Jones Graduate Tower to bite back at bed bugs

Students in Jones Graduate Tower bag their belongings in preparation for fumigation Thursday. The 9th, 10th and 11th floors are infested with bed bugs.

Bed bugs on three floors in Jones Graduate Tower forced residents to bag their possessions Wednesday in preparation for their rooms to be treated after residence hall officials received confirmation Tuesday the rooms were infected.

Treatment on floors nine, 10 and 11 is scheduled to take place Thursday and Friday from 8 a.m. until 8 p.m., according to a memorandum circulated to students by Ramsey Piazza, Jones Tower hall director.

"Bed bugs represent a potential health hazard to our residents and to avoid these pests from spreading to other rooms in the building. We are taking a comprehensive approach to treating the situation," read the statement from Piazza.

Bed bug treatment preparation

All possessions must be bagged and placed in red carts provided by the university. This includes any items in desks or wardrobe drawers. Technicians should have access to as many clear surfaces as possible. Beds must be stripped of all linen - only the mattress should remain. Any linens and all clothing should be washed in hot water, if not washed in hot water it should be dried in a dryer for at least 25 minutes on a high-heat setting. Any trash in the room should be taken out. If possible, try to move the furniture away from the walls so the technicians can reach all corners of the room.

Depending on the level of preparation students undertake before their rooms are treated, the treatment itself could take an hour, Piazza said. Students are being advised they can return to their rooms four hours after liquid treatments of the room begins.

Piazza's statement stressed the treatment was not a voluntary option and all students should comply.

Several students preparing their rooms for treatment said they still planned to sleep in the residence hall the night after their rooms were treated.

Tim Hoffine can be reached at hoffine.3@osu.edu.