By: Kayla Bremer
kbremer@klkntv.com
Bed bug infestations have continued to increase across America. In a recent poll, some pest professionals are reporting increases up to 25 percent. Cases have been reported in hotels, dorm rooms, homes and apartment complexes. People who rent a home or apartment are among those affected by bed bugs, so they want to know who is responsible for treating the problem.
"In some cases, it may be the tenant brought them in...but ultimately, the landlord's going to be responsible for making sure there's a pest free environment provided for the tenant," environmental health specialist Nancy Clark said.
Clark says the Health Department in Lancaster county gets about five calls a week reporting bed bugs. They are required to notify the property owner of the report and recommend they hire a professional exterminator. Clark says it's important that the tenants also do their part.
"When you do treatment for bed bugs, you need to not only take care of the professional treatment but if people have a lot of clutter it might be a problem and the treatment won't really work."
Removing clutter from your home and checking your bed and suitcase on vacation can help prevent bringing bed bugs into your home. If you are a renter, the Health Department recommends that you report any bed bug findings to your landlord right away.
"Probably the most important thing is that if you think you might have bed bugs, report it early so it can be treated early because it's much more difficult to get control of it when the population of it is larger."
We spoke with a local rental agency about bed bugs and their procedures for dealing with them. They said they always address the problem, but depending on the situation, they may require that the tenant pay for the treatment.
