Dormitory Residents Are Forced To Live With Bed Bug Infestations For A Period

Having a bed bug infestation causes a lot of unwanted stress in a person’s life. For a busy full-time college student, the stress of daily life is intense enough without having to worry about bed bug infestations. Sadly this is the reality at a particular dormitory at Trinity College at the University of Toronto. According to students, the bed bugs are entering the old dormitory building through cracks in the stone walls. Pest control professionals have already treated certain areas of the dorm, but the infestations only seem to be getting more serious. In response to the widespread bed bug infestation in the dormitory, many students were hoping to be evacuated to another dormitory. However, this is not the case for the affected students as they are not being provided with an alternate living space by the college. Unless the students can afford hotel rooms, they are sadly forced to endure living in bed bug infested conditions.

According to a first year business student and resident of the bed bug infested dormitory, Amy Kim, both her and a few other residents of the dormitory first noticed the bed bug infestation last February. She says that several students, including her, have found bed bugs within their blankets and pillow cases, and they have been waking up with bed bug bites covering their bodies. Kim even went as far as to send pictures of her bed bug infested bedding materials to a news outlet in an effort to prompt the college into acting on this issue more quickly.

A Trinity College spokesperson has not denied any of these claims, but they defend themselves by mentioning previous efforts to have the bed bugs eradicated. In an effort to avoid the spread of bed bugs and to assist pest control officers, the students at the dorm have placed their clothing and bedding into plastic garbage bags. The hope is that this will protect their belongings from bed bug infestations. As far as Kim knows, the bed bug infestation in the dormitory is limited solely to the building’s main floor. Pest control professionals will soon be treating the affected areas of the dorm while the students remain indoors. According to college officials, this is a safe practice considering the treatment method being employed.

Do you think that Trinity College has a duty to evacuate students from dorm rooms that are infested with termites?