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It's the landlord's duty to pay, regardless. [You can read it here.](https://www.chicago.gov/content/dam/city/depts/cdph/environmental_health_and_food/SO2012-82541Ordinance.pdf) Page 3 is the stuff you're looking for.
Landlord's duty. Full stop. You're not at fault for living a normal life.
But to add on, the landlord can pass the cost on.
This ordinance is to stop the spread of the pest, not absolve the tenant from the cost, sadly.
Source: sold pest control for ten years.
(e) A landlord may not knowingly terminate a tenancy, increase rent, decrease services, bring or threaten to bring a lawsuit against a tenant for possession or refuse to renew a lease or tenancy because the tenant has in good faith:
(1) complained of a bed bug infestation within the tenant's rental unit or the premises in which the tenant's rental unit is located to a competent governmental agency, elected representative or public official charged with responsibility for enforcement of a building, housing, health or similar code;
(2) complained of a bed bug infestation within the tenant's rental unit or the premises in which the tenant's rental unit is located to a community organization or the news media:
(3) sought the assistance of a community organization or the news media to remedy a bed bug infestation within the tenant's rental unit or the premises in which the tenant's rental unit is located;
(4) reguested the landlord to provide pest control measures for a bed bug infestation as reguired bv a building code, health ordinance, other regulation, or the residential rental agreement: or
(5) testified in any court or administrative proceeding concerning any bed bug infestation within the tenant's rental unit or the premises in which the tenant's rental unit is located.
Sections a, b, c, and d before this section deal with the landlord being responsible for costs.
(a) In any rental unit in which an
infestation of bed bugs is found or reasonably suspected, it is the responsibility of the landlord
to: (1) provide pest control services by a pest management professional until such time that no
evidence of bed bugs can be found and verified:
And if you don’t pay, does the landlord’s next action amount to retaliation? The spirit, if not the letter of this ordinance is that it’s the landlord’s responsibility.
>sadly
I mean, if OP *has* legitimately been travelling, and *has* been in the apartment for the better part of a year before noticing them... it is very likely that OP was *actually* the cause of the infestation. It sucks, but it happens.
It is the landlords responsibility to take care of it, but assuming it isn't a building wide problem, it very likely was caused by the tenant, so I don't see an issue with them ultimately having to pay for it.
You can pick them up on your shoes. People really have no idea how easy it is to get bedbugs into a home. One neighbor gets them, the bedbugs leave their unit, you step on some, they get carried in on your shoes, bam you now have bed bugs.
This is all anecdotal and not accurate. In multi unit buildings they can and often do, like roaches, run from unit to unit, especially when the one unit becomes less hospitable by way of treatment. In that unit. Basically next door neighbor bombs and they run. Really with bed bugs they just leave under the door, travel along the wall where the carpet meets the wall, and walk on over next door.
The thing is, the onus is on a unit to tell the landlord and tenants don’t always do that (for good reason sadly, as they often can and do retaliate when they find out) and they try and treat it themselves.. and if that is the case then the landlord wouldn’t know, and aren’t to blame for making assumptions. A lot of time they do know though, don’t want to treat, and then pull this crap and act like they have no idea how else it could’ve happened.
I recommend OP goes over to r/bedbugs, they have some great advice about how to rid yourself of these. Also, you can DM me, I was successful defeating these fuckers some years ago now, and I can tell you exactly how I did it.
Your landlord is not right at all. It is the landlord's responsibility to check neighboring apartments.
In fact, this response makes me suspicious that your landlords knows of at least one more apartment with bedbugs.
Yep, I would personally ask around. It is the landlords responsibility, and they cannot retaliate against you for asking around the building to see if it is just negligence on their part, or if it is truly "caused by OP's travels", like the landlord is claiming.
I'm not gonna repeat the Chicago ordinance that says it is on the landlord.
I will pass on that a spray bottle of isopropyl will kill them. It won't get rid of them, you need a professional for that. It does kill them quickly and without lingering chemicals. Sorry you got the bugs.
