The battle between tenants and building owners is very real when it comes to bed bugs. When a rental unit has become infested with bed bugs, not only are you battling with bed bugs themselves but also the landlord or the owner of the unit. This happens way too often. Building owners are for the most part trying to save money by hiring the cheapest exterminator which results in an ineffective treatment of bed bugs and conflict between tenant and owner.

An article came out in the Ottawa Citizen about the tenants living at 2045 Carling Ave where communication between tenants and landlords is deficient pertaining to the bed bug infestations in various units. The problem has become so serious that some tenants are seeing counsellors and anxiety medication to help cope with the panic attacks from the thought of sleeping with bed bugs. Others are burdened by the cost of having to throw away all their furniture because of fear that their furniture is infested with the pest. The risk is just not worth it. A single bed bug can cause havoc in your home. In another case a tenant just bought a new house and will be moving soon, however, she cannot risk bringing her furniture to her new home, it’s just not worth it and we understand.

In this case, the problem exists because the building owners are not listening to the tenants when they complain about bed bugs, they brush it off. In addition, when a tenant complains the delay between complaint and reaction is too long, and lastly, they are not communicating the infestation to the other tenants. In this case the tenants are right. However, as mentioned in the article, it is not the owners of the building who bring bed bugs into the units, it’s the tenants, yet landlords are expected to pay…food for thought. Although it’s not the owners fault, the law obliges them to react quickly.

Because owners are responsible for their building, they are also responsible for communicating any potential threats in the building like the location emergency exits, making sure all units have fire alarms and etc. Bed bugs spread, and they spread fast, and bed bug awareness is essential for others to keep their eyes open for any signs of bed bugs in their respective unit in order to detect early. With bed bugs, the earlier you detect, the easier it is to get rid of them.

How to get rid of bed bugs in Ottawa

The owners are right in saying that it’s not them would brought the bed bugs into the building, it’s the tenant. Also, they are not in control of the ways people live; some live in clutter, others keep everything tidy, some like to keep their place cold and others warms. That being said, the owner cannot solve the problem on their own. If a tenant keeps his place a mess, it’s much harder to find bed bugs. If other tenants like to receive lots of guest or enjoy travelling, then that unit is prone to infestation, so owners need help from the tenants. The tenants need to understand that they must do their part in the extermination process which means keep a tidy place and be constantly monitoring for the presence of bed bugs. This can be done in many ways, but the most cost efficient way is to install bed bug traps and protecting your mattress. Any bed bug extermination in Ottawa will suggest the same thing. Check out the ClimbUp bed bug traps and our mattress encasements.

Obviously, if the owner is not attentive to the complains of the tenants and the tenants are being vigilant, than it’s a losing battle, but if both parties are on board and communicate efficiently and work together, bed bugs can be a thing of the past.

Here is the article from the Ottawa Citizen: http://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/tenants-say-landlord-communication-lacking-as-bed-bugs-infest-apartments

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