Bed Bugs Massachusetts
"Bed
bugs Massachusetts problems are similar to those found in other North
Eastern states. One expert estimated that bed bugs infest one in four
public housing units in Western Massachusetts. Luckily, the laws in
Massachusetts protect tenants, lessors and others that live in
apartments by requiring that landlords or building managers treat bed
bugs."
Bed Aug Apartment Lessor Information
Massachusetts bed bug law protects the tenant and requires
that a landlord both treat and pay for extermination.
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As noted on the site
MassLegalHelp.org:
The site recommends that if you rent an apartment in
Massachusetts and have bed bugs, you should:
- Write a letter to your landlord right away;
- Put the date in the letter;
- Tell the landlord or building manager about the bedbugs,
and ask him to hire a licensed exterminator to inspect and treat your
home right away;
- Keep a copy of your letter.
Next, call the Board of Health for your town and get an inspection (see
partial list below). The Board of Health may need to inspect
neighboring apartments and stop the bedbugs from spreading further. The
Board of Health will write a report documenting the bed bugs. They will
cite the landlord and order fumigation.
You may want to research signs of bedbug infestation and point them out
to the inspector if he doesn't see anything on his own.
If the landlord is not fixing the bedbug infestation, you have the
right to stop paying your rent until the problem is fixed. You should
save the rent in the bank. Please also see our brochure What to Do
about Bad Conditions for more information on keeping your rent until
the bedbug problem is fixed.
If there are dirty or cluttered conditions in your home which are
contributing to the infestation, the Board of Health may also cite you.
This does not happen often, however.
It is very important to call the Board of Health as soon as you see
bedbugs. Later on, if you have to go to court, a judge might not
believe you about the date you first saw bedbugs, especially if the
landlord disagrees with you and tells the judge a different story. But
a judge will always believe the inspector if the dated inspection
report said you had bedbugs
There is also language that can be found in Massachusetts
landlord tenant law regarding insects, which would
directly apply to Massachusetts tenant bed bug problems. The
section of law is listed below:
410.550: Extermination of Insects, Rodents and Skunks:
(A) The occupant of a dwelling containing one dwelling unit shall
maintain the unit free from all rodents, skunks, cockroaches and insect
infestation, and shall be responsible for exterminating them, provided,
however, that the owner shall maintain any screen, fence or other
structural element necessary to keep rodents and skunks from entering
the dwelling.
(B)
The owner of a
dwelling containing two or more dwelling units shall maintain it and
its premises free from all rodents, skunks, cockroaches and insect
infestation and shall be responsible for exterminating them.
masslawlib: (C) The owner of a rooming house shall maintain it and its
premises free from all rodents, skunks, cockroaches and insect
infestation, and shall be responsible for exterminating them.
(D) Extermination shall be accomplished by eliminating the harborage
places of insects and rodents, by removing or making inaccessible
materials that may serve as their food or breeding ground, by
poisoning, spraying, fumigating, trapping or by any other recognized
and legal pest elimination method. All use of pesticides within the
interior of a dwelling, dwelling unit, rooming house, or mobile home
shall be in accordance with applicable laws and regulations of the
Department of Food and Agriculture's Pesticide Board, including those
appearing at 333 CMR 13.00, which provide, among other things, that
pesticide applicators or their employers must give at least 48 hours
pre-notification to occupants of all residential units prior to any
routine commercial application of pesticides for the control of indoor
household or structural indoor pests.
Massachusetts Bed Bugs Resources
Massachusetts
Bed Bug Faq - From Massachusetts department of health (PDF
Download)
Multi-tenant
dwelling regulations (PDF Download) - find the laws that
dictate that the landlord is responsible for bed bugs problems in
Massachusetts
Bed
Bugs Faqs - Bed Bug Somerville information from the
department of health (617-625-6600 x4300)
Massachusetts Bed Bugs News Reports
Bedbugs
make resurgence in Western Massachusetts
- masslive.com
Bedbugs
spotted in Massachusetts suburbs
- whdh.com
Resurgence
Of Bed Bugs In Massachusetts
- CBS Boston Bed Bugs information
Bed Bugs Massachusetts Treatment
Bed bugs Boston and bed bug treatment in other areas of the
state can cost
as much as $350 for a studio apartment and $1,500 for a single family
home. Because of the high
cost it pays to get estimates from several local exterminators.
One
convenient way to do this is to make one call to the
Service
Magic (1.877.233.1145) network. They pre-screen local
Massachusetts bed bug exterminators
and certify that they are licensed and insured. Members of the network
will provide up to 4 free quotes.
You can also search our online database
of bed bug exterminators.
If an infestation is small or to save money you can purchase
the combination of products needed to properly treat bed bugs. We would
suggest purchasing either an insecticide based bed
bug kit or one that
contains organic
bed bug products.
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