Loyola University Chicago: Bed Bugs as Recently as January
Yep, it’s true, at least according to the March 25, 2009 edition of Loyola University Chicago’s student newspaper, The Phoenix.
Rayna Costanzo, in Don’t let the bed bugs bite: A reemergence of the pests puts residents on alert says
Brian Johnson, associate director of Residence Life, said Loyola has had problems with bed bugs in the past, most recently this January.
“Whenever we have a suspected bed bug problem, we immediately call in the extermination company that works with the institution,” Johnson said. “The company will set traps, inspect the apartment and determine what the problem is.”
It’s really important to hire a professional pest management company with experience and training in treating bed bug infestations. As long as Loyola’s extermination company fills the bill, they’re on the right track.
I can’t help but wonder about those traps, though. See, traps that are commonly used to detect roaches and other bugs just don’t work with bed bugs. That’s because bed bugs aren’t attracted to them. Bed bugs feed solely on the blood of humans, remember, so they’re attracted to, well, us. Perhaps Loyola’s exterminator uses a trap that’s specifically designed for bed bugs, like the CDC 3000, which “mimics the presence of a human body” by emitting “CO2, heat, and the chemical equivalent to body odor to attract even incipient levels of bed bugs.”
In any case, it sounds like the folks over at Loyola take great measures to prevent the spread of bed bugs throughout campus:
If bed bugs are found in an apartment on campus, Johnson said that students are relocated and are not permitted to bring anything out of the room in order to prevent the highly transmittable bugs from spreading.
This is a really, really good idea. This, however, might not be:
Furniture is discarded, mattresses are discarded and the carpet is steam cleaned throughout the apartment,” Johnson said.
Steam cleaning? Good. Discarding furniture and mattresses? Not so good, unless it’s done at the suggestion and under the direct supervision of a qualified pest management professional. Why? Because bed bug infestations are spread throughout cities (and college campuses, I’d guess) on infested furniture that’s been discarded without proper sealing and without proper warning to people who might pick it up and take it home with them. Infested furniture must be sealed– and I’m talking airtight, people– before it’s discarded, because bed bugs and eggs can fall off during the disposal process. Think of all the places that might exposed to bed bugs when furniture is dragged outside: hallways, other rooms, lobbies… Who knows?
I can’t help but think that it would be fantastic if our city made all of this information– along with a standard protocol for people to follow and maybe some mattress stickers (Caution! Bed Bugs!) and maybe even a hotline for people to call to report bed bug infestations and request information about how to handle them properly– easily accessible to the general public. So does at least one Loyola student, and I don’t blame her a bit. Phoenix editor LeeAnn Maton says
…Illinois officials have been recieving a relatively high volume of complaints for a year. A year? Couldn’t we have a tracking system in place by now? Or an Excel spreadsheet at least? As a Chicago resident, I’d love to know what buildings near me are infested. You know, so I can avoid, say, moving into one.
A city-wide publicity campaign to educate citizens about the signs, symptoms and preventative measures is long overdue.
A centralized resource for handling bed bug complaints is also necessary. Currently, the Chicago Department of Health doesn’t handle complaints because bed bugs, though disgusting, don’t carry or spread diseases.
LeeAnn sounds a heck of a lot like some other people we know. Ahem.
It sounds to me like Loyola’s on top of the problem on its campus. Let’s hope the City of Chicago follows suit, soon, or Loyola– and lots of other people– will be dealing with bed bugs all over again.
