RE: Bed bugs found in Carleton residence 

Thinking about the health and safety of Carleton residence students, the first thing that comes to mind is an issue many people have been talking about lately: bed bugs. Or, perhaps not as many people as one might think, seeing as how few students have been told by university administration about the recent cases of bed bugs found in one residence on campus.

I first found out about the bedbugs a few days after the cases were made public Sept. 15. I was staying at a friend’s house for the weekend, and was left completely surprised and humiliated when my friend, nervous for obvious reasons, had to inform me about the bed bug situation — I had no idea.

It is extremely disturbing and infuriating that students were not made aware of what was going on at the time it happened and that people all across Canada knew before we did, especially since I later found out that at least some of the cases were found on other floors of Dundas House, the building I live in.

To me personally, it seems like Carleton’s administration is trying to keep the whole situation as “hush-hush” as they possibly can.

I asked a few friends if they had heard anything about it and only some who live at home knew anything. It wasn’t until I asked my floor’s res fellow that I got an honest answer about the rumours circulating, that it was indeed in our building where the bugs were found.

This was upsetting, mostly because Carleton officials clearly knew about the bugs, as they confirmed it for the media. I don’t understand how people living in the affected building were not made aware, at the very least. One spokeswoman for Carleton told the Ottawa Citizen releasing the name of the residence was “not relevant.”

But if the inhabitants of the building were informed, they could check their rooms thoroughly, buy bed bug protectors and just do anything possible to further prevent the bugs from getting into their beds and rooms.

Reading the story published in last week’s issue of the Charlatan about how Michelle Blom knew she had bed bugs, clearly had evidence of them all over her arms and legs in huge bites — not to mention the fact that she’d had bed bugs before and knew what they looked like — it shocked me to read that it took “several days” before the room was treated.

If I happened to find bugs in my bed, I could not have let it take that long. I would not be willing to continue sleeping in my bug-infested bed. So where exactly would I sleep at night? Would people welcome me with open arms to stay with them, knowing I had bed bugs? I doubt it.

I think every room should be inspected for bed bugs prior to move in, especially since people from all over stay in residence rooms during the summer. Who knows what they brought here with them?

Sure, it may be costly for Carleton’s department of housing and conference services to check the rooms, but seeing as how expensive it is to live in residence (it breaks down to about $1000 a month), checking the rooms for bed bugs shouldn’t be an issue.

Or, if need be, the extra cost of a bed bug inspection can be tacked on to residence fees. Once students are paying thousands of dollars in total to live on campus, an extra $80, which would ensure the prevention of bed bugs, is worth it.

The proactive option is better than having to call in pest control, which charges $200 for treatment, when the bed bugs are found after the fact. This is harmful to students and embarrassing for the university.

When we’re paying close to $20,000 for one year of university and moving far away from home for the first time, wondering whether there will be bed bugs is not something first-year students need to worry about.

But sometimes these problems can’t be avoided. If bed bugs do turn up, they should be treated right away and the hassle should be minimized as much as possible for the students involved.

Failing to do the simplest thing of all, inform the residents of the building in which they were found, is just plain wrong.