Cat Foster
News Reporter

A typical college dorm room isn’t complete without a few unpleasant things. Piles of clothes, stinky shoes, dirty underwear and something that may have been a tuna sandwich at some point is all part of the dorm experience. With so many people coming and going so often, dorms become a breeding ground for sicknesses and other stomach-churning inconveniences.
One of those inconveniences, as Mesa State dorm students have discovered, is bed bugs.
We’ve all heard the saying, “Goodnight, sleep tight, don’t let the bed bugs bite,” and thought that bed bugs were just a made up monster, but bed bugs are certainly a reality, and they’re not pretty.
Kevin Wold, the local service manager for Orkin, a pest control company in Grand Junction said, “Bed bugs are the ultimate hitchhiker. They get on luggage, travel on clothing seams, even in your cell phone case.”
With college students always on the go, it’s no wonder the hitchhikers made it to Mesa State.
Although Mesa State has only had five reported cases this school year (four last semester and one this semester) the school made it a priority to respond quickly if they arrive.
“We can’t prevent them from arriving,” Director of Media Relations Dana Nunn said. “Mesa’s best defense is to be prepared.”
A young bed bug is approximately the size of a pinhead. Adults are about the size of an apple seed and brown, light tan or red in color. It’s been scientifically proven that bed bugs don’t carry or transmit diseases, but they do leave “itchy, bloody welts on skin,” according to Wold.
“The crazy thing about bed bugs, especially on campus, is that you don’t always know who has them,” Freshman Chloe Fetter said. “You don’t want to go anywhere fearing bed bugs are lurking there.”
When a case of bed bugs is reported, the mattress must immediately be treated, or in extreme cases, disposed of. They’re so resilient that sheets and towels have to be washed in 120 degree water.
“It didn’t really affect me,” Pinon resident Page Waters said. “It affected our whole floor because we knew nothing about bed bugs and were all paranoid that we had them. Bed bugs aren’t likely to spread unless you’re not being careful. My RA was really good about keeping people calm.”
The resident staff at Mesa State have been trained to recognize signs of bed bugs and how to respond.
The best way to deal with bed bugs is to keep a clean room. When visiting a hotel, check around for apple seed-sized bugs. If any are found, call a professional pest control company.
“The Housing Department has done a really good job of being prepared for when it does happen,” Nunn said. With a bug that can only be killed in hot water, reproduces by a process called “traumatic insemination,” and can create such a miserable existence for someone who wakes up with itchy welts, maybe the Boogey Man would prefer to stay in your closet, far away from bedbugs.

cmfoster@mesastate.edu