Question by suhaib:
Can my landlord force us to have our apartment treated for bedbugs when we don’t have the infestation?
We where only informed yesterday about the monster of the job we have to do to prepare our apartment for the treatment of bedbugs. That only gives us two days to prepare and my husband and i both have jobs to go too, so we aren’t really going to be able to do anything to prepare.
The 2nd floor below us has a severe case of bed bugs, obviously something that took some time to happen and yet we do not have the problem.
My landlord wants to come in a spray chemicals all over my place for a problem we do not have in a short notice of time. Also too, I have 3 cats and I am worried about their well being in all this.
Can our landlord force us to get treatment? Shouldn’t an inspector first come in and check to see first if we have a problem before spraying chemicals all over the place?
Best answer:
Answer by Patricia C
Yes. A bedbug infestation in one apartment can effect every other unit in the building. I would recommend that you ask the pest control people what you should do about your cats during the treatment.
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If your downstairs neighbor is severely infested it would not do you any good to avoid treatment because the first place they will go is to your apartment. Your landlord is doing the right thing by treating all apartments at once and trying to eliminate the problem once and for all. Call your Vet ask him about the treatment if he feels it is a problem you will need to either have a friend board them for a day or two or maybe your Vet. Heads up the Vet will charge. This is a serious health problem if your landlord does not treat the problem he can be fined by the board of health. If you refuse treatment the fine can be waivered over to you because of your refusal. Either you do the work he wants to prepare or take time off to do it. Did you know if you refuse treatment it gets reported to the board of health by the exterminator. That refusal prevents your landlord from abiding by the law which in turn can earn you an eviction notice. Nobody really wants bedbugs Do they ??
Call your vet and have your cats day boarded while the apartment is being treated. This will alleviate any problems with the cats since they cannot be left in the apartment while the spraying is going on.
Yes your landlord can spray your apartment whether you want it or not. He owns the building, and if he doesn’t treat all the units then he will have to spend even more money to try and get rid of a problem that should have been taken care of the first time around.
And be prepared, the bedbugs will probably take more than one treatment. I’d ask the landlord how many times the building will be treated and when, so you can make arrangements.