Bedbugs
You are required to report any suspicion of bedbugs immediately to Management Company.
Bedbugs are small, oval, brownish insects that live on the blood of animals or humans. Adult bedbugs have flat bodies about the size of an apple seed. After feeding, however, their bodies swell and are a reddish color.
Bedbugs do not fly, but they can move quickly over floors, walls, and ceilings. Female bedbugs may lay hundreds of eggs, each of which is about the size of a speck of dust, over a lifetime.
Immature bedbugs, called nymphs, shed their skins five times before reaching maturity and require a meal of blood before each shedding. Under favorable conditions the bugs can develop fully in as little as a month and produce three or more generations per year.
Although they are a nuisance, they are not thought to transmit diseases.
Where bedbugs hide
Bedbugs may enter your home undetected through luggage, clothing, used beds and couches, and other items. Their flattened bodies make it possible for them to fit into tiny spaces, about the width of a credit card. Bedbugs do not have nests like ants or bees, but tend to live in groups in hiding places. Their initial hiding places are typically in mattresses, box springs, bed frames, and headboards where they have easy access to people to bite in the night.
Over time, however, they may scatter through the bedroom, moving into any crevice or protected location. They may also spread to nearby rooms or apartments.
Because bedbugs live solely on blood, having them in your home is not a sign of dirtiness. You are as likely to find them in immaculate homes and hotel rooms as in filthy ones.
When bedbugs bite
Bedbugs are active mainly at night and usually bite people while they are sleeping. They feed by piercing the skin and withdrawing blood through an elongated beak. The bugs feed from three to 10 minutes to become engorged and then crawl away unnoticed.
Most bedbug bites are painless at first, but later turn into itchy welts. Unlike flea bites that are mainly around the ankles, bedbug bites are on any area of skin exposed while sleeping. Also, the bites do not have a red spot in the center like flea bites do.
People who don't realize they have a bedbug infestation may attribute the itching and welts to other causes, such as mosquitoes. To confirm bedbug bites, you must find and identify the bugs themselves.
Reporting process
Bedbugs are a serious problem and quick action is very important. The Association requires early reporting.
Again, you are required to report any suspicion of bedbugs immediately to Management Company.
You must allow access to your unit for inspection and treatment. Failure to do so puts everyone in the building at risk. You will be fined per day if access is denied.
Who pays for what
- The Association will pay for the inspection of the reporting unit and adjacent units.
- The average cost for treatment has been $1,000 - $2000 per unit. If the unit owner and tenants allow timely access and comply with the treatment instructions the Association will pay 50% of the cost.
- If the bedbugs are not found in the adjacent units, the Association is responsible for the costs of preventively treating adjacent units, if deemed necessary.
- If bedbugs are found in the adjacent units, the Association will pay for 50% of the cost of treatment as long as the unit owner and tenants allow timely access and comply with the the treatment instructions. Otherwise the owner is responsible for the entire cost.
- Penalty for not allowing access to unit: fine per day.
- Penalty for clearly identifiable negligent source of bedbugs: payment of 100% costs.
- Penalty for not reporting bedbugs: payment of 100% costs.
- Penalty for not allowing access for treatment: payment of 100% costs.
Inspection and treatment process
- Do not spray or otherwise try to treat(kill) the bedbugs yourself. This will just make them spread and cause a much larger problem.
- Unit will be inspected. Canine Inspection Preparation
- If bedbugs are found 3 cycles of chemical treatments will be scheduled. 30 days after last treatment the canine will again inspect your unit.
Preparation before treatment:
- Remove all bedding (sheets, mattress pads, pillowcases, blankets) and launder and/or place in dryer on high heat for 30 minutes before our scheduled service.
- Remove all items from closets, dresser drawers, nightstands, etc., and place in plastic bags before our scheduled service.
- Have all clothing and other fabrics laundered, dry-cleaned, or placed in a dryer on high heat for 30 minutes. If laundering, use a hot water and detergent cycle. Place laundered items in a sealed plastic bag or container.
- Discard cardboard boxes, shoe boxes, paper and plastic bags, old newspapers, stacks of magazines and similar items in infested rooms. Remove as much clutter as possible so our technician can access all areas.
- In heavily infested residences, pull back approximately 6 inches of carpeting from around the baseboards. Pull all molding/baseboards from the wall.
- Remove all switch plates from the walls in the room and pull all plumbing escutcheon plates away from the wall.
- Remove all posters, pictures, and other wall hangings and inspect thoroughly for any bedbug activity.
