Buying an apartment is an exciting yet challenging experience, especially if you’re looking to live in a big city. There are plenty of things you have to look for while touring apartments. Walking around to determine the safety of the surrounding area, checking that the faucets work correctly, testing outlets, turning on lights, and listening for noise levels are a few to-do’s practically everyone checks of their list when going on tours. There is, however, one major nuisance that buyers often overlook when they’re looking for their next place to live – bed bugs.
Pest infestations are commonplace in highly populated areas, and if your lease price seems too good to be true, a bed bug infestation just might be the reason behind it. The only way to make sure you don’t fall victim to a low asking price that comes along with some unwanted cohabitators is to know exactly what to look for before you step foot into the space you’re touring. Here’s how to detect bed bugs before signing a lease.
Ask Around
The best way to get information about the building you’re touring right off the bat is to ask the people that live there. Don’t shy away from asking your potential landlord and current tenants if there has been a history of bed bugs. One of these parties is bound to give the inside scoop on the building, and it is the landlord’s responsibility to ensure rental units are fit for habitation and comply with health standards.
Be Wary of A Fresh Coat of Paint
You might be delighted to see a fresh coat of slick paint during your apartment tour, but you know what they say – things aren’t always what they seem. Rather than address an active bed bug infestation head on with extermination services, some deceptive landlords opt to take the easy way out and instead try to cover it up.
If you notice the apartment you’re touring is freshly painted, take a look at the joints in the baseboards, ceilings, and walls of the place to see if they have been covered up with caulk. If they have, it’s more than likely that the space is infested with bed bugs.
Do Some Detective Work
At the end of the day, the only person you can rely on is yourself, so be prepared to roll up your sleeves and perform a full-on inspection if you’re heavily considering living in the space you’re touring. All you’ll need to do said inspection is the flashlight on your phone and a card in your wallet you don’t mind getting dirty. Bed bugs are about the width of a credit card, so if a crack can hold your card a bed bug just might be hiding in there.
If the apartment you’re touring is furnished, open up the drawers, use your phone flashlight as a light source, and scrape your card over the surfaces inside. Look for any evidence of bed bugs, some of which may include tiny bugs that are the size of an apple seed or pinhead, rust-coloured stains, white exoskeletons, or small, white clusters of bed bug eggs. Also make sure to look for signs of bed bugs in between cushions, in the folds of curtains, in the seams of chairs and couches, and under mattresses.
If you’re touring an unfurnished apartment, there are still plenty of places that bed bugs can hide. Check for evidence of bed bugs underneath loose wallpaper, behind power outlets, and in corners where the wall and ceiling meet. Also, take the extra precaution of running your card between gaps in baseboards. It’s always better to be safe than sorry!
By taking the extra precautions that have been laid out in this blog, you’ll be much less likely to end up in a space that has bothersome bed bugs. But even despite your best efforts, there’s no way to completely protect your apartment from future infestations, which is where Bed Bug Exterminator Pro comes in.
At Bed Bug Exterminator Pro, we offer top-of-the-line bed bug heat treatment services that get rid of all unwanted pests in just one visit. We guarantee the lowest prices on the market and use eco-friendly extermination practices that are safe for pets and children. Contact us today and say goodbye to your unwanted guests!