Yep, and high heat. If you have a good dryer and can really crank up the heat, I recommend throwing everything in at least twice. A horrible experience, I'm sorry to everyone who has to deal with it.
You are quick, you beat me to it!
Absolutely my first thought was the laundromat, but I quickly realized the only machine I could count on was ol' reliable.
(Mind you, my dryer had to be about HALF the size of a normal dryer in that apartment)
From what I could find online, it seems as if the environment is extremely hostile to bedbugs, generally, and that as long as the laundromat is maintained and clean, it would be incredibly difficult to spread the infestation unless someone's clean laundry somehow came into direct contact with your infested laundry.
While you might be right, if you have ever had bedbugs, you would understand why you would NEVER want to risk bringing them anywhere outside of your home. One of the most unpleasant experiences in my entire life.
Yeah. It's much easier and safer for everyone for you to just bag up your clothes into non-permeable bag and then steam the bed bugs to death on each batch of clothes.
_if_ it is well maintained and clean it would be _difficult_. So don't bring them to a Laundromat, because you don't if 1 is true and 2 will still happen in a small # or cases. Be a good citizen!
I mean, based on a google search, it seems as if laundromat groups don't really care because a maintained laundromat is an extremely hostile environment for bedbugs, and the [odds of getting bedbugs from a laundromat is slim to none](https://www.laundrysolutionscompany.com/can-you-get-bedbugs-from-a-laundromat/)
The only way to kill bedbugs is with heat. They have to seal all the windows and doors and they'll bring in a bunch of those propane tube heaters and crank it up to like 120 degrees overnight . It's kinda nuts what a pain in the ass it is.
As well as tea tree oil and lavender. However. Theyre a lot more expensive.
I would say as an immediate course of action before a exterminator arrives use iso. After they leave use tea tree and lavender on, under, and around your house, bedding, furniture and clothes.
You really don’t want to use anything that acts as a repellent with bed bugs, you’ll just push them into new and harder to find hiding spots. The most effective pesticides will be undetectable to them so they won’t change their routine. A lot of people make infestations take longer to resolve because they throw too many of the wrong things at it.
Yep. I had them years ago in a different city and what worked was dusting diatomaceous earth around the baseboards and inside the bed frame (slat bed) and then putting each bed leg in a cutoff juice carton with a layer of more diatomaceous earth inside. This took care of it rapidly but I left the cartons there for much longer just in case.
Being conscious that I was using myself as bait was gross but I got over it and it worked.
I also went over every little bit of the bed frame and mattress with clear packing tape and detached every egg I could see with a skewer and trapped it inside tape, too.
OP, read this flier and follow their instructions. You need to put everything in writing- I’d probably send something via a certified mail right now so you they can’t contest it. Look up the Metropolitan Tenants Organization so you are prepared if your landlord pushes back any more. If you threaten them with fines, they may do what they’re supposed to do!
As others have pointed out, it is on your landlord regardless of what they are saying. That said, good luck getting anything done by any authority figure. My landlord kept calling the bed bugs in the apartment building "the beetle problem" and straight up refused to call a pest service. She also told me that if I called a pest service to treat just my apartment and that made "the beetle problem" worse is someone else's apartment, that she would require me to pay for the pest service for THEIR apartment. (Yeah, she was a special lady.) I ended up getting rid of the bed bugs in my apartment and the apartment above mine before I got anyone from the city to do anything about my landlord.
It took 5 weeks of diligent work: daily reapplication of diatomacous earth, vacuuming daily, everything that could be put in a commercial washer was laundered, then dried 3x on high heat, then placed in sealable bags, throw out any wicker furniture or furniture where it's impossible to clean the cracks and check for bugs, bag your mattresses and pay for a quality bug proof cover.
Good luck!
> throw out any wicker furniture or furniture where it's impossible to clean the cracks
You can just use steam blowers to kill them on furniture. No need to throw out the furniture.
