The District does NOT provide pest control services for bedbugs. However, we can help you identify bedbug infestations and provide advice on choosing a pest control operator.

For general information on bedbugs, visit the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources Statewide Integrated Pest Management Program’s bedbug page.

To request identification of suspected bedbug samples by the District laboratory, please complete a service request online or call 650-344-8592.

UC IPM: How to inspect for bedbugs

Your best defense against bedbugs is not bringing them into your home in the first place. Before staying at a hotel or other rental, check for bed bugs, and alert the management to any suspicious findings.

Hiring a Pest Control Company for Bed Bug Work

Resolving a bedbug infestation takes time, money, and work. When choosing a pest control operator (PCO) to treat your home for bedbugs, be extremely wary of any person or business who offers a solution that sounds ‘too good to be true’.

Here are a few tips from the Contra Costa County Bed Bug Task Force that may help you select a PCO for bedbug treatment.

 HIRING A PEST CONTROL COMPANY FOR BED BUG WORK

Landlord/Tenant Bed Bug Laws

In 2017, the California state assembly law AB 551 “Rental Property: bed bugs” went into effect. This law aims to clarify the duties of landlords and tenants for the treatment and control of bed bugs, and ensure a basic level of public awareness regarding bed bugs.  It requires that:

• Landlords cannot show or rent a unit with a known bed bug infestation. Landlords are not required to inspect the unit or common area, if they have no suspicion or knowledge of bed bugs. However, if the landlord should have reasonably been aware of the infestation, the landlord is deemed to have been on notice.
• Landlords must include specific language in lease agreements to inform tenants of:
  • How to identify bed bugs and the biology and behavior of bed bugs
  • The importance of cooperation in the prevention and treatment of infestations
  • The importance of reporting bed bug infestations to the landlord procedures for reporting infestations of bed bugs
  • Website resources on bedbugs from the US Environmental Protection Agency (https://www.epa.gov/bedbugs) and National Pest Management Association (http://www.npmapestworld.org).
• Tenants are required to notify their landlords, in writing, about any suspected bed bug infestation.  They must also comply with inspections for bed bugs conducted by the landlord or Pest Control Operator (PCO)- (and are to be given advance notice of the inspection), and provide any helpful information to the inspector.
• Within two days of receiving a bed bug inspection report by a PCO, the landlord is required to notify tenants of the findings.  If bed bugs are found in a common area, the landlord must notify all tenants.
• Landlords are prohibited from taking any retaliatory action against a tenant who notifies a landlord about a possible bed bug issue

Athough this law went into effect for new tenants in 2017, landlords have only been required to provide bed bug information to existing tenants beginning in 2018. Many states have enacted laws or regulations around bed bugs.  Some city governments, such as San Francisco and New York, have enacted even more stringent requirements around who must conduct bed bug control and, in some cases, who must pay for it.  Since bed bugs re-emerged as a major pest in the United States in the late 1990s, building owners, managers, and tenants have struggled with how to best deal with these once-common insects. Now, a couple of decades into the problem, the hope is that the combination of evolved pest management practices, increased awareness, and regulatory support can finally start to reverse the spread of these tiny invaders. 

Page last reviewed: September 6, 2023