With each passing season, changes in temperature and environmental conditions introduce new pests onto your property. These insects can find their way into your apartment, eat food and fabric, spread filth and disease or even cause itching rashes and painful welts. While one or two bug sightings might not seem like a cause for alarm, it could indicate a larger infestation.
Here is everything you need to know about insects and apartment living, including which insects to look for and how to prevent them.
Living in an apartment comes with many perks like no lawn maintenance and shared amenities. However, apartments can also come with some unwanted guests – bugs! As an apartment renter myself, I’ve dealt with my fair share of creepy crawly uninvited roommates.
In this complete guide I’ll share everything I’ve learned over the years about the most common bugs found in apartments why they occur, and most importantly, how to get rid of them for good. Read on to learn how to keep your apartment pest-free!
Why Are Bugs Attracted to Apartments?
Before we get into specific bugs it helps to understand exactly why apartments often have more issues with pests than single-family homes. There are a few key reasons bugs love apartments
Shared Walls and Spaces
Pests can easily spread between units in an apartment building through shared walls, vents, utilities, and other openings. So even if you keep a spotless apartment, if your neighbor has an infestation, you’re still at risk.
Access Points
Apartments have more potential entry points for bugs than houses. Pests can crawl through cracks, crevices, gaps around pipes, loose windows, doors, ceiling vents, and more. Plus, there are many common spaces bugs can first get into before migrating to your unit.
Clutter and Mess
Bugs love to hide and breed in dark, damp, cluttered spaces. Apartments are generally smaller than houses, so clutter can quickly get out of control, especially in rentals where storage space is limited. Keeping an apartment consistently clean and clutter-free is key for pest prevention.
Outdoor Proximity
Many apartments are built closer together and have less space between units and shared outdoor areas. Bugs have a shorter distance to travel from their outdoor habitats like trees, shrubs, and soil into the units.
Limited Unit Access
In apartment buildings, pest control technicians may have limited access to individual units for assessments and treatments. And if your neighbors decline extermination service, that can leave the whole building at risk.
The Most Common Bugs in Apartments
Now that you know why apartments are prone to bugs, let’s look at the specific pests you’re most likely to encounter:
Cockroaches
The top spot goes to cockroaches – these quick-moving, flat-bodied insects are most frequently found in apartments. Roaches are especially attracted to food crumbs and moisture, so kitchens and bathrooms are hot spots. They can also squeeze through tiny cracks and crevices. Getting rid of roaches requires intensive cleaning and extermination treatment.
Ants
Tiny ants can march single file through the smallest openings into your apartment in search of food. Kitchens, bathrooms, and pantries are key target areas. Eliminating any food sources and sealing cracks are the best ways to control ants.
Bed Bugs
While not as common as roaches or ants, bed bugs can be challenging to eradicate. They hide in bedroom furniture and bedding and feed on human blood at night. Specialized heat or chemical treatments are required to fully remove bed bugs in an apartment.
Spiders
Many spiders that sneak inside apartments are harmless to humans and help control other insect populations. But some species like brown recluse spiders can bite, so it’s best not to allow them to take up residence in your home.
Silverfish
These small wingless bugs with a fish-like appearance feed on starchy materials and prefer warm, humid environments. Kitchens, bathrooms, basements, and attics are typical silverfish hangouts in apartments.
Fleas
Fleas need a host animal like a dog or cat to survive, but they can spread into your apartment from a pet. They leave itchy red bite marks on skin. Apartment flea infestations often require treating both the unit and pets with topical or oral medications.
Flies
Filth flies like fruit and drain flies are drawn to ripe produce in kitchens or moist grungy areas where they can lay eggs and breed. Fly infestations peak in summer and fall in apartments when windows are open. Proper sanitation and screens can help deter flies.
Pantry Pests
Like flour beetles, moths, and weevils can infest dried foods in kitchen pantries. Discarding old food containers and keeping the pantry clean prevents buildups.
Carpenter Ants & Termites
These larger ants and wood-destroying insects pose serious property damage threats if they get established in an apartment. Notify the landlord immediately if you suspect carpenter ants or termites.
Mice & Rats
Rodents can find their way into apartments through small holes and gaps. They contaminate food with feces and urine. Apartment mice and rat issues require setting traps and sealing access points.
This covers the most common bug suspects, but depending on your area, season, and apartment complex, you may encounter other occasional invaders like centipedes, earwigs, beetles, and more. The best offense is maintaining cleanliness and pest-proofing your unit.
9 Tips to Keep Bugs Out of Your Apartment
Preventing a bug problem is much easier than dealing with a full-blown infestation. Here are my top tips for keeping pests from invading your apartment in the first place:
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Take out trash and recycling regularly – Don’t allow garbage to pile up inside, especially food waste that appeals to many insects.
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Address moisture issues – Fix any leaky plumbing and don’t allow excess moisture from cooking, showers, etc. Mold and mildew attract bugs.
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Vacuum and mop floors frequently – This removes food crumbs and debris that bugs feed on. Pay extra attention to corners and baseboards.
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Keep counters and sinks dry and wiped down – Clean up spills and overflow suds after washing dishes.
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Store food properly in sealed containers – Don’t give pests easy access to human food.
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Inspect items before bringing them inside – Check for signs of bugs on used furniture, plants, and groceries.
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Take care of pest problems immediately – If you spot roaches, ants, or other bugs, get professional treatment right away before they multiply.
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Talk to your landlord if issues persist – Let them know about any recurring bug problems so they can address structural or external factors.
