October 2011 Results
1. Have you ever treated an affordable property in your portfolio for bed bugs?
| Yes | 83% |
| No | 17% |
2. Do you have any market-rate rental units in your company’s portfolio?
| Yes | 64% |
| No | 36% |
3. Have you treated any of those market-rate rental units for a bed bug infestation?
| Yes | 37% |
| No | 33% |
| I do not have market-rate units in my company’s portfolio | 30% |
4. In your experience, what is the average cost per unit per treatment of bed bugs to eliminate an infestation at a property (this treatment includes initial visits and subsequent treatment(s) [as determined by a pest control company] to eradicate an infestation)?
| $0-250 | 0% |
| $250-500 | 26% |
| $500-750 | 24% |
| $750-$1000 | 21% |
| $1000-1500 | 13% |
| $1500-$1750 | 5% |
| $1750+ | 11% |
5. On average, how many units (including the infested unit) are treated for each bed bug treatment for an infestation at a property (this treatment includes initial visits and subsequent treatment(s) [as determined by a pest control company] to eradicate an infestation)?
| 1 | 5% |
| 2 | 11% |
| 3 | 24% |
| 4 | 29% |
| 5 | 11% |
| 6 | 5% |
| 7 | 0% |
| 8 | 0% |
| 9+ | 16% |
6. On average, how many total treatment(s) (including initial visits and subsequent treatment(s)) were necessary to eliminate an infestation?
| 1 | 13% |
| 2 | 24% |
| 3 | 50% |
| 4 | 5% |
| 5+ | 8% |
| Total | 100% |
7. What treatment options were used on your property to eliminate bed bug infestations? Please select all that apply.
| Heat treatment | 68% |
| Cold treatment | 8% |
| Steam treatment | 16% |
| Furniture and mattress encasement | 71% |
| Chemical pesticides | 82% |
| Non-chemical options (i.e. diatomaceous earth/silicon dioxide) | 21% |
| Vacuuming | 47% |
| Sealing cracks and crevasses | 24% |
8. Has your property experienced re-infestations of units which were successfully treated and determined to be free of bed bugs by a pest control professional?
| Yes | 71% |
| No | 29% |
9. If you answered “Yes” to Question 8, have you been able to conclusively determine what caused the re-infestation? Please check all that apply.
| Unsuccessful or ineffective method used in pest control treatment of the infestation | 29% |
| Tenant non-compliance with treatment instructions/protocols | 89% |
| Property staff non-compliance with treatment instructions/protocols | 0% |
| Infested second-hand furniture (including mattresses, etc.) brought on to the property after the treatment | 64% |
| Infested second-hand items (including rugs, clothing, etc.) brought on to the property after the treatment | 43% |
| We have been unable to conclusively determine what caused the re-infestation | 21% |
| No, we have not had any reinfestations at the property | 0% |
| Other | 4% |
10. What steps has your property taken in the past prior to the effective date of HUD’s bed bug Notice H 2011-20 (August 16, 2011) to help prevent bed bug infestations? Please check all that apply.
| Developed and implemented an integrated pest management (IPM) plan | 54% |
| Require inspection of furniture and other tenant items at move-in | 15% |
| Require inspection of furniture and other tenant items after move-in | 15% |
| Offer voluntary inspection services of furniture and tenant items at or after move-in | 22% |
| Provide educational information to tenants and staff on identifying bed bugs and provide information on next steps for treatment | 83% |
| Provide encasements for mattresses, pillows, and furniture | 33% |
| Require treatment (non-chemical or chemical) of furniture and other tenant items at move-in | 4% |
| Require treatment (non-chemical or chemical) of furniture and other tenant items after move-in | 9% |
| Offer treatment (non-chemical or chemical) services of furniture and tenant items at or after move-in | 11% |
| Require tenants to remove excess clutter from their units | 57% |
| Require tenants to sign a lease addendum agreeing to the control and prevention of bed bugs | 35% |
| Keeping records of previous infestations | 78% |
| Providing inspections of common areas and units to look for infestations | 76% |
| My property has not taken any preventative measures for bed bug infestations at this time | 2% |
| Other | 11% |
11. What steps does your property plan to take in the future to help prevent bed bug infestations? Please check all that apply.
| Developed and implemented an integrated pest management (IPM) plan | 62% |
| Require inspection of furniture at move-in | 26% |
| Voluntary inspection of furniture after move-in | 31% |
| Provide educational information to tenants and staff on identifying bed bugs and provide information on next steps for treatment | 62% |
| Provide encasements for mattresses, pillows, and furniture | 18% |
| Require treatment (non-chemical or chemical) of furniture at move-in | 5% |
| Voluntary treatment (non-chemical or chemical) of furniture after move-in | 13% |
| Require tenants to remove excess clutter from their units | 54% |
| Require tenants to sign a lease addendum agreeing to the control and prevention of bed bugs | 33% |
| Keeping records of previous infestations | 64% |
| Providing inspections of common areas and units to look for infestations | 62% |
| My property does not plan to taken any preventative measures for bed bug infestations at this time | 3% |
| Other | 10% |
