First the ad:

I am offering a share in my large two bedroom for $425 per week which includes the utilities. The room is furnished, in an apartment that offers its own amenities such as: washer/dryer, balcony, dishwasher, central air, one and a half bath, and space.

I am a 29, gwm, student, cool. I don’t smoke, but people who smoke can go outside. Drinking and drugs are your business.
Xxx 917.xxx.xxxx

Then the annotation:

If you are about to respond to this post, read this…

I’m a french student and I have rent this room during four months this year and I was Xxx’s roommate.

And I don’t think you should live there.

[Then a laundry list of complaints follow. And finally:]

But the bedroom is great, a little bit infected by bedbugs, otherwise it’s fine.
I have the proof that I’ve lived there, if you have any other questions do not hesitate to contact me by email.

Is the part about bed bugs true? Or just a disgruntled ex-roommate lashing out? Who knows?!?

There’s an ad for a studio apartment at xx-xx Broadway being offered at $11x,xxx.

I just went to see it this afternoon. It’s disgusting. There was a boxspring in there covered in bedbug fecal matter, and evidence of bedbug fecal matter on the walls and ceilings.

The super admitted there were bedbugs there. The previous tenant lived like a “homeless guy” he said. The super tried to reassure me that he had sprayed the apartment down with kerosene, and that all the bugs were dead. Yeah right, that’s why there’s bedbug fecal matter all over the place and infested furniture still sitting there.

It was obviously a massive infestation. The sponsor is planning on doing a total renovation. But with an infestation that huge, bedbugs have surely spread to adjacent apartments and beyond. A renovation may keep them at bay, but they’ll return as neighboring apartments probably have them.

It’s a gross building. I can’t believe they’re letting people in to see it.

Kerosene?!? That’s a bad idea.

[Note: Address was intentionally not included here. Please do not post the address if you see the ad still live.]

She doesn’t get off the hook as “ill-informed.”

However, her target audience can claim that.

We need public education campaigns so that everyone will go, “take your bed bug stuff? Are you crazy?!?” Instead of some people saying, “ok, sounds good!”

One person in the forums thought it was wrong that I said,

“The truth is, everyday people take bed bug infested stuff off the curb which has warnings attached. People can be idiots.”

S/he pointed out that people were just ill-informed, and I acknowledge that. My language was too harsh.

Until the government is issuing public service announcements via TV, internet, and radio, and placing ads in magazines warning people that they may get bed bugs from infested furniture found curbside or obtained secondhand (AND explaining why this is a serious problem), some people are going to be able to claim ignorance that bed bugs exist, that they are a serious problem, and that it is really hard to successfully and without a doubt remove them from most items.

Until then, ignorance and lack of education, not sheer “idiocy,” is the problem.

For those who have experienced bed bugs, as this Craigslister did, it is astounding that she believes bed bugs do not spread easily.

If bed bugs could be easily removed from (or were not in) most of these items, would she really be giving all her furniture away?

Finally, garbage cans: yes. But readers should remember that destruction is key. Plenty of people have no qualms about removed items labeled with “bed bugs” signs from dumpsters and curbs.