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Seal cracks and crevices around your unit – Caulk gaps in walls, weatherstrip doors, and install door sweeps to keep out crawling insects.
Sticking to these preventive measures will help keep your apartment unwelcoming to most common household pests. But if you do end up with an infestation, here’s how to get rid of apartment bugs:
How to Get Rid of Bugs in Your Apartment
If you already have an established bug problem, here are some do’s and don’ts for extermination:
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Don’t DIY bed bugs – Hire a pest control professional to treat a bed bug infestation. Attempting to remove them yourself will likely make the issue worse.
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Do clean before treatment – Thoroughly clean the affected area to allow insecticides or traps easier access to bugs and their hideouts.
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Do laundry and heat-treat items – For bed bugs, wash and heat dry (120°F minimum) any exposed linens, curtains, stuffed furniture to kill bugs and eggs.
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Don’t spray insecticides indoors – Toxic chemicals can linger at unsafe levels. Leave spraying to certified pros.
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Do use gel baits for ants – Insecticide gels applied in cracks and crevices where ants travel can effectively knock down populations.
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Do trap pantry pests – Adhesive traps help catch moths, beetles, weevils, and other stored product insects. Discard infested food.
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Don’t hesitate to move – For severe infestations affecting health and quality of life, it may be best to break your lease and move out if the landlord fails to fix the problem. Document all efforts to resolve it.
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Do encase mattresses – For bed bugs, cover infested mattresses in a zippered encasement to trap and starve them. Leave on for at least a year.
Removing an entrenched bug problem requires patience and persistence. Prevention is definitely easier, which is why I always recommend my first nine tips to avoid infestations in apartments altogether.
When to Call in Pest Control Pros
While some basic bugs can be managed with diligent cleaning and home remedies, certain scenarios require calling in the big guns of professional pest control:
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You suspect a bed bug infestation – Bed bugs spread rapidly and require special treatment not suited for DIY.
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Cockroaches continue multiplying – Hard-to-kill roaches may warrant fumigation or intensive insecticide applications to your whole unit.
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You spot signs of carpenter ants and termites – Only pros have the proper tools and materials to eradicate these structural pests.
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Flea infestations from pets persist after home treatments – Exterminators have access to stronger products and can assess all hot spots pets visit.
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You notice an outbreak of disease-carrying pests like ticks, mosquitoes, or flies – These bugs pose health risks and require certified control methods.
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Your landlord or neighbors refuse pest control service – One untreated unit can re-infest the whole building, so pros are needed.
Don’t wait until the problem gets out of hand. At the first sign of a concerning bug issue, contact pest control experts trained to inspect, identify, and eliminate apartment pests.
The Takeaway: Keep Apartment Bugs Out for Good
While pests are certainly annoying, having a bug-free apartment is completely achievable with consistent prevention practices and immediate response when problems do pop up. As a renter, you may not have control over structural deficiencies that allow insects entry, but you can control your own living environment.
By cutting off food sources, fixing moisture issues, sealing entry points, and working with your landlord to address problems, you can keep your apartment a bug-free sanctuary. Don’t tolerate pest infestations – speak up and use all available help to eliminate apartment bugs for good!
Establish Apartment-Wide Standards
If you’re a landlord or property manager and have a complex-wide pest issue, create and uphold a set of standards for preventing and removing insects. To establish an effective treatment plan, work with a professional and take the following steps:
- Educate yourself on the type of pests you’re dealing with, so you know where they came from and how to best treat them.
- Be honest with residents about the issue and give them a clear set of instructions to follow for remedying the situation, through either a pest prevention plan or scheduled removal.
- Encourage residents to come forward with pest concerns and let them know that prompt notification is crucial for preventing an infestation.
- Thoroughly clean and inspect all vacant apartments in between renters.
- Provide all new move-ins with a packet of helpful information, like common pests in the area and the importance of keeping the apartment clean and removing trash and waste as soon as possible.
- Establish cleanliness and hygiene expectations with residents when signing the lease.
- Schedule a regular preventive plan with a pest removal service to identify and secure vulnerable areas and minimize the chance of bugs getting inside homes.
Contact a Professional Pest Removal Service
If you have tried to handle your pest infestation on your own — even if it seems like you’ve succeeded — it’s important to contact a professional. While some methods may be effective at eliminating colonies or nests, there remains the problem that the infestation took hold of your apartment in the first place. If you don’t remove or remedy the conditions that caused the pest problem, you may find yourself dealing with it again in the future.
A professional pest removal service can come to your property and examine critical entry points to see how and why bugs were able to thrive and give advice on how to prevent future infestations. They can also inspect for signs of a remaining nest or implement more thorough removal strategies.
Bed Bugs At Center Of Dispute With Apartment Landlord
FAQ
Is it normal to have bugs in your apartment?
Frequent turnover rates: A single apartment sees dozens of tenants back-to-back, which increases the chances of bugs being carried inside at some point, especially when furniture and luggage are constantly moved in and out. Some tenants can even have an infestation and not know it if the bugs are small and hide well.
Why do I see bugs in my apartment?
Answer: Pests want what we have — food, water and shelter. Many pests such as roaches and even rodents can fit through tiny cracks and crevices in search of these resources. This can happen no matter how clean your house may be.
What are the most common apartment bugs?
The results showed that while bed bugs are the most feared of all pests, flies are the most common pest problem in apartment units, followed by ants, cockroaches and rodents.
Can I get my apartment sprayed for bugs?
But generally, yes, your landlord can spray for pests. People are displaced for termite fumigation all the time and it’s legal/generally accepted. Spraying for pests of high concern (like roaches) is generally permissible, too.