Question by the lady in red.:
My roommate brought bed bugs to my apartment. Should I ask her to pay part of the extermination cost?
I previously had no pest problems. Then she moved in and started having all these bites on her body and we found out it was bed bugs.
She had to throw out her mattress. She has moved out after a month.
Should I ask her to pay for part of the extermination?
The bugs are not yet in my room across from hers but am afraid they might get there.
Best answer:
Answer by Alice
Yes! She should pay half, if not all of the cost.
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{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
That is disgusting. Honestly, Its hard to have her pay for it since she moved out. I would just call it a lost and have the problem taken car of yourself. =(
She should pay the entire exterminator bill if you ask me!
Don’t actually *ask*. Get some exterminator quotes (photo copy it all for her), select what you think is the best one and tell her “I think this is the best one, but if you have any better suggestions, let me know and then we’ll split the cost – sound good?”
At this stage she’s either going to agree, or she might disagree – then you have to decide how hard you want to fight for it.
She probably did bring them in. But it’s not absolute proof that she did. But she shares the bill’s anyway, doesn’t she?
If not, I think that you should ask her to pay half the exterminator bills since there is the possibility that she brought them with her.
You can try… but I would treat it soon…
they migrate FAST!
My dear girl, it is most irresponsible of her to bring bed bugs into your place of abode. What was she thinking? Does she keep them as pets?
I knew a Spanish chap once by the name of Manuel. He had what he thought was a filigree Siberian hamster in a cage in his room. Turns out it was a stinking big rat. My friend Fawlty gave him a great whack on the head for it.
If this roommate of yours keeps bed bugs as pets then it’s jolly well time to get rid of her!
OMG call the exterminator. They will migrate to other rooms, and they are VERY difficult to get rid of. Yes, she should help pay for it. Buy mattress encasements from Protect-a-Bed and put them on all the mattresses and boxsprings. Tell your landlord. The apartments next to you will probably have to be treated, too. Tell your neighbors, so they can take precautions. Actually, since you’re in an apartment building, they could have come from one of the other apartments. Some people don’t know they have them, because they are not allergic to them.
Purchase a spray that contains Deltamethrin at your local hardware store or online. This will kill and draw out the bedbugs from their hiding places. Make sure to spray mattresses, furniture, drapes, floors, baseboards. The spray comes ready made or mix-it-yourself.
Purchase a powder/dust such as Drione Dust which contain Pyrethrins (derived from flowers). Apply the powder (AFTER spray from step 1 has dried) to baseboards, mattresses, behind picture frames, around the bed, and in the bathroom where bedbugs go for water. As the bugs crawl over the dust, it will dry them out and kill them. The powder has a lasting effect for months and will supplement the spraying. Diatomaceous earth works the same way.
Make sure in the mean time to wash clothes and sheets in hot water, remove clutter where bedbugs can hide (consider getting plastic containers for storage of documents and clothes).
Steam cleaners can help kill the ones on furniture and curtains.
Links:
http://doyourownpestcontrol.com/bed-bugs.htm
http://bedbugger.com/
http://www.topbedbugproducts.com/
http://naturalginesis.com/info_bedbugs.html
http://www.protectabed.com/ (or buy on Ebay)