Back to School, Back to Basics: What Every Student Should Know About Bed Bugs and Cockroaches This Move-In Season

Toronto, Ontario, Sept. 01, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Move-in week means students settling into dorms and shared rentals, usually with a secondhand couch, a mattress someone gave them, and a pile of cardboard boxes. Abell Pest Control says that mix of people, furniture, and boxes is often exactly how bed bugs and cockroaches show up in student homes. Sometimes they travel in with someone's stuff. Other times, they were already in the room, left behind by whoever lived there before.

"Every fall we see the same pattern," said Mike Heimbach, Vice-President, Abell Pest Control. "Bed bugs don't care where furniture came from. They just need a ride, or they may have been in the room from a previous tenant. Cockroaches move in just as easily, especially in shared kitchens where food gets left out or dishes pile up. The problem is neither one announces itself. Students often don't know they have a problem until it's already spread."

What Students Moving Away Should Watch For

• Inspect anything second-hand before it comes into your room, whether it's a mattress, a couch, or a dresser someone left behind. Check seams, folds, and joints closely; that's where bed bugs hide.
• Check the room before you unpack. Bed bugs are often already there, left behind by a previous occupant, so look for the signs before you settle in: small blood spots on the sheets or mattress, dark fecal spotting along the seams of the mattress near the headboard, or shed skins in the corners of drawers and bed frames.
• Keep food sealed and dishes out of the sink in shared kitchens. Cockroaches only need a few crumbs and some moisture to survive, and most species prefer warm, dark hiding places with easy access to water. Check under the coffee maker, along countertop edges, and underneath containers, common spots where they shelter close to a food source. And don't rule out sightings just because the bug looks small.

• If you spot roaches or bed bugs, tell your landlord or residence staff right away, and make sure they take fast, appropriate action. These pests won't go away on their own; a licensed pest control professional is needed to get rid of them.

The same principle applies just as easily to backpacks and lunch bags as it does to a dorm room couch: pests don't discriminate by age, and a little awareness at the door is often all it takes to keep them from becoming a bigger problem.

 About Abell Pest Control

Founded in 1924, Abell Pest Control has spent over a century delivering trusted pest management services. With generations of experience protecting homeowners, businesses, and their patrons, Abell combines deep industry expertise with a genuine commitment to customer care, available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Learn more about Abell by visiting www.abellpestcontrol.com.

Eliana Pasquariello
Abell Pest Control
epasquariello@abellgroup.com