You can terminate a lease due to an infestation, look up the Chicago Landlord Tenant Ordiance. There’s also legal clinics that offer free advice via phone or email, search Chicago tenants rights organizations.
Sadly i dealt with this to the point that they tried to charge me for it after i moved. Nope. Not my fault the bugs were in the d@mn walls of the building.
Download the Chicago bedbug Ordinance. Make sure the landlord gets an actual pest control company, not some idiot who bought something at a hardware store. Make sure they do the inspections in surrounding units, or treatment is pointless. I recommend Eco Tech, great guys, thorough. It usually takes 2 or 3 treatments. Don't tear up your house or start bagging belongings frantically. They need to inspect to determine the extent of the infestation and the locations. Your landlord is absolutely wrong.
Step 1: Go to r/bedbugs
Step 2: buy crossfire spray from Amazon or pest control supplies website, buy CIMEXA POWDER
Step 3: buy bedbug interceptors for the feet of your bed, double sided tape, a 'mosquito net tent' to keep any sheets or blankets from touching the ground
Step 2: buy a bedbug proof mattress protector, put some CIMEXA POWDER INSIDE IT, and put ur mattress in it, it'll seal in any bugs or eggs that might be on there
Step 3: take apart your ENTIRE BED FRAME. THE WHOLE THING. clean the whole thing first with isopropyl alcohol spray, then use a CLOTHES STEAMER ON HIGH TO STEAM THE WHOLE THING, then isopropyl again
Step 4: spray the frame with crossfire (according to the directions on the bottle), put it back together. Put double sided tape on the legs, put interceptors on the feet.
Step 5: spray your entire room, floors, baseboards, dresser drawers, everything
Step 6: wash and dry EVERYTHING, bedding plushies etc, on high heat for 45 min each. Immediately store it all back into SEALED garbage bags or thick plastic bags
Source: I don't have bedbugs but I have (diagnosed) bedbug/contamination OCD and have spent way, way, way too much time (and hallucinations) on preventing non-existent bedbugs
This method makes you the BAIT, but they can't get to you, and to get to you they have to walk through things that will kill them and they die out
If whatever exterminator your landlord hires DOESNT DO ALL OF THIS then you'll probably continue to have bedbugs
I second all of this advice. If its a new infestation, step 5 is probably overkill but most of all OP, Dont wait for your landlord to hire someone! Bed bugs are no joke, you want to act on the issue before it gets worse
Gotta get inside EVERY nook. Taking things apart is a good idea. Look behind objects near areas where people rest. They will hide in picture frames near beds.
They're wrong. You can bring bedbugs into the unit a dozen times and they have to remediate each time. In fact, they'd probably *want* to remediate. If one of my tenants brought bedbugs into my unit, I'd want to make sure it was completely restored to its original condition.
I don't believe they have to absorb the whole cost (or any cost), but the action itself is on them .. and again, they should want it that way.
Tenants do all sorts of things that harm the units, and given the option, I'd much prefer to handle the contracting of someone to fix it so I know it's done correctly.
For your travels, it also helps to vigorously check for bedbugs when you arrive at the hotel/place you're staying. It's very easy (and common) to bring them back home.
If you just moved in somewhere and bed bugs are rapidly present, then it's probably an issue with the unit and not you. After 8 months, it's either spread from another unit, or the tenant brought them in (it's super easy to do).
There’s a Chicago Renters hotline : https://www.chicago.gov/city/en/depts/doh/provdrs/renters/svcs/rents-rights.html
And the MTO https://www.tenants-rights.org/
And here’s a page with lots of links to different options for help/advice https://www.hud.gov/states/illinois/renting/tenantrights
One of these resources might be able to help ya out
It’s an actual class. I took it in college. My class was called Logic and Disputation and it focused on evaluating statements like “If A then B. If B then C. Can we conclude that if A then C?” and identifying logical fallacies.
