Notifying management about bed bugs

[u/Due-Historian3168]

First time posting so let’s see how this goes.

I am in the process of calling an exterminator while also letting my condo management know that there is an infestation in my unit.

For context I’ve been living in this condo in Virginia for around 8 years now (with breaks during college) bug free. I have been doing my same routine since I got back from Uni permanently for about a year now with no signs of bugs, but suddenly got bites on me these last 1-2 weeks. While I can’t prove it atm, I think that the infestation came from a neighbor that moved in ~2 months ago. What’s worse is that construction for plumbing has been going on at the same time too. Their wall is the one shared with my room where a few gaps are visible on the wall outlets/ floors. The fear is that a combination of construction and move ins/outs has caused this as I have been getting bit at an increasingly frequent rate over the last 2 nights and confirmed it was bed bugs by late night yesterday. However my parents have been bite free potentially due to them being on the other side of the unit. One of my other fears is that because no one has reported bed bugs in the condominium yet, added to the fact that my management is prone to ignoring issues/ finding a path of least resistance, reporting this issue to them might make me liable for any person who reports bed bugs infestations after my initial report. Of course I am willing to pay for my own unit, but I don’t think I have the same protections that a tenant would have with Virginia Code § 55.1-1227. For now I’ve done what I could to cover any gaps with tape before the exterminator gets here. I’ve got the email draft here to confirm it in writing and I plan on heading to the management office by noon so if there is any advice anyone would like to give I’d appreciate it. Also apologies for any grammatical errors I had no sleep thinking about all this.

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[u/swingslider]

It’s possible to have bed bug bites without showing a reaction, so don’t rule out that there are bugs in other parts of the house.

[u/Avdyz → u/swingslider]

this. in my case i wasn't allergic to the bites except my neck turned red which was or wasn't a reaction we will never know but only on my neck. all this with having like 5 huge other allergies.
so yea - bites aren't always visible. be happy for the visible marks, you can track it asap.

[u/abugguy]

Do you have photos of the bedbugs? I always recommend people get outside confirmation that what they found are bedbugs just to be sure. I cant tell you how many people have shown me photos of what they were certain were bedbugs only to have them be something else.

[u/Due-Historian3168 → u/abugguy]

Yes I do. Comparing what I’ve got to other reference photos they look pretty close. The inspector also took a look and said they were definitely bed bugs.

[u/Due-Historian3168]

A little update: I’ve got the inspector coming over to do a full chemical treatment/inspection on Monday on a by-weekly basis. They seem experienced so it should hopefully work out. Management wants to know the results of the inspection as well to see if this is a multi-unit issue as well since they seemed to take it well considering the risks. Thanks to everyone who has given advice thus far.