Solving the Bed Bugs Problem (in House Hack)

[Spencer Cornelia]

Background: I operate a 7 bed / 5 bath house hack in Las Vegas

My cleaning crew found a bed bug so I hired pest control to come investigate the property.  $85 later and no signs of bed bugs.  Huge relief!  Dodged a bullet!

I knew nothing about bed bugs and was worried I just walked into a major problem.  The inspector said their company offers a heating method for $1.50 per square foot.  My 2,400 square foot house would cost $3,600 for the heat method on top of managing 6 roommates having to vacate the property for 24-48 hours.  Fun times when multiple people work from home.  I really hoped the bed bugs didn't return.

2-3 weeks later, a roommate complained of a possible bed bug bite.  I investigated the bed of the roommate in the room next door and found the source.  We definitely had a bed bug problem.

I read through the BP forums hoping to find a solution.  I can't thank @Kevin Farrell enough for recommending a pest control specialist that sprays.

After calling a couple companies, I found one that sprays for $300 per room.  Much better than the expected $3,600 heating method.

Before this specialist sprayed, we needed to remove all belongings from these two rooms in order to spray.  Nearly all personal belongings were removed from dressers and placed outside.

The specialist sprayed for $600 (two rooms) and both roommates had to evacuate their room for 4+ hours.  We removed both sets of furniture and the bed-bug-filled-mattresses out of the house.  Fun times.

This guy guaranteed his work and set a follow up appointment for two weeks later.

That appointment was just now and I'm feeling optimistic.  No bugs have been found for a few days.  A couple bites happened to the roommate who experienced the first bites.  She believes the bugs were living in her pillow so that was removed from the house.

Next step is to clean both rooms, run a new line of silicone under the baseboards to remove the bugs ability to escape/enter the walls, and wait another two weeks for him to spray one final time.  The specialist said that the spray eliminates the bed bugs' ability to reproduce.  Given no signs of bugs being present right now, I'm optimistic the problem will be solved soon.

A couple notes on bed bugs:
- they enter your house randomly
- they are not tied to the "cleanliness" of the property
- they are an absolute pain if you have an infestation
- I would highly recommend paying for zippered mattress covers if you have a furnished house hack like I do
- spray seems to work

I was staring down a potential HUGE headache and $3,600 expense, but it appears that we may be fine with just spray method.  Fingers crossed.  To the landlords making the tenants pay, keep in mind that it isn't anyone "fault" that this happens.  You don't know when or how the bugs enter the home.  They could hop on you at the grocery store.

Best of luck to anyone dealing with this.