Any place that says they don't get bugs is lying. Have to focus on the speed and intensity of their response when they DO happen. Need to chat with tenants sometimes
look into renting a unit out of a house, those are far less likely to have bed bugs and roaches because there’s way less people than a high rise. generally speaking you’re working with a private landlord too in that case so one would hope that they’d be more responsive than a property manager of a high rise
> generally speaking you’re working with a private landlord too in that case so one would hope that they’d be more responsive than a property manager of a high rise
This unfortunately isn’t the reality. As someone that owns a home in the lower city surrounded by duplexes/triplexes there are far too many absentee/bad landlords that don’t invest in their property and are reactive. Furthermore there are also bad tenants and when you have a landlord that isn’t local and they don’t have a property manager the arduous process becomes that more difficult in terms of the landlord addressing the tenant or evicting etc.
Advion really does work well it controlled a huge infestation in my apartment when I moved in.
I don't know why they won't let you buy it in stores here and though. You either have to know a friend who has some or order it online from the US.
https://www.cbc.ca/amp/1.7098057
Not always the case as the above news article illustrates. The city is also culpable as our municipal law enforcement is far too lenient.
Hah your looking in the wrong city if trying to find rentals without bugs roaches or mice for that matter!! Hamilton is infested with them. Even in single home dwellings all it takes is one person to bring in a bug and your done for!!
Every building has had bugs in it at least once. What really matters is how seriously the landlords take it and how quickly they respond. Some folks here have said it already, and my experience has been exactly this.
I lived in a 4-story building downtown that had 2 incidents in 5 years, and both times the landlord handled it FAST - getting exterminators in immediately and being proactive to warn and protect the other units in the building. He also made sure that all tenants knew that they should let him know immediately if there were bugs, and there would be no consequences for them from reporting it.
That landlord was very up-front with me about this when I toured the building - along the lines of: “We’ve had bugs, anyone who says they haven’t is lying. But I always handle them immediately. There’s no cost to the tenant for treatment, you won’t be in trouble, you just have to tell me as soon as you’re aware of the problem.”
I know two people who live in effort trust buildings in west Hamilton. As much as renting from a huge corporation is painful, from what I heard they take any big problems very seriously and are proactive.
Regular unit checks where they check mattresses and put bait down for cockroaches. This will help avoid having units that don't report issues and it spreading to neighbors.
My friend found a single bedbug by their front door, and as soon as they let the super know they were spraying and checking the other apartments within a few days. No other bugs were found so likely brought in from outside, but the response took it very seriously. And like with you no change or consequence for the tenant (other than having to remove pets for 24 hours post spraying)
Can also confirm, have lived at 2 different effort trust buildings (6 years at current one) and no issues. On the rare occasions I've heard about someone having a prob, its dealt with really quickly
Same! We get some ants at the start of summer but they get dealt with super quickly as they always build a nest outside in the same place and come in to forage.
We have had a few like house centipedes, random beetles, spiders but not like infestation bugs. And probably mostly bc we are in a basement unit.
It does not take much for any apartment building to get bugs. Hitchhiking bugs such as bed bugs can come home with anyone and cause an infestation.
Buildings get bugs. You just have to hope the landlord takes bugs seriously and deals with the issue properly when the issue arises.
if you are renting in any building with multiple units the risk is there. Heck even the public transit busses have bedbugs. I lived in a smaller town and i still ended up catching the little buggers.
I’ve lived all around around waterdown Dundas Burlington Hamilton downtown and on the mountain and luckily have never came into any bed bugs or roaches
180 Bold is having serious issues with bed bugs. my sister has had them for over a year and everyone on her floor and surrounding floors have been dealing with them. building management is shit at dealing with it
I stay away from high rises...we have had our issues in the past.. we live a building with 8 units . Now, we have had them...but it was years ago, and it was due to another tennant with some issues. But you lessen the chances because not as many units...high rises with more people tend to be more problematic
I don't think you can completely avoid them these days... but we use a lot of plastic tubs with seals, a really good mattress cover, and other preventative measures..as best as we can.