- Vacuum all floors, rugs, upholstered furniture, mattresses, and inside closets. Seal vacuum bags in a plastic bag and discarded outside of building
- Do not apply any over the counter insecticides before our service visit. Most are repellents and will have a negative effect on our treatment.
- Items that are removed from the residence for disposal need to be sealed in plastic or placed in a sealed bag to prevent the spread of bedbugs during transport.
- The cheesecloth on the underside of furniture will be removed to allow for proper inspection and/or application.
- Do not dispose of mattresses or furniture in the building or on the street.
City of Cambridge Mattress Recycling
After treatment:
- Keep out of the residence for a period of no less than 4 hours after treatment.
- A follow-up inspection will be scheduled to determine if activity is still occurring. This gives the applied product time to be effective.
- Keep furniture and other items a minimum of 1-2 feet from the walls and all items bagged until a follow-up inspection is completed. • Please keep belongings packed up until the follow-up inspection is conducted. This will allow the technician to make an additional application if it is deemed necessary after the inspection.
- After the follow-up inspection, the client should look for pest activity while unpacking bagged items. If activity is found in clothing or other fabrics, place in dryer on high heat for 30 minutes. If activity is found in non-clothing articles, seal back in plastic bag and contact our office.
- The installation of mattress and box spring encasements are recommended.
Mice
The Association has a contract with Waltham Pest Control (see our list of Vendors) to service the common areas, inside and out, four times a year. Waltham identifies and blocks entry points and deploys and checks bait stations that deter rats (never a problem inside the building) as well as mice.
Because of our contract, Waltham offers special rates to unit owners: $35 for a visit scheduled in conjunction with their building visit, $100 otherwise. To help us track problem areas and facilitate coordination, if you need outside help, we recommend that you use Yankee.
Waltham visits will be announced well in advance; unit service needs to be scheduled with Yankee at least a week ahead of time. Payment for unit service calls must be made directly to Waltham at the time of service. You can give them credit card information on the phone.
Mice sometimes succeed in their efforts to enter the building and make homes for themselves. City of Cambridge policy is that condo owner are responsible for the costs of extermination within their own units, but if you see evidence of activity, please notify the management company so we can monitor patterns.
Please be watchful for droppings, etc., and take early action. Mice can mate when they are two months old, and a female mouse and give birth to up to ten litters of 5-8 a year. Mice can squeeze through openings as small as a quarter inch in diameter, so the most important step is to block any and all holes and cracks with fine steel wool (available at any hardware store). Check around your radiators, plumbing pipes, stove and refrigerator, cabinets and baseboards, Any unit that provides easy access will encourage mice to remain in the building, and it’s worth looking for openings and blocking them even if you’ve seen no evidence of mice activity.
Mice (and rats) can climb walls, so make sure your window screens and air conditioners are in place and secure.
City Of Cambridge Rodent Management handbook
Mouse Signs, start treatment !!!
Cockroaches
Condo owners are responsible for the costs of extermination within their own units. If you see evidence of activity, notify the management company, so we can monitor activity.
These are a few of the most common methods to get rid of cockroaches, and while they all work, you’ll most likely end up needing a combination of them in order to be totally roach-free.
1. Baits
Often the safest and most effective, baits work over an extended period of time, killing roaches directly or by using an unlucky few to carry the poison back to their buddies. Both gels and bait traps are typically available ready to go in small containers which can be purchased at your neighborhood hardware store, drug store or supermarket.
Bait in containers should be placed near areas where you’ve already seen roaches, where food and moisture are most readily available and changed regularly every three to six months.
2. Pesticide dusts
Dusts come in three different types – silica, diatomaceous earth and boric acid. The first two damage and desiccate a roach’s exoskeleton while the boric acid is toxic when ingested.
Pesticide dust should be placed where roaches hide like in cabinets, behind appliances or around cracks in kitchens and bathrooms and reapplied every three to four months.
3. Traps
Traps are for the brave souls who don’t mind dealing with the disposal of live roaches. They can be purchased from the store or made at home. Sticky traps will stop a roach in its tracks and can usually be found at local hardware or drug stores.
If you’d like to go the homemade route, put a slightly moist piece of bread and some slices of raw potato in an open jar. Then, line the inside walls of the jar with petroleum jelly and set in an area you’ve seen cockroaches. They’ll come in for the food but won’t be able to climb back out. To dispose of the roaches you catch, fill the jar with soapy water and screw on a lid.