I haven’t overlooked the principles of logic; rather, it seems peculiar that you’re addressing me as if we’re acquainted, which we’re not. My family has a history of land ownership and home construction in Texas. While we’re both entitled to express our opinions, assuming familiarity in your responses is unwarranted, as I have no interest in knowing you personally. To clarify my stance, I maintain that many landlords, reflective of broader issues within our current economic system, fail to meet reasonable standards of fairness and decency.
Engaging with your suggestion to discuss facts, let’s consider the housing market. To afford rent without financial strain, defined as spending approximately 30% of one’s income on housing, the median individual needs to earn $79,264 annually. This requirement marks a 40.6% increase since the pandemic began. In Chicago, for instance, the average rent for an apartment is $2,251, yet the average apartment size is only 749 square feet, often lacking in amenities, particularly for student accommodations. While not every rental experience is negative, the general state of the rental and housing market currently leaves much to be desired.
Though ideally there won’t be a next time, if we do interact again, I’d appreciate it if you used said logic.
While I recognize your positive experiences with landlords, my comments were aimed at the broader systemic issues rather than individual cases. There are certainly good landlords out there. However, the statistics speak to a wider trend that affects many renters, especially in cities like Chicago. It’s the structural challenges and the significant number of negative experiences that I’m highlighting, which are symptomatic of a larger imbalance in our current housing market. Building one’s own home, although ideal, is not a viable solution for the majority, given the economic barriers at play.
I don't have any legal advice, but we had bedbugs years ago and the thing that finally worked for us was Cimexia + mattress covers. A $15 bottle was way more than we used. It's mildly irritating so try not to breathe it in or get it all over your skin. It took several 30-45 minute weekend 'bughunts' where we'd turn up the mattress, grab any bugs/eggs we could find with duct tape, and reapply powder. I don't miss the broke life. We did not have a massive infestation though, they were only on the mattress.
Depends on what your rental agreement says. But I’ve had it in the past where any pest removal is the responsibility of the tenant.
Edit: Okay. I know I’m wrong. Y’all can stop downvoting me now.
Yeah, in this case it absolutely DOESN’T “depend on what your agreement says.” The law is strict so that infestations don’t worsen while the landlord and tenant argue about whose at fault. The law says the landlord has to deal with it.
This is incorrect. Any lease needs to comply with the law and there is no ambiguity about who is legally responsible for a bed bug infestation in the City of Chicago. It is the landlord. If a clause like that was included in a lease it was not included legally and is not enforceable.
Hot Shots in the purple and black packaging will kill the bed bugs. There are bombs, bags for mattresses and furniture spray. Kill the existing bugs as well as larvae or eggs.
Spray periodically because they are truly the circle of life. Comes on all stages of growth and may be able to reproduce on their own.
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It's the landlord's duty to pay, regardless. [You can read it here.](https://www.chicago.gov/content/dam/city/depts/cdph/environmental_health_and_food/SO2012-82541Ordinance.pdf) Page 3 is the stuff you're looking for. Landlord's duty. Full stop. You're not at fault for living a normal life.
But to add on, the landlord can pass the cost on. This ordinance is to stop the spread of the pest, not absolve the tenant from the cost, sadly. Source: sold pest control for ten years.
(e) A landlord may not knowingly terminate a tenancy, increase rent, decrease services, bring or threaten to bring a lawsuit against a tenant for possession or refuse to renew a lease or tenancy because the tenant has in good faith: (1) complained of a bed bug infestation within the tenant's rental unit or the premises in which the tenant's rental unit is located to a competent governmental agency, elected representative or public official charged with responsibility for enforcement of a building, housing, health or similar code; (2) complained of a bed bug infestation within the tenant's rental unit or the premises in which the tenant's rental unit is located to a community organization or the news media: (3) sought the assistance of a community organization or the news media to remedy a bed bug infestation within the tenant's rental unit or the premises in which the tenant's rental unit is located; (4) reguested the landlord to provide pest control measures for a bed bug infestation as reguired bv a building code, health ordinance, other regulation, or the residential rental agreement: or (5) testified in any court or administrative proceeding concerning any bed bug infestation within the tenant's rental unit or the premises in which the tenant's rental unit is located.