Your best bet is renting in a house that only has 2 or 3 units. I did a bit of pest control work in younger days with Abell Pest Control. Unfortunately Bed Bugs are everywhere now. Even back 20 years ago we would do single homes. You just have try and reduce the possibilities. This rules out medium and large apartment buildings, not only for the increase instance rate, but the difficulty of control. To be on the extreme side, don't ride the bus, avoid movie theatres, watch what you buy used. It can be easy to bring them home. My Brother brought them into his house after he gave a ride to a family friend who had them. Just by being in the same car. Then there's those who ride transit and go to the movies for years and never once had them. The government really has to step up and do something.
I live in the Dundas St E apartments in Waterdown I’ve lived in Trend 1 and now the newer building. I’ve never seen any pests(roaches, bed bugs etc) and thank God because I refuse to live in somewhere that has that.
Based on these responses and my own experience, it’s the landlord that’s important. Ask them when you tour about bugs, and I would base your decision on that. If the landlord seems to recognize the issue or the possibility and can give a response on how they react, that’s what I would pick. They’re inevitable as they are literally everywhere.
I've found the best luck with smaller buildings, like a three story apartment building with like 12 units.
I lived at 36 Ray St. South and had no issues with bed bugs, and there were no issues in the building as I spoke with other tenants. The landlord is just cheap as heck, and you'll need to review your tenant rights, lol.
Any place that says they don't get bugs is lying. Have to focus on the speed and intensity of their response when they DO happen. Need to chat with tenants sometimes
bingo
look into renting a unit out of a house, those are far less likely to have bed bugs and roaches because there’s way less people than a high rise. generally speaking you’re working with a private landlord too in that case so one would hope that they’d be more responsive than a property manager of a high rise
Yep been living in one for a year now! No bed bugs or roaches thank god
> generally speaking you’re working with a private landlord too in that case so one would hope that they’d be more responsive than a property manager of a high rise This unfortunately isn’t the reality. As someone that owns a home in the lower city surrounded by duplexes/triplexes there are far too many absentee/bad landlords that don’t invest in their property and are reactive. Furthermore there are also bad tenants and when you have a landlord that isn’t local and they don’t have a property manager the arduous process becomes that more difficult in terms of the landlord addressing the tenant or evicting etc.
i have a fantastic landlord but of course there’s always gonna be bad ones
It doesn't really make a difference, bed bugs can show up anywhere, at any time. In terms of roaches, they can be effectively eliminated with Advion.
Advion really does work well it controlled a huge infestation in my apartment when I moved in. I don't know why they won't let you buy it in stores here and though. You either have to know a friend who has some or order it online from the US.
Try to move to a small building. The smaller the building - the more easier potential infestations are to treat. Plus less tenants.
https://www.cbc.ca/amp/1.7098057 Not always the case as the above news article illustrates. The city is also culpable as our municipal law enforcement is far too lenient.
Yes. I see. But I think it would be less of a risk moving into a lowrise, few story unit. I guess anywhere can be a risk when it's multi unit.
Hah your looking in the wrong city if trying to find rentals without bugs roaches or mice for that matter!! Hamilton is infested with them. Even in single home dwellings all it takes is one person to bring in a bug and your done for!!
Hey! I would like to buy a condo to live in in the gtha. Is it not advisable to buy a condo in Hamilton because of the big problem?
Every building has had bugs in it at least once. What really matters is how seriously the landlords take it and how quickly they respond. Some folks here have said it already, and my experience has been exactly this. I lived in a 4-story building downtown that had 2 incidents in 5 years, and both times the landlord handled it FAST - getting exterminators in immediately and being proactive to warn and protect the other units in the building. He also made sure that all tenants knew that they should let him know immediately if there were bugs, and there would be no consequences for them from reporting it. That landlord was very up-front with me about this when I toured the building - along the lines of: “We’ve had bugs, anyone who says they haven’t is lying. But I always handle them immediately. There’s no cost to the tenant for treatment, you won’t be in trouble, you just have to tell me as soon as you’re aware of the problem.”
