University of Denver housing authorities are busy quelling student concerns following the second round of bedbugs found in residence halls this academic year.
Two rooms and four students were affected when bedbugs were discovered in Centennial Towers on March 22. This past fall, 16 rooms and 30 students were affected by a bedbug infestation in Johnson-McFarlane residence hall.
Dr. Patricia Helton, associate provost for student life, said campus authorities are working to improve their protocol for a problem they have rarely had to deal with.
“When people hear ‘bedbugs,’ they kind of freak out,” Helton said. “Oftentimes they’re so elusive, students don’t even know they have them.”
The most recent situation is not an infestation, but the university is working on a better system of preparation. This year, DU has purchased heating tents for infected fabrics, implemented three extermination options and brought in bedbug-sniffing dogs in their efforts.
