What Should You Do If Your Rental Has Bed Bugs?

When a tenant reports bites or bugs, have a licensed pest management professional inspect the unit within days, inspect the units on each side and directly above and below, and treat until follow-up inspections find no live bugs. The Connecticut bed bug rules below exclude detached single-family rentals, and the Cook County rules exclude owner-occupied buildings with six units or fewer. Several states and cities set the deadlines and the bill: Connecticut gives you 5 business days to inspect and makes you pay for inspection and treatment, Maine requires an inspection within 5 days, and suburban Cook County, Illinois, requires pest control within 10 days after bed bugs are found or reasonably suspected anywhere on the premises or a tenant reports them in writing, whichever happens first. In Connecticut the tenant pays to prepare the unit, and in Connecticut and Maine a tenant who unreasonably fails to cooperate pays for the extra treatments that failure causes.

How do you know it is bed bugs?

Bites alone do not prove it. EPA says bed bug bites can look like mosquito or chigger bites, rashes, or hives, and some people do not react at all. Look for physical signs instead:

• Live bugs, which hide in any crack thin enough to hold a credit card.
• Rusty or reddish stains on sheets or the mattress from crushed bugs.
• Dark spots about the size of a period, which are droppings and smear like marker ink.
• Eggs and eggshells about 1 millimeter long, and pale yellow shed skins.

Check the seams, piping, and tags of the mattress and box spring, then cracks in the bed frame and headboard. In a heavier infestation, bugs also hide in couch seams, curtain folds, drawer joints, outlets, and where the wall meets the ceiling. EPA warns that carpet beetles are often mistaken for bed bugs, so have a professional identify any sample before you treat. Connecticut lets a certified pesticide applicator, a local health official, or a certified dog detection team do the inspection.

What should you do in the first week?

1. Reply to the tenant in writing the same day and schedule an inspection. EPA advises against blaming tenants, because tenants who expect blame report later, and a larger infestation costs more to control.
2. Meet your local deadline. For covered rentals, Connecticut requires you to inspect the unit and any contiguous units you own within 5 business days of the tenant's notice and to start treatment within 5 business days after the inspection confirms bugs. Maine requires an inspection within 5 days and a call to a pest control agent within 10 days after you confirm an infestation. For covered rentals, suburban Cook County requires pest control services within 10 days after bed bugs are found or reasonably suspected anywhere on the premises or a tenant reports them in writing, whichever happens first.
3. Hire a licensed professional with bed bug experience. New York City requires a pest professional licensed by the state Department of Environmental Conservation. EPA recommends a company that uses several methods rather than spraying alone.
4. Inspect the neighboring units. For covered rentals, Cook County's ordinance requires inspection, and treatment if needed, of the units on either side and directly above and below, repeated until no more infestation is found. EPA also advises checking adjacent units in any multifamily building.
5. Give notice before you enter. Follow your state's entry notice rules. California treats entry for a pest control inspection of the chosen unit and follow-up checks of surrounding units as a necessary service, and tenants must cooperate.
6. Share the results. California requires you to give tenants of inspected units the findings in writing within 2 business days of receiving them, and to notify all tenants of a confirmed infestation in a common area.
7. Keep records. For covered rentals, Cook County requires the pest company's reports and receipts to be kept for 3 years.

Do not show or rent a vacant unit you know is infested. California and Maine both prohibit it.

How do you prepare the tenant and the unit?

EPA says success depends on every affected household taking part. Give the tenant the pest company's instructions in writing before the first visit. Chicago's bed bug ordinance requires you to give tenants written notice of their duties and the specific preparation needed before any inspection or treatment. EPA's preparation list covers the usual steps:

• Run clothing, bedding, and other dryer-safe items on high heat for 30 minutes. Washing alone may not kill bugs.
• Seal cleaned items in plastic bags, and move items between rooms only in sealed bags.
• Clear clutter, cardboard boxes, and anything stored under the bed.
• Move the bed at least 6 inches from the wall, encase the mattress and box spring, and put interceptor cups under the bed legs.
• Vacuum, then seal the vacuum bag in plastic and put it in an outdoor trash bin.

For a tenant who is physically unable to prepare, Connecticut and Maine require you to offer reasonable help and tell the tenant what it will cost. Maine lets you spread a reasonable charge over no more than 6 months unless you agree otherwise.

Should you use heat or chemical treatment?

EPA recommends an integrated plan that combines methods rather than relying on pesticides alone.

Whichever method you choose, schedule follow-up inspections. EPA advises checking at least every 7 days and monitoring for at least a year after treatment ends.

What about infested furniture?

Treat furniture when you can and discard it only when it cannot be treated. To stop someone from taking discarded furniture home, EPA advises ripping the covers, removing the stuffing, and spray painting "Bed Bugs" on it, then arranging pickup quickly. Chicago requires tenants to seal belongings in plastic bags before carrying them through common areas, and Connecticut bars removing a tenant's infested belongings from the unit until the pest professional says treatment is complete or you approve. Maine does not require you to replace a tenant's belongings or provide other lodging during treatment.

Who pays for bed bug treatment?

Where no bed bug statute applies, your state's duty to keep a rental fit to live in and your lease decide who pays. Our guide to how much maintenance and repair the law requires covers the general duty, and the New York repair rules and Illinois repair rules give the state detail. What you must tell new tenants about past infestations is in the legal requirements for bed bug disclosure.

Bed bugs are one of several hazards you can be liable for; your key liabilities as a landlord covers the others.