Pest problem intensifies

An unusually high number of reported bedbug-infested rooms brought pest-detecting beagles to search every room in Boston University’s 575 Commonwealth Avenue’ dormitory last Thursday, officials said.
Exterminators treated a dozen infected rooms last week, BU spokesman Colin Riley said. The bugs have not spread to other dorms, but Riley said this is the biggest infestation BU has seen.
‘In the past, only one room or maybe two were infested,’ he said.
Exterminators will conduct follow-up inspections of the infested rooms two to three weeks after each room is sprayed to kill the bugs. Each room is being sprayed on a case-by-case basis, officials said.’
Residents said, however, that they were frustrated by the way BU handled the situation.
College of Arts and Sciences sophomore Angelica Barrera lives in one of the first rooms identified as infested with bedbugs in 575 Commonwealth Avenue. She said she and her roommates initially met opposition when they first alerted the Office of Residence Life, which at the time did not have an official protocol for bedbug infestations.
‘We were guinea pigs,’ she said. ‘I was frustrated with no initial policy, but ORL has come a little ways since then.’
Barrera said she endured bites for three weeks before her room was treated and still has 25 scars on her arms from the bugs. Her doctor told her the scars would not go away for a few months.
ORL now has an official protocol for dealing with students with infected rooms, ORL Director David Zamojski said in an email.
If students suspect a bedbug infestation, they should fill out a maintenance request form at their Residence Life Office.
If the exterminator determines the room is infested, ORL will provide the residents with storage bins, trash bags and a mobile closet to move their belongings. Residents must leave the room for six hours after the treatment, and a follow-up treatment is done two to three weeks after the initial treatment.
BU will also provide laundry service for those with infested rooms, and mattresses will be replaced ‘as needed,’ according to the protocol.
School of Education freshman Lauren Lutz, a 575 Commonwealth third floor resident, found out about the bedbug infestation after reading an Oct. 2 Daily Free Press article on the matter.
She said her resident assistant held two floor meetings to discuss the problem ‘-‘- once after the article ran and again when bedbugs spread to her floor.
College of Engineering freshman Gabrielle Rossell said she saw the exterminator and beagle enter her room but did not know why it was searching her room.
‘I figured it was a drug dog,’ Rossell said.
Bedbugs are fairly common in areas that have a lot of visitors or residents, like cruise ships, dormitories and apartment buildings. They are carried passively on luggage, furniture, clothing and other similar objects, Harvard School of Public Health entomologist Richard Pollack said.
The cleanliness of a room does not affect the likelihood of a bedbug infestation, though a dirty room may provide more hiding places for the nearly invisible pests, Pollack said. Bedbugs are parasites that feed on mammal blood. Adult bedbugs are about three-eighths of an inch long, and young bedbugs are about the size of a period.
When they feed, bedbugs inject saliva into the host animal, which can cause an allergic reaction. This allergic reaction looks much like a mosquito bite and can be itchy and painful.’ Scratching a bedbug bite can lead to scarring and prolonged inflammation.