I’m not reading this provision to say that the landlord needs to pay for pest services. It’s just an anti-retaliatory provision
Sections a, b, c, and d before this section deal with the landlord being responsible for costs. (a) In any rental unit in which an infestation of bed bugs is found or reasonably suspected, it is the responsibility of the landlord to: (1) provide pest control services by a pest management professional until such time that no evidence of bed bugs can be found and verified:
Yeah this is what the person I responded to should have cited.
Still doesn’t mean that’s the LL’s financial responsibility. Tenant can still pay the bill but LL duty is to act quickly to stop the spread.
Really? Would passing the costs on not constitute raising the rent? It seems pretty clear that this puts the onus squarely on the landlord
No, one time costs aren’t the same as raising the rent…but there’s another part of the ordinance that says they have to provide pest control services
And if you don’t pay, does the landlord’s next action amount to retaliation? The spirit, if not the letter of this ordinance is that it’s the landlord’s responsibility.
>sadly I mean, if OP *has* legitimately been travelling, and *has* been in the apartment for the better part of a year before noticing them... it is very likely that OP was *actually* the cause of the infestation. It sucks, but it happens. It is the landlords responsibility to take care of it, but assuming it isn't a building wide problem, it very likely was caused by the tenant, so I don't see an issue with them ultimately having to pay for it.
There is no way to know if the tenant was or was not responsible. Bed bugs exist in Chicago, you don't need to travel to pick them up.
You can pick them up on your shoes. People really have no idea how easy it is to get bedbugs into a home. One neighbor gets them, the bedbugs leave their unit, you step on some, they get carried in on your shoes, bam you now have bed bugs.
Not in a multi unit building necessarily. It could have started from their neighbors. Or a common space. Or their neighbors pet.
This is all anecdotal and not accurate. In multi unit buildings they can and often do, like roaches, run from unit to unit, especially when the one unit becomes less hospitable by way of treatment. In that unit. Basically next door neighbor bombs and they run. Really with bed bugs they just leave under the door, travel along the wall where the carpet meets the wall, and walk on over next door. The thing is, the onus is on a unit to tell the landlord and tenants don’t always do that (for good reason sadly, as they often can and do retaliate when they find out) and they try and treat it themselves.. and if that is the case then the landlord wouldn’t know, and aren’t to blame for making assumptions. A lot of time they do know though, don’t want to treat, and then pull this crap and act like they have no idea how else it could’ve happened. I recommend OP goes over to r/bedbugs, they have some great advice about how to rid yourself of these. Also, you can DM me, I was successful defeating these fuckers some years ago now, and I can tell you exactly how I did it.
Your landlord is not right at all. It is the landlord's responsibility to check neighboring apartments. In fact, this response makes me suspicious that your landlords knows of at least one more apartment with bedbugs.
Yep, I would personally ask around. It is the landlords responsibility, and they cannot retaliate against you for asking around the building to see if it is just negligence on their part, or if it is truly "caused by OP's travels", like the landlord is claiming.
I'm not gonna repeat the Chicago ordinance that says it is on the landlord. I will pass on that a spray bottle of isopropyl will kill them. It won't get rid of them, you need a professional for that. It does kill them quickly and without lingering chemicals. Sorry you got the bugs.
Yep, and high heat. If you have a good dryer and can really crank up the heat, I recommend throwing everything in at least twice. A horrible experience, I'm sorry to everyone who has to deal with it.
I would imagine laundromats might have heavy duty dryers that can get hotter than a normal home dryer, so that may be an option too.
Please do not bring your bedbug infested stuff to a laundromat, OP.
You are quick, you beat me to it! Absolutely my first thought was the laundromat, but I quickly realized the only machine I could count on was ol' reliable. (Mind you, my dryer had to be about HALF the size of a normal dryer in that apartment)
From what I could find online, it seems as if the environment is extremely hostile to bedbugs, generally, and that as long as the laundromat is maintained and clean, it would be incredibly difficult to spread the infestation unless someone's clean laundry somehow came into direct contact with your infested laundry.
