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Case of bedbugs reported in Forbes College

A case of bedbugs was reported in a room in Forbes College on September 26,marking the first bedbug case of the 2014-15 academic year, said University spokesperson Martin Mbugua.

After the case was reported and an inspection of the room confirmed the presence of bedbugs, the two residents of the room were relocated to other campus housing to make room for heat treatment, Mbugua said. A University contractor was scheduled to treat the room by the next morning, and an email was sent to the Forbes community by Manager of Dormitories Kenneth Paulaski to notify residents of the contractor’s presence in the building.

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"It has been confirmed that a room in Forbes Main has bedbugs," Paulaski wrote. "A University contractor, who will be escorted by a University representative, will commence treating this roomtomorrowmorning."

Paulaski deferred comment to Mbugua.

“In addition to preparing the room for treatment, monitors were placed in adjacent rooms as a precautionary measure,” Mbugua said. The results of the extermination procedure have yet to be determined, he added.

The room was a one-room double bedroom in the main inn. Cases of bedbugs are not uncommon in Forbes. A case was reported in April and another last September. In other parts of campus, threereportsof bedbugs were made in Rockefeller College’s Holder Hall last March.

One of the Rocky cases was recurrent. After students were moved from the room and the room was exterminated, they reported a new case of bedbugs only four days after being allowed to move back in.

The common bedbug feeds on blood and causes itchy bites, according to the Environmental Protection Agency’swebsite. Although considered public health pests, bedbugs are not known to transmit or spread disease.

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The prevalence of bedbugs has risen in the United States in recent years, according to the EPA. The EPA explains that this trend is possibly due to more travel, lack of public prevention awareness and increased resistance to pesticides.

The EPA recommends reducing clutter, using special bedbug-repelling mattress covers and regularly washing and heat-drying bed sheets and other cloth materials that touch the floor to prevent infestations. To identify possible bedbug infestations, the EPA suggests looking for spotted bedding and the presence of larvae and eggs.

Correction: Due to a reporting error, an earlier version of this article misstated the date of the bedbugs incident. The incident was reported on September 26. The 'Prince' regrets the error.

Clarification: This article has been updated to clarify that the treatment used to combat bedbugs in a Forbes College room was heat treatment.

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