The school did not release the number of infested rooms, nor how many students complained about the issue.

An exterminator was called to fix the problem.

It’s not the first time BU has had to deal with the itchy problem. In February 2007, they were in Shelton Hall, and the Daily Free Press at BU said students were asked to keep quiet and not spread panic.

The same student newspaper argued rightly that all students should be notified about the problem. This is sound advice, because administrators need students to come forward if they think they have bed bugs.

And then, eight months later, in October of the same year, students in a London (UK) Boston University dorm were bitten by bed bugs.

The Daily Free Press reported that students claimed a London BU administrator told them they were lying about bed bugs, and that they’d be banned from studying abroad again if they discussed the problem with others. BU admin later claimed the students’ accusations were false, so we’re not certain what actually happened in London except that the incidence of bed bugs in London was not itself denied according to The Daily Free Press.

It’s great news that the media is reporting the current story, but I hope BU is also now telling students about bed bug infestations as they arise. Since many people do not react to bed bug bites, and since it can take a long, long time to actually see a bed bug after becoming infested, everyone deserves to be notified that their neighbors have encountered bed bugs.

The recent history of bed bugs at BU highlights the need for university housing administrators to have an up-to-date bed bug protocol, taking advantage of the latest detection technology (which may include bed bug k9s and maybe one of the soon-to-be-released bed bug traps?) and treatment protocols which include careful and thorough inspections, prepping students for treatment, and options such as thermal heat or aggressive and repeated applications of an appropriate combination of steam, residual pesticides and dusts.

Colleges should not worry prospective students will choose another college; they should get on board with the best bed bug protocol they can, and publicize that fact, like Dan Mizer, Associate Director of Residence Life at Texas A&M, who is happy to tell the media the school is proactively employing bed bug sniffing k9s and planning to use TempAir when bed bugs are found. Would you rather send your kid to a college with a good bed bug plan in place? Or one where they try to avoid alarming people by discussing the problem which we know can arise at any college, anywhere?

• Boston University students claim they were threatened if they did not keep quiet about bed bugs in London BU dorm
• Boston University’s bed bugs: if we don’t talk about them, they’ll go away
• Bed bugs at Stanford again
• More students at college finding bed bugs in their dorm rooms

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A BU junior said during her first night in the BU dorm Crofton in late May, she received small, red marks, each a centimeter wide, around her feet, legs and ankles. When she spoke with the associate director of British Programmes a month later after repeated unsuccessful attempts to meet, she was accused of making the marks herself, said the student, who wished to remain anonymous for fear of not being allowed to study abroad again.

The junior said she noticed the bites became larger and puffier and had spread over her entire body, but she and her roommate, Newbury College junior Michelle Beaton, did not complain until the second week. After their complaints, housekeepers sprayed the room using an aerosol insecticide and changed bed linens.

The aerosol insecticide worked briefly, but of course, the bed bugs came back with a vengeance:

Housekeeping and exterminators did not find evidence of a bedbug infestation in the students’ room, said Joe Finkhouse, international programs director of institutional relations, in an email to BU spokesman Colin Riley, to whom comments about the issue were directed.

“They wouldn’t admit we had bedbugs,” Beaton said. “We had all the symptoms of bedbugs.”

The students said the aerosol insecticide worked briefly, but eventually they began to notice more marks. Bedbugs do not spread diseases, nor are their bites particularly harmful to people.

“I was using makeup on my legs,” the BU junior said. “It was all over me. It was horrible.”

After the first spraying, the bugs got out of control, and she began seeing them, she said.

The junior said she tried contacting British Programmes Associate Director Alison Campbell after her room was first sprayed, but Campbell did not hear her case until about a month after. When they spoke, the BU junior said Campbell accused her of making the marks herself and said she “wasn’t allowed to tell anyone” about the situation.

BU’s Joe Finkhouse, international programs director of institutional relations, had this to say:

“Pests are not an ongoing problem in the London program or any other program site,” Finkhouse said in an email. “In fact, this was the first incident of its kind in London in over nine years. Over 4,000 students have participated in the London programs during that time. There have been no further reports since June.”

Well, it’s no great surprise, if students suffering from bites are threatened with retaliation for speaking about their experiences, as these students claim they were.

Students eventually got assistance with clothing cleaning bills and were moved to faculty housing at Lexam Gardens. (Hmmm… I wonder what happens to faculty who complain about bed bugs in their housing?)

Finkhouse had more to say:

“Fortunately, pest problems are extremely uncommon in our programs abroad,” he said. “We’re satisfied that the situation was handled well and quickly under the circumstances.”

What college administrators need to realize is that bed bugs are increasingly common everywhere. There’s no shame in contracting bed bugs; you will be judged not on the basis of having them, but on how you react to them, once a problem is identified.

I hope that BU’s study abroad program, and all international and domestic providers of student services, develop a proactive plan for preventing bed bugs, and dealing with them should they arise. Any complaints need to be met with a prompt, thorough inspection by a PCO and treatment by a PCO of the affected units. In this case, students claimed housekeeping staff coming in twice with an aerosol bottle represented the only treatment. It is extremely difficult to treat bed bugs, and professional, experienced pest control operators are the way to go. Unless more has been done since then, it is likely this dorm is still infested with bed bugs.

• Boston University dorm residents bitten by bed bugs
• NYU student blogs about Bed bugs in Broome Street Residence
• Bed bug hotel claim in Isle of Wight; study/travel abroad and bed bugs
• Stanford bed bugs: university fights back

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