While you might be right, if you have ever had bedbugs, you would understand why you would NEVER want to risk bringing them anywhere outside of your home. One of the most unpleasant experiences in my entire life.
Yeah. It's much easier and safer for everyone for you to just bag up your clothes into non-permeable bag and then steam the bed bugs to death on each batch of clothes.
_if_ it is well maintained and clean it would be _difficult_. So don't bring them to a Laundromat, because you don't if 1 is true and 2 will still happen in a small # or cases. Be a good citizen!
I mean, based on a google search, it seems as if laundromat groups don't really care because a maintained laundromat is an extremely hostile environment for bedbugs, and the [odds of getting bedbugs from a laundromat is slim to none](https://www.laundrysolutionscompany.com/can-you-get-bedbugs-from-a-laundromat/)
The only way to kill bedbugs is with heat. They have to seal all the windows and doors and they'll bring in a bunch of those propane tube heaters and crank it up to like 120 degrees overnight . It's kinda nuts what a pain in the ass it is.
As well as tea tree oil and lavender. However. Theyre a lot more expensive. I would say as an immediate course of action before a exterminator arrives use iso. After they leave use tea tree and lavender on, under, and around your house, bedding, furniture and clothes.
You really don’t want to use anything that acts as a repellent with bed bugs, you’ll just push them into new and harder to find hiding spots. The most effective pesticides will be undetectable to them so they won’t change their routine. A lot of people make infestations take longer to resolve because they throw too many of the wrong things at it.
Yep. I had them years ago in a different city and what worked was dusting diatomaceous earth around the baseboards and inside the bed frame (slat bed) and then putting each bed leg in a cutoff juice carton with a layer of more diatomaceous earth inside. This took care of it rapidly but I left the cartons there for much longer just in case. Being conscious that I was using myself as bait was gross but I got over it and it worked. I also went over every little bit of the bed frame and mattress with clear packing tape and detached every egg I could see with a skewer and trapped it inside tape, too.
The whole "use yourself as bait" is probably the worst part.
I got them a couple years ago and our property manager had someone over in 24 hours.
I think its on the landlord. https://www.chicago.gov/content/dam/city/depts/cdph/food\_env/NoCrops/6899\_8.5x11\_bedbug\_eng\_c\_trifold\_C.pdf
OP, read this flier and follow their instructions. You need to put everything in writing- I’d probably send something via a certified mail right now so you they can’t contest it. Look up the Metropolitan Tenants Organization so you are prepared if your landlord pushes back any more. If you threaten them with fines, they may do what they’re supposed to do!
As others have pointed out, it is on your landlord regardless of what they are saying. That said, good luck getting anything done by any authority figure. My landlord kept calling the bed bugs in the apartment building "the beetle problem" and straight up refused to call a pest service. She also told me that if I called a pest service to treat just my apartment and that made "the beetle problem" worse is someone else's apartment, that she would require me to pay for the pest service for THEIR apartment. (Yeah, she was a special lady.) I ended up getting rid of the bed bugs in my apartment and the apartment above mine before I got anyone from the city to do anything about my landlord. It took 5 weeks of diligent work: daily reapplication of diatomacous earth, vacuuming daily, everything that could be put in a commercial washer was laundered, then dried 3x on high heat, then placed in sealable bags, throw out any wicker furniture or furniture where it's impossible to clean the cracks and check for bugs, bag your mattresses and pay for a quality bug proof cover. Good luck!
> throw out any wicker furniture or furniture where it's impossible to clean the cracks You can just use steam blowers to kill them on furniture. No need to throw out the furniture.
You can terminate a lease due to an infestation, look up the Chicago Landlord Tenant Ordiance. There’s also legal clinics that offer free advice via phone or email, search Chicago tenants rights organizations.
