8 Parent Tips from the Experts on Preventing Bed Bugs at College

Parents have many worries as their college student heads back to school.  And now, with recent college bed bug outbreaks, fear of an infestation at school, and possibly at home, has been added to our list. Bed bugs at colleges are quite common. A 2013 study by the Pest Management Association reported that 47% of pest management professionals had treated a bed bug outbreak in a college dorm. Bed bugs can survive for long periods of time without a blood meal, up to a year, if other conditions are met, such as temperature.  Therefore, even if the dorm room has been unoccupied for the last several months, bed bugs may very well have survived. And it is more often the case that dorms are utilized for other events while students are out of session, like camps, meetings, etc. there are many opportunities for bed bugs to be introduced to the room. 

Students living in off-campus housing like apartments and townhomes are also at risk. Bed bugs do not discriminate and regardless of how neat and clean a living area can look, it does not mean that they are safe from a bed bug infestation. What puts students at higher risk for bed bug infestations is living in such close proximity to others.  

But don’t despair, there are some tips and tricks to avoiding these blood-sucking bugs from infesting your college students room:

1. Do a web search for bed bugs at your child’s school.  It is better to be aware of any past activity that may have occurred at the school.  If the school has had an outbreak in the past be extra vigilant when arriving and inspecting his or her dorm room. 
2. If you are helping to move your child back into a dorm or apartment at school and staying in a hotel yourself, check out bedbugregistry.com to ensure that the hotel has not had recent bed bug activity. 
3. Set up a google alert for bed bugs at your child’s school.  Schools may not necessarily notify the parents of students about infestations but will notify your child.  Be the first to know by setting up an alert with the words bed bug and your child’s school name.
4. Educate your child on what a bed bug infestation looks like and have them be on the lookout.  Be sure they understand that when it comes to bed bugs, you want to address the problem at the first sign of it.  The longer an infestation goes untreated the more difficult it will be to control.
5. Purchase bed bug mattress and box spring protection.  A good offense is the best defense against bed bugs.  Be forward-thinking and cover the mattress before your child is faced with an infestation, it just may help prevent bed bugs in your child’s room. 
6. Find out if the school has a bed bug policy in place and be sure you and your child are familiar with it.  Resident Life at the school should be able to assist with this policy. 
7. Before moving your belongings into the room be sure to fully inspect the room for bed bugs. 
8. Remind your child to launder his or her bedding every week at the highest temperatures possible and to visibly inspect the mattress and liner at the same time.