Did you know Grand Rapids, MI ranked 11th in the nation for most bed bug treatments in 2021? In a city of just ~200,000 people, we outnumbered Los Angeles (population of 3.97 million) and San Francisco (population of 875,000) in total number of bed bug treatments performed. Detroit, MI was 4th, and two other Michigan cities were in the top 50. And yet, landlords, renters, and home buyers are not required in the state of Michigan to conduct a bed bug inspection prior to moving into an apartment or home. (Orkin)

Though it is illegal for a landlord to rent out an apartment with a bed bug infestation or for a seller to not disclose the presence of bed bugs in a home, there are no measures in place to protect renters and buyers from this happening BEFORE it happens. In a state with four of the top-ranking bed bug cities, we need to have mandatory bed bug inspection requirements prior to renters and buyers signing contracts. We need to be proactive in the fight against the bed bug epidemic.

When was the last time you thought to ask for a bed bug inspection prior to moving into an apartment or home? If you’ve never dealt with bed bugs before, your answer is probably “never.” Bed bug inspections are not required by law, and with the aggressive renting and housing markets, a buyer or renter-requested inspection could be a deal breaker for a landlord or seller. Most people who haven’t dealt with bed bugs don’t know how to look for an infestation, or even know that you SHOULD before moving into a new home.

1 in 5 Americans will either deal with bed bugs in their lifetime, or know someone who does. And with Grand Rapids as a high-risk location, we can assume those numbers are much higher here.

I know multiple people in Grand Rapids who have moved into apartments only to find out that it is infested with bed bugs after they move in. I have personally purchased a home that was infested with bed bugs, and it was not disclosed to me. Bed bugs are costly to get rid of, cause psychological repercussions for affected people, and can take months to fully get rid of (even with an aggressive treatment plan.) Once you move your belongings into an apartment or home that is infested, you must completely follow-through with a treatment plan of the home and all of your belongings so as not to spread them to other locations. Often people will also have to throw away belongings that aren’t able to be effectively treated. But the physical and monetary aspects of bed bug infestations aren’t always the worst part.

The American Journal of Medicine released a report citing that of people that recorded having bed bug issues, 81% of them had psychological effects from the bed bug infestation. Out of all health issues, bed bug infestations are most commonly linked to “psychological effects including nightmares, flashbacks, hyper-vigilance, insomnia, anxiety, and PTSD.” These psychological effects can impact peoples’ quality of life for months or years even after the bed bug infestation is completely eradicated. Peace of mind and a feeling of safety in your own home is something that can’t be treated with pesticides. (amjmed, insider)

There are Michigan house bills in place, HB-5199-5201, that attempt to put some structure in place for the landlord-tenant agreement in regard to bed bugs. These terms include:

“Conduct, or arrange for a pest management professional to conduct, an inspection of the rental unit for bedbugs within five business days of receiving a notice via certified mail or email from a tenant that a unit may have a bedbug infestation.” — This means that a landlord can conduct their own visual inspection of a property. A human visual inspection is only about 35% accurate, because bed bugs hide in walls and out of sight during the daytime and typically only come out at night to feed. Alternatively, hiring a properly trained dog to inspect a home is not only quicker, a K9 inspection is 95% accurate. Dogs have the ability, when trained properly, to sniff out bed bugs in any life stage within 6 inches, meaning they can tell if bed bugs are hiding in places that humans couldn’t get to or see. So even if a landlord was doing their due-diligence during a visual inspection, there is a very good chance that it will not have reliable results. (pctonline)

“If the inspection reveals a bedbug infestation, require the landlord to, within seven business days, inspect any adjoining rental units for bedbugs and perform necessary control measures (or arrange for a pest management professional to do either or both). The control measures would have to be done by a pest management professional unless the landlord has the equipment, supplies, and expertise necessary to achieve equivalent results.” — This bill does not specify what expertise or supplies a landlord would need to properly treat and control the infestation. Under this bill, the landlord can realistically purchase publicly available pesticides and treat the house themselves. According to the Alaskan Division of Environmental Health, “Most insecticides that are available to the public will NOT kill bed bugs.” Even pesticides that are labeled to kill bed bugs are not effective ways to eliminate a bed bug infestation, and bed bugs have developed a resistance to many commonly available pesticides. “Using a chemical to get rid of bed bugs WILL NOT WORK unless you also remove clutter, clean and launder everything, seal off hiding places, and follow other, non-chemical steps to control bed bugs. Without special training about how and where to apply chemicals, which depends on the specific circumstances, consumers are not likely to effectively control bed bugs with chemicals.” (alaska.gov)

"Disclose to a current or prospective tenant upon request whether the rental unit (and any adjoining units) has been inspected for an infestation within the past 18 months and if so, the date of the latest inspection; and whether an infestation was found during that inspection and if so, if the infestation were treated....Not offer for rent a rental unit that the landlord knows or suspects is infested.“ — A landlord is NOT required to disclose recent bed bug infestations to prospective renters without request, unless there is a suspected active bed bug presence (in which case they are not legally allowed to rent out a unit). However, bed bugs can live for over a year without feeding depending on the environmental conditions. (ucanr) A landlord or tenant might have reason to believe that there is no longer an infestation after months of inactivity. However, without an accurate inspection by a trained K9, a landlord or prospective renter can’t know for sure whether there are bed bugs present in the home.

"'It is in oftentimes the landlord-tenant relationship where bedbug infestations tend to fester and go on because individuals are trying to either show cause or fault and worry about the money issues,' said Erik Foster, medical entomologist with the Michigan Department of Community Health.

He said bedbugs especially impact lower-income populations who have fewer housing choices and may be unable to move or are afraid to report bedbugs for fear of not being able to afford treatments. (mlive)"

According to this bill, the burden of payment for treatment of bed bugs is dictated by the terms of the lease agreement. Effective non-chemical bed bug treatments, such as heat treating, can cost thousands of dollars. This has lead to overusing of available pesticides, which in turn has created an even more resilient bed bug population. If a low income family is renting and potentially struggling to pay rent, it is unlikely that they would be able to afford the expensive and time consuming treatments necessary to effectively eradicate an infestation. I have witnessed situations in which low income families didn’t alert their landlord to a bed bug infestation for fear of having to pay out of pocket for treatment costs, or for fear of eviction.

So while some efforts to address situations after they arise have been enacted, Michigan has no defensive measures to protect people from being put into these situations in the first place. Moving into a home with an existing bed bug infestation is a preventable problem, and the solution is much less expensive and emotionally taxing than trying to offensively react to a situation after it occurs. Michigan needs to require reliable bed bug inspections in high-risk cities PRIOR to a new renter or a home buyer signing a contract, so that renters and buyers are able to make properly informed decisions.