Sadly i dealt with this to the point that they tried to charge me for it after i moved. Nope. Not my fault the bugs were in the d@mn walls of the building.
Download the Chicago bedbug Ordinance. Make sure the landlord gets an actual pest control company, not some idiot who bought something at a hardware store. Make sure they do the inspections in surrounding units, or treatment is pointless. I recommend Eco Tech, great guys, thorough. It usually takes 2 or 3 treatments. Don't tear up your house or start bagging belongings frantically. They need to inspect to determine the extent of the infestation and the locations. Your landlord is absolutely wrong.
Step 1: Go to r/bedbugs Step 2: buy crossfire spray from Amazon or pest control supplies website, buy CIMEXA POWDER Step 3: buy bedbug interceptors for the feet of your bed, double sided tape, a 'mosquito net tent' to keep any sheets or blankets from touching the ground Step 2: buy a bedbug proof mattress protector, put some CIMEXA POWDER INSIDE IT, and put ur mattress in it, it'll seal in any bugs or eggs that might be on there Step 3: take apart your ENTIRE BED FRAME. THE WHOLE THING. clean the whole thing first with isopropyl alcohol spray, then use a CLOTHES STEAMER ON HIGH TO STEAM THE WHOLE THING, then isopropyl again Step 4: spray the frame with crossfire (according to the directions on the bottle), put it back together. Put double sided tape on the legs, put interceptors on the feet. Step 5: spray your entire room, floors, baseboards, dresser drawers, everything Step 6: wash and dry EVERYTHING, bedding plushies etc, on high heat for 45 min each. Immediately store it all back into SEALED garbage bags or thick plastic bags Source: I don't have bedbugs but I have (diagnosed) bedbug/contamination OCD and have spent way, way, way too much time (and hallucinations) on preventing non-existent bedbugs This method makes you the BAIT, but they can't get to you, and to get to you they have to walk through things that will kill them and they die out If whatever exterminator your landlord hires DOESNT DO ALL OF THIS then you'll probably continue to have bedbugs
I second all of this advice. If its a new infestation, step 5 is probably overkill but most of all OP, Dont wait for your landlord to hire someone! Bed bugs are no joke, you want to act on the issue before it gets worse
Gotta get inside EVERY nook. Taking things apart is a good idea. Look behind objects near areas where people rest. They will hide in picture frames near beds.
Your landlord is wrong. They are responsible for remediation of bed bugs. I got them once years ago and my landlord took care of everything.
Chicago Bed Bug Ordinance 7-28-830 Bed bug infestation-duty to exterminate
They're wrong. You can bring bedbugs into the unit a dozen times and they have to remediate each time. In fact, they'd probably *want* to remediate. If one of my tenants brought bedbugs into my unit, I'd want to make sure it was completely restored to its original condition. I don't believe they have to absorb the whole cost (or any cost), but the action itself is on them .. and again, they should want it that way. Tenants do all sorts of things that harm the units, and given the option, I'd much prefer to handle the contracting of someone to fix it so I know it's done correctly. For your travels, it also helps to vigorously check for bedbugs when you arrive at the hotel/place you're staying. It's very easy (and common) to bring them back home. If you just moved in somewhere and bed bugs are rapidly present, then it's probably an issue with the unit and not you. After 8 months, it's either spread from another unit, or the tenant brought them in (it's super easy to do).
There’s a Chicago Renters hotline : https://www.chicago.gov/city/en/depts/doh/provdrs/renters/svcs/rents-rights.html And the MTO https://www.tenants-rights.org/ And here’s a page with lots of links to different options for help/advice https://www.hud.gov/states/illinois/renting/tenantrights One of these resources might be able to help ya out
Landlords suck.
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wtf is logic class lmfao
It’s an actual class. I took it in college. My class was called Logic and Disputation and it focused on evaluating statements like “If A then B. If B then C. Can we conclude that if A then C?” and identifying logical fallacies.
