Bedbugs confirmed in apartment complex unit

TONY BROWN/DAILY FORUM
The manager of Autumn House, a local rent-subsidized independent living complex for seniors and people with disabilities, has confirmed that one of the building’s 50 one-bedroom apartments is infested with bedbugs. The apartment’s two residents are still living there but will be moved to another unit after pest control technicians ensure that steps have been taken to keep the infestation from spreading.

Manager Lesley Oddi confirmed Monday that bedbugs have been found in one of the 50 one-bedroom apartment units at Autumn House, a rent-subsidized independent living complex for senior citizens and people with disabilities located 110 S. Vine St. in Maryville.

Oddi said that, so far as can be determined, the infestation is limited to a single unit, reportedly the home of two elderly residents.

She said the infestation was discovered Thursday in the course of a routine monthly inspection of the complex by employees of Ecolab, the company that provides Autumn House with pest control services.

Oddi, who has managed Autumn House for the past four and a half years, said the infestation is the third during her tenure, and that the two earlier incidents were mitigated before the blood-sucking parasites could spread beyond a limited area.

For the time being, both residents of the affected apartment are still living there. While bedbugs are considered a nuisance by public health agencies, infestations are not classed as a health crisis or emergency.

Oddi said Autumn House has a comprehensive policy and protocols in place for dealing with bedbugs, and that the policy is being followed. However, going through all the steps takes a little time.

Before the residents can be moved to another unit, she said, they will have to thoroughly shower in a non-infested area and be provided with fresh clothes that have been laundered and inspected.

The apartment itself will be stripped of all clothing, bedding, wall hangings, and electronics, and the baseboards removed.

Oddi said articles taken from the apartment will be sealed with specially marked duct tape inside black plastic bags. After cleaning and inspection, the items will be placed in sealed white bags.

Bedbugs are extremely hardy, Oddi said, and can survive for up to a year inside a radio or television set. To make certain such articles are no longer contaminated, she said electronics taken from the apartment will remain sealed for 18 months.

The apartment itself is to be treated with chemicals after it has been stripped and the occupants moved to another unit.

Oddi said the entire mitigation process takes place on site, and that the residents will not be moved to another building.

After the apartment is treated with chemicals, it will remain empty for at least 48 hours, after which extermination professionals will inspect it. If any trace of continuing infestation is found, the process will be repeated as many times as it takes to clear the unit of parasites.

On Monday, according to established Autumn House procedure, Oddi was to meet with all 50-some residents to inform them about the infestation and explain the steps being taken to eliminate it.

Oddi said the meeting serves a couple of purposes, including ensuring residents that the apartment building’s management is working aggressively to solve the problem.

“We don’t hide the fact (that there is an infestation),” she said. “We have a good system, and the system works.”

Oddi said she also planned to tell residents that the infestation is no one’s fault, and that bedbugs can appear almost anywhere, including hotels, apartments, dormitories and other places where a large number of people live in proximity.

In moving to eliminate the infestation, Oddi said her priority is to ensure that residents “keep their dignity” while steps are taken to contain and kill the pests as efficiently as possible.

“We want to stay on top of it,” she said, “and control it while it is a small problem and before it becomes a big problem.”

Oddi said Ecolab technicians are scheduled to begin extermination work in the affected apartment this week.