Bed Bugs:
A Landlord's Nightmare

Transcript

Jonathan Forisha:

I’m Jonathan. This is Krista and we’re here to help you be a better landlord. Okay Krista, today we’re going to talk about one of the scariest things that any landlord can face, bed bugs. Dun dun dun. Alright, let’s start with what are bed bugs? Sure.

Krista Reuther:

So, these parasitic little creatures are very, very small. In fact, they’re about the width of a credit card’s thinness, so they can hide anywhere in your house to drink your blood.

That’s essentially what they’re doing. So really, they’re nocturnal. They typically feed at night, so they are looking for places where they can get in, hide, and then have quick access to a host. They then start biting the host.

It usually takes three to seven minutes for them to feed. And similarly to a tick, they swell up with your blood and then crawl away and have more eggs and nips and things. So it’s very unpleasant.

They are very uncomfortable. There’s a lot of stigma around people who have bed bugs, even though it shouldn’t be stigmatized. I mean, practically all of Paris was covered in bed bugs for the greater part of 2023, and we still think Parisians are cool. So I think it doesn’t have to be a death sentence for your property or your tenant, but it is definitely an issue to be taken very seriously.

Jonathan Forisha:

Yeah, you definitely want to avoid them. So what are signs that you have bed bugs? Sure.

Krista Reuther:

So, unfortunately, because they’re so small, they are very, very hard to spot. What you’ll be looking for are reddish brown streaks, anywhere where cloth comes together. So for example, when we look at a mattress, which is typically where we find them because it is easy access at night to a human host, you’ll see just discoloration around the scenes.

So where the mattress meets the wall, for example, or the headboard, or if you pull up the mattress and you’re looking at the actual bed frame, you could see just streaks. Gross. It’s gross. There’s no way to go about it, but it’s gross. You’re also going to see bite marks on the person.

Jonathan Forisha:

Okay, so they’re very unpleasant. Very unpleasant. Okay. And what should a landlord do if their tenant is complaining about potentially having bed bugs?

Krista Reuther:

Oh, I’d say take them seriously from the jump. Bed bugs are notoriously hard to get rid of. Doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try, but it does mean that you need to take them seriously when they bring this concern to you. If they have actual bumps or bites, make sure that they’re documenting that and sending you a picture.

That way, if you have an exterminator on the Rolodex or if you want to call one in, you have something to give them to say, hey, I think this is what’s going on. You could also instruct them to look for some of those telltale signs, pull up their mattress, take the sheet off, and just investigate to see if they see any of those reddish brown streaks. You might also see the actual egg casings and just bodies of bed bugs. They’re very small. They’re usually yellowish, very pale when they’re deceased. So disgusting, but you got to go look for evidence and then hopefully call someone in.

Jonathan Forisha:

As a landlord, how can you help your tenants avoid ever having bed bugs? Yes.

Krista Reuther:

So I would say at a minimum have a conversation with them that relates the following information. If you want to go above and beyond, you could also put this on a laminated piece of paper that lives on their fridge so that they see these reminders every single day because, again, it’s a lot easier to avoid getting bed bugs than it is to get rid of them. On that list, you should let them know to be careful about used furniture. If they are grabbing something from the side of the road, if they see something really cool in goodwill, that’s all well and good, but you want to make sure that they are cleaning it appropriately and that they know the signs of bed bugs so that if they pull over, they’re like, wow, what a great mattress.

Oh, wait, reddish brown streaks. No longer a great mattress. Drive on by. Sure. Okay, so there’s that. I would say also tell them to regularly change their sheets and keep an eye out for these telltale signs. Bed bugs really thrive in messier environments because there’s more places for them to hide, but your place can be as pristine as possible and they could still exist. So taking the extra time to just be thoughtful, keep an eye out when you’re making the bed, that kind of thing is really important.

I would also say don’t just limit it to the bedroom. Really any kind of fabric is good for bed bugs. They like bedrooms and beds because of the proximity to their feeding hosts gross, but it could still be on a living room chair.

It could be anywhere. So do your due diligence, check out any piece of used furniture. You don’t have to avoid having it, but if you are going to bring something in, make sure you do a really thorough cleaning job outside of the actual rental before you bring it in. I would say too, if you have a multifamily property, So, maybe discourage them from bringing in used furniture. I know that it’s cost effective. I appreciate that. But also, especially in a multifamily environment, one unit getting bed bugs is a really easy way for all of your units to get bed bugs.

Jonathan Forisha:

Well, that’s something I was going to bring up, is bed bugs are notoriously good at traveling. So, if you have one room where you know they’re a bed bugs, they’re probably going to get in all the other rooms. And then same with, as you point out, multifamily, they’re going to get into the other units. Yes.