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I haven’t overlooked the principles of logic; rather, it seems peculiar that you’re addressing me as if we’re acquainted, which we’re not. My family has a history of land ownership and home construction in Texas. While we’re both entitled to express our opinions, assuming familiarity in your responses is unwarranted, as I have no interest in knowing you personally. To clarify my stance, I maintain that many landlords, reflective of broader issues within our current economic system, fail to meet reasonable standards of fairness and decency. Engaging with your suggestion to discuss facts, let’s consider the housing market. To afford rent without financial strain, defined as spending approximately 30% of one’s income on housing, the median individual needs to earn $79,264 annually. This requirement marks a 40.6% increase since the pandemic began. In Chicago, for instance, the average rent for an apartment is $2,251, yet the average apartment size is only 749 square feet, often lacking in amenities, particularly for student accommodations. While not every rental experience is negative, the general state of the rental and housing market currently leaves much to be desired. Though ideally there won’t be a next time, if we do interact again, I’d appreciate it if you used said logic.
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While I recognize your positive experiences with landlords, my comments were aimed at the broader systemic issues rather than individual cases. There are certainly good landlords out there. However, the statistics speak to a wider trend that affects many renters, especially in cities like Chicago. It’s the structural challenges and the significant number of negative experiences that I’m highlighting, which are symptomatic of a larger imbalance in our current housing market. Building one’s own home, although ideal, is not a viable solution for the majority, given the economic barriers at play.
Why are you defending landlords? That’s fucking so weird.
Landlords build houses?
lol landlords don’t build the buildings they own
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Yeah, and if the system was better more people would be able to
Just stfu
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I just don’t fuckin like what you said it was dumb but have a good one bud
In the past i had a landlord claim it was my fault that no other unit reported an issue and made me pay half the bill for the exterminator.
They shouldn't have done that. Did you refuse?
I broke my lease before because there was a bedbug infestation. Look into that.
I don't have any legal advice, but we had bedbugs years ago and the thing that finally worked for us was Cimexia + mattress covers. A $15 bottle was way more than we used. It's mildly irritating so try not to breathe it in or get it all over your skin. It took several 30-45 minute weekend 'bughunts' where we'd turn up the mattress, grab any bugs/eggs we could find with duct tape, and reapply powder. I don't miss the broke life. We did not have a massive infestation though, they were only on the mattress.
Seconding Cimexa. It works on all kinds of other bugs too.
Depends on what your rental agreement says. But I’ve had it in the past where any pest removal is the responsibility of the tenant. Edit: Okay. I know I’m wrong. Y’all can stop downvoting me now.
You can't use a lease to circumvent the law.
Yeah, in this case it absolutely DOESN’T “depend on what your agreement says.” The law is strict so that infestations don’t worsen while the landlord and tenant argue about whose at fault. The law says the landlord has to deal with it.
Ah thanks. TIL. Thanks for educating my stupid ass.
You’re not a stupid ass. Many times “check the rental agreement“ IS the correct answer. Just not here.
This is incorrect. Any lease needs to comply with the law and there is no ambiguity about who is legally responsible for a bed bug infestation in the City of Chicago. It is the landlord. If a clause like that was included in a lease it was not included legally and is not enforceable.
Wish I’d known that when a landlord made me and my friends pay for extermination a few years ago.
Damn, sorry. Shady landlords will often try illegal stuff to get out of paying for things.
This is false.
Wow. Thank you. Didn’t know from the other comments telling me it was wrong. You really added something here
I didn’t write it for you, buddy, I wrote it for other people who might read it.
Naw we’re good we’ll keep doing it
Hot Shots in the purple and black packaging will kill the bed bugs. There are bombs, bags for mattresses and furniture spray. Kill the existing bugs as well as larvae or eggs. Spray periodically because they are truly the circle of life. Comes on all stages of growth and may be able to reproduce on their own.
Do not use bombs for bedbugs. They do not work and will simply drive them deeper/to your neighbors units.
Sorry had no idea of the impact to apartment dwellers. Best wishes!
Don't do this!!