in part on the degree of infestation, on the material used to partition units and whether infested items are dragged through common areas while being disposed of, resulting in the shedding of bedbugs and bedbug eggs while being dragged.

How can I avoid getting bed bugs?

Bed bugs mainly are transported from infested furniture and clothing brought into an area. If you avoid bringing any of these items into your room, you should be safe from getting bed bugs. If you think your items may have bed bugs inspect the items, especially around the seams and zippers, where the bedbugs might hide. Visit the website links referenced at the end of this piece for more information.

How can I identify Bed Bugs?

Adult bedbugs are reddish-brown, flattened, oval, and wingless, with microscopic hairs that give them a banded appearance. Adults grow to 4–5 mm (1/8th – 3/16th of an inch) in length and do not move quickly enough to escape the notice of an attentive observer. Newly hatched nymphs are translucent, lighter in color and become browner as they molt and reach maturity. In size, they are often compared to lentils or apple seeds. A common misconception is that they are not visible to the naked eye.

Bedbugs are normally active just before dawn, with a peak feeding period about an hour before sunrise. However, they may attempt to feed at other times, given the opportunity, and have been observed to feed at any time of the day. They reach their host by crawling, or sometimes climbing the walls to the ceiling and jump down. They are attracted by warmth and the presence of carbon dioxide. After feeding for about five minutes, the bug returns to its hiding place. The bites cannot usually be felt until some minutes or hours later, as a dermatological reaction to the injected agents, and the first indication of a bite usually comes from the desire to scratch the bite site.

Although bedbugs can live for a year or eighteen months without feeding, they normally try to feed every five to ten days. Bedbugs that go dormant for lack of food often live longer than a year, while well-fed specimens typically live six to nine months. Low infestations may be difficult to detect, and it is not unusual for the victim not to even realize they have bedbugs early on. Patterns of bites in a row or a cluster are typical as they may be disturbed while feeding. Bites may be found in a variety of places on the body.

Do they carry disease?

Bedbugs seem to possess all of the necessary prerequisites for being capable of passing diseases from one host to another, but there have been no known cases of bed bugs passing disease from host to host. The salivary fluid injected by bed bugs typically causes the skin to become irritated and inflamed, although individuals can differ in their sensitivity. It is also possible that sustained feeding by bedbugs may lead to anemia. It is also important to watch for and treat any secondary bacterial infection.

What are some signs of bed bugs?

The most common sign of bedbugs are unexplained bug bites on your body. The next indication is seeing bugs similar to the type identified above. Even if this bug turns out not to be a bed bug, please notify your RA or AD/RD so action can be taken in regards to the other bugs.