USC Statement in Response to “Bed Bug” News Report
LOS ANGELES, October 29, 2010 — A Los Angeles television station last night aired a report indicating a “bed bug” problem at USC. In the interests of full disclosure, here is pertinent information:
The housing complex mentioned in the report is neither owned nor operated by USC.
The three USC students interviewed in the report and saying there is a “bed bug problem” do not currently live in USC Housing. Only two of the three have lived in USC Housing previously, and the university has no documented reports from them during that time of a bed bug issue.
Many institutions around the nation and the world have in recent years experienced limited bed bug infestations. For its part, USC has infrequently responded to reports of bed bugs, or evidence thereof, in University-run facilities. This semester, USC Housing responded to two cases of suspected bed bugs in our campus housing and three such cases in off-campus housing managed by USC.
USC takes all reports of pest infestation very seriously and the housing office has in place an aggressive pest management protocol designed in conjunction with national pest control service providers. This protocol stresses immediate response to a report, coordination with residents, aggressive treatments and continual follow up to ensure all cases are handled appropriately.
USC Housing also conducts a tri-annual inspection program that utilizes certified canine detection in order to provide the highest level of service to our students and residents.
We publicly provide information to students on integrated pest management and on bed bugs specifically.
That information is located as follows:
The USC Housing Form info page:
http://housing.usc.edu/Services/HousingForms.aspx
The PDF document “Integrated Pest Management Program.”
http://housing.usc.edu/forms/Integrated%20Pest%20Management.pdf
The PDF document “What you should know about Bedbugs.”
http://housing.usc.edu/forms/Bed%20Bugs.pdf
These documents have been on the USC website since 2007 and are updated periodically.
Contacts:
James Grant at (213) 740-6156 or grantjr@usc.edu
Carl Marziali at (213)740-4751 or marziali@usc.edu