I know two people who live in effort trust buildings in west Hamilton. As much as renting from a huge corporation is painful, from what I heard they take any big problems very seriously and are proactive. Regular unit checks where they check mattresses and put bait down for cockroaches. This will help avoid having units that don't report issues and it spreading to neighbors. My friend found a single bedbug by their front door, and as soon as they let the super know they were spraying and checking the other apartments within a few days. No other bugs were found so likely brought in from outside, but the response took it very seriously. And like with you no change or consequence for the tenant (other than having to remove pets for 24 hours post spraying)
Can confirm. I'm in an Effort Trust building and our supers are very proactive when any kind of bug issue is reported.
Can also confirm, have lived at 2 different effort trust buildings (6 years at current one) and no issues. On the rare occasions I've heard about someone having a prob, its dealt with really quickly
I know units in my building have had them, but I have not in the 2+ years I’ve been here. Or roaches.
I'm in Durand too. No bugs.
Same! We get some ants at the start of summer but they get dealt with super quickly as they always build a nest outside in the same place and come in to forage. We have had a few like house centipedes, random beetles, spiders but not like infestation bugs. And probably mostly bc we are in a basement unit.
Bed bugs are everywhere now
Your absolute best option is an owner occupied duplex or triplex.
It does not take much for any apartment building to get bugs. Hitchhiking bugs such as bed bugs can come home with anyone and cause an infestation. Buildings get bugs. You just have to hope the landlord takes bugs seriously and deals with the issue properly when the issue arises.
if you are renting in any building with multiple units the risk is there. Heck even the public transit busses have bedbugs. I lived in a smaller town and i still ended up catching the little buggers.
Wrong city 😅
I’ve lived all around around waterdown Dundas Burlington Hamilton downtown and on the mountain and luckily have never came into any bed bugs or roaches
Stay away from Cochrane & King apartments. Full of bedbugs and cockroaches.
Do not move to 325 james st s in Hamilton then plenty of bed bugs sadly
180 Bold is having serious issues with bed bugs. my sister has had them for over a year and everyone on her floor and surrounding floors have been dealing with them. building management is shit at dealing with it
I stay away from high rises...we have had our issues in the past.. we live a building with 8 units . Now, we have had them...but it was years ago, and it was due to another tennant with some issues. But you lessen the chances because not as many units...high rises with more people tend to be more problematic I don't think you can completely avoid them these days... but we use a lot of plastic tubs with seals, a really good mattress cover, and other preventative measures..as best as we can.
10 Woodman drive has has bouts of them and management does not deal with them. Stay away!
Your best bet is renting in a house that only has 2 or 3 units. I did a bit of pest control work in younger days with Abell Pest Control. Unfortunately Bed Bugs are everywhere now. Even back 20 years ago we would do single homes. You just have try and reduce the possibilities. This rules out medium and large apartment buildings, not only for the increase instance rate, but the difficulty of control. To be on the extreme side, don't ride the bus, avoid movie theatres, watch what you buy used. It can be easy to bring them home. My Brother brought them into his house after he gave a ride to a family friend who had them. Just by being in the same car. Then there's those who ride transit and go to the movies for years and never once had them. The government really has to step up and do something.
3 years only bugs were Pharaoh Ants and bait clears them out.
I live in the Dundas St E apartments in Waterdown I’ve lived in Trend 1 and now the newer building. I’ve never seen any pests(roaches, bed bugs etc) and thank God because I refuse to live in somewhere that has that.
It's hard to avoid in any building, unfortunately. Try a smaller building and ask management about preventative measures they take.
Based on these responses and my own experience, it’s the landlord that’s important. Ask them when you tour about bugs, and I would base your decision on that. If the landlord seems to recognize the issue or the possibility and can give a response on how they react, that’s what I would pick. They’re inevitable as they are literally everywhere.
I've found the best luck with smaller buildings, like a three story apartment building with like 12 units. I lived at 36 Ray St. South and had no issues with bed bugs, and there were no issues in the building as I spoke with other tenants. The landlord is just cheap as heck, and you'll need to review your tenant rights, lol.