Bedbug Infestation: A Campus Pandemic II

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SADIK, Omolola Rukayat

To begin with, there is a need to address a common misconception about bedbug infestations. There are individuals who believe the lack of proper hygiene causes bedbug infestations. However, an infestation rarely has anything to do with whether you are neat or not. Now, myths, misconceptions, and opinions aside, the two questions that come to mind with the mention of the word ‘bedbug’ are “How can I prevent it from getting to my space and how do I eradicate it from my space?”

Preventing the Infestation: What to Do

You may be wondering, “Is it ever possible to prevent a bedbug infestation?” Students who have experienced the bedbug infestation say no, “You can never be too careful.” Still, there is the saying that “prevention is better than cure.”Prevention is always better than dealing with an infestation. There are several practical steps you can take to minimise the risk of bringing bedbugs into your space.

Always inspect your room and your luggage. Many bedbug infestations start when students bring in their luggage into their rooms. On the other hand, sometimes, just like in the exact words of a resident of Queen Idia Hall, “the bugs are on the bunks in the room allocated to you even before you move into the room. That was what happened to me. Everyone should make sure they check the bunks they meet in their rooms thoroughly before they put anything on those bunks.” Therefore, before and even after you move into your room, make sure to thoroughly inspect your room for signs of bedbugs. Check as regularly as you can.

Some students have roommates who vehemently refuse to tear off the nylon bag from their beds. Their tossing and turning in the midnight while they sleep might be annoying, as it makes unpleasant sounds. However, it might be time to put your anger or dislike aside. Mattress and pillow encasements are an excellent way to prevent bedbugs from nesting in your bed. These covers create a barrier that bedbugs cannot penetrate and make it difficult for them to infest your mattress or pillows.

You should also check and seal cracks in your room. Bedbugs can enter a new place through tiny cracks and gaps in walls, windows, or furniture. This is why you have to seal any cracks you notice to prevent them from getting in. Sealing the gaps will make it harder for bedbugs to enter your space and establish an infestation.

Responding to an Infestation: Steps to Take.

This is the point where the truth is told, and this truth must set us all free. Even with the best prevention efforts, it is highly possible for a bedbug infestation to occur. If you suspect that you have bedbugs in your corner or your room, the first thing you must do is take immediate action to prevent the problem from spreading.

Bedbugs can spread quickly through personal belongings, so it is important not to move furniture, bags, or clothing to other areas. Moving your belongings may inadvertently transfer the infestation to other spaces in the room or to other rooms. Instead, keep your belongings in one area until you can assess the situation. Also, try your best to not sleep on other people’s beds. Bedbugs can easily attach to your dress, and if you sleep on other people’s beds while you still sleep on your infested bed, you may spread the bugs to other places. In other words, do your best to contain the infestation in your space till you can access the situation.

There are people who hilariously comment that if a person has an infestation in their space, then it is most likely time to move out. As hilarious and extreme as this sounds, it would be good if you could vacate your space till you eradicate the infestation. Although doing this would not kill the bugs, it will effectively prevent the spread of the bugs to a new environment.

The next step is to eradicate the bugs. Eradicating a bedbug infestation without professional help or intervention is highly difficult and stressful. Evidently, this is the reality of the average UI student experiencing a bedbug infestation, as there seem to be no functional pest control professionals to treat the infestation in rooms. Students have to treat these infestations on their own, and to do this, they need to follow specific instructions. These include instructions from others who have experienced the infestation or tips from online platforms on how to eradicate bedbugs. For example, they may be asked to carry their bunks out into the sun, wash their clothes and bed covers in hot water, and use certain chemicals on beds, bunks, as well as other affected areas repeatedly till there are no signs of these bugs.

In conclusion, the university management has a significant role to play in the fight against these bugs. Many universities have pest management services in place to deal with infestations quickly and effectively. Complaints from students in this university say otherwise. A student from Nnamdi Azikwe Hall berates the efforts of the university management in the fight against bedbugs. In his words, “What makes the bedbug headache more stressful is that we have to find solutions to it by ourselves.”. Similarly, a student from Independence Hall complained about how he and other residents he knows, who have experienced the bedbug infestation, had to buy chemicals to kill these bugs themselves.

The sooner students report an infestation, the easier it will be to control the situation. Therefore, the university management should put in place necessary services so students will not bear the brunt of eradicating the bugs themselves.

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