East Hall pictured on UAA's residential campus. Photo courtesy of Residence Life.
Recent bed bug reports in the Fine Arts Building have raised concerns about bed bugs on campus and how bed bugs are dealt with by Residence Life. To find out more, TNL sat down for an interview with Director of Residence Life Ryan Hill and Executive Director of Campus Services David Weaver.
Hill said that bed bugs currently pose only a slightly higher risk to students than they have in the past. There has been a “slight increase” in bed bugs across the state, so Residence Life prepared for a potential uptick on campus, said Hill. However, bed bug infestations in dorm halls have remained near the average expected each school year, said Hill, at “two to three a semester.”
By the end of this academic year, Hill estimated that that number will average closer to four or five per semester – higher than usual, but nowhere near “epidemic” levels that students would need to be concerned about.
Both Hill and Weaver spoke confidently about campus protocols for exterminating bed bugs in student residences.
“We have a very high success rate,” said Weaver.
The extermination treatment is done by heating the affected room to temperatures that bed bugs cannot withstand. To further mitigate risk, the university deploys a non-toxic spray, known as Aprehend in the affected area post-heat treatment.
Aprehend, developed and patented by Penn State, is described on the Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences website as “a fungal-based biopesticide spray that safely kills bed bugs by sticking to the insects, which then carry the fungi back to hiding places to infect other bed bugs.”
To students concerned about being stigmatized when reporting bed bugs, Weaver said, “our philosophical approach to [this issue] is to do everything we can to make the student feel comfortable. We do not blame. There isn’t a ‘you did something wrong’ approach … It’s just part of being attached to a residential campus at any university.”
A student – who wished to remain anonymous to avoid stigmatization – came forward to describe their experience to TNL with a suspected bed bug infestation in their East Hall dorm. They explained that they woke up with bites on their leg in early February and were told by a doctor that the bites were more than likely from bed bugs. The student reported the bites to their RA on duty who conducted a search of the dorm. The RA found potential bed bug egg casings and skin sheddings – both signs of infestation. The student and their roommates were then moved to emergency housing where they remained until the heat treatment was finished – a process that took place over the course of two and a half days.
When asked if the treatment was effective, the student said, “Yeah, because I didn’t see anything else at the end. I haven’t had any bites that seem suspicious after that.”
Overall, bed bug infestation risk appears to be low. Those who are worried about bed bugs can utilize university tools to take care of them quickly and effectively at no cost to the student.
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