Krista Reuther:

And that can be really nasty, especially because, you know, in a lot of cases, people can’t stay in the rental when it’s being treated for bed bugs. Yeah. So, you have to take that into account. You probably want some language in your lease that says who’s responsible for paying for additional accommodations if that were to take place. Yes.

Jonathan Forisha:

Okay, so before moving in a tenant, is there anything a property owner can do to ensure that they don’t already have bed bugs? Ooh.

Krista Reuther:

Yeah, if the unit is vacant, we have heard of other landlords having an exterminator actually come in and just do an inspection. Assess what, if any, pests are there and then provide a professional write up afterward to say, hey, here’s what I saw in the property on this date at this time, sign off. And that can help the tenant feel more secure. It can also give the landlord something to fall back on if, let’s say, the tenant goes to move in, they’ve been in there for three days and they come to you and say, hey, there are bed bugs and I want to break the lease.

Then you have something to point to and say, well, there weren’t bed bugs before you moved in, so how can we work toward a solution that makes everybody happy? Yeah, because you’re a little bit of peace of mind. Yeah, absolutely. Peace of mind on both sides and, of course, documentation is king. So there’s never a bad way to do it.

Jonathan Forisha:

Okay, so let’s say that they weren’t so fortunate to do any of that. They unfortunately do have bed bugs in their property. How do you get rid of them?

Krista Reuther:

Yeah, so this might be controversial. While I am a huge fan normally of DIY, I would not personally ever try and handle a bed bug infestation by myself.

Jonathan Forisha:

You can’t just use fire? Just a blowtorch. Just a flamethrower, the whole thing?

Krista Reuther:

Yeah, you know, it’s very tempting. But bed bugs are a lot like cockroaches insofar as they are very hard to kill. They can go for a while without food. They can survive really cold temperatures.

They can survive pretty warm temperatures. So rather than go through the struggle and the stress of moving your tenant out for whatever amount of time while you try a DIY solution and then inevitably having to try again and maybe again and maybe again, I would just have somebody come in from the get-go and say, hey, here’s what’s going on. Here’s everything that the tenant is seeing. Here are my expectations for getting this resolved. What is the timeline I can communicate to them? And what else do we need to do for you to take care of this?

They will let you know. Bed bugs were a huge topic back in 2023. They’re probably going to continue to be a huge topic for landlords just given how pervasive they are. So you’re not alone in it. Don’t shame your tenant. Don’t shame yourself. Like just take care of the issue and move on. But don’t try and handle it alone.

Jonathan Forisha:

Yeah. So what does treating from bed bugs actually look like? Sure.

Krista Reuther:

So the most common method is to either use a combination of heat and chemicals or just chemicals. Some people try just heat. As I mentioned, bed bugs can survive pretty warm temperatures. There are even horrifyingly tropical bed bugs, which can survive greater temperatures.

Those are not as common as what we typically see. But it’s going to look like going in and taking everything that might have been impacted. If it’s something like clothing, they might just tell you to throw it away. If it’s something like a mattress, they’re going to seal it up in a big bag. They’re going to dump chemicals into it and probably add heat and seal it up. Because the idea is that it will kill everything in there and then you can clean it and reuse it again. But oftentimes people trying to deal with bed bugs just get rid of the infected pieces and then that spreads the bed bugs. Because you put it out on the curb, someone’s like, oh, what a nice credenza. And they take it home full of bed bugs. And now their house is infected too.

Jonathan Forisha:

That’s awful. Fire. Fire is the only way. But only with a professional. Yeah. Don’t make your own flamethrower. Noted. So what about local laws, state laws? How do these things come into effect when bed bugs are concerned?

Krista Reuther:

Sure. As with many aspects of land-loathing, there are specific rules dictated by your local county, your state, et cetera. That goes double for bed bugs. So just make sure if you suspect that there’s an infestation, you are also checking your local laws just to see if there are specific notification requirements. Maybe you have to notify your entire building if you have a multifamily. Or if they dictate how you are supposed to treat your tenant, whether that means moving them into a hotel for the time being, et cetera.

Just return to those laws. Make sure you know what’s expected of you. And then communicate that to your tenant. You are working together in this situation to combat the bed bugs, not against each other. That’s right. Be transparent, be clear, and then hopefully you’ll get those suckers out of there. Yeah.

Jonathan Forisha:

Don’t let the bed bugs tear you apart. Truly?

Krista Reuther:

Do not let them tear you apart. Do not let them bite. All right.

Jonathan Forisha:

Well, if you out there have any personal experiences with bed bugs, we’d love to hear them. Leave them in the comments below.

Krista Reuther:

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