Imagine this, your doing chores around your rented home, apartment, duplex or anything you rent to live in, then you find a bed bug infestation that has been building up for months! You call your landlord and tell them that you found a bed bug infestation. What do you think the landlord or manager of the property your renting in Oklahoma will say?

Do landlords have to pay for bed bug infestations in Oklahoma?…

Well if you live in Oklahoma you are completely at the mercy of the landlord. I'm sorry to say the answer is "NO"! Rental owners or property managers are not required to have to do anything to help you in the case that you get bed bugs. Their currently isn't any regulation regarding bed bugs and rental properties in Oklahoma as of when this article was written. The only way that a landlord could be 100% responsible in a courts eyes is if a renter discovers the bed bugs on the structure of the home before anything period has been moved in. It is always best to have an professional paid inspection performed before renting or buying any dwelling.

What should I do now?…

Still report the infestation to your landlord. You never know they may pay for it or at least help pay for it.
Find out if the property owner will help or not.
If not, you will need to make arrangements to kill your bed bug infestation with preferably a bed bug specialist. Never attempt to eradicate bed bugs by yourself! Always use a professional for the bed bug removal.

What if my landlord tells me that I have to use their pest control company, or their property maintenance to get rid of my bed bugs?…

Unless the property owner or management is paying for the bed bug removal, they legally have no say in who you must use. Especially if they are profiting from your payment themselves. A property manager or owner can find themselves having licensing, fines and possible jail time problems if they try to pressure tenants into certain services or situations. You have the law on your side on choosing your company you'd like to go with in most cases in Oklahoma. If the property owner gives you trouble contact your local Oklahoma Department of Agriculture and ask to speak with someone about your problem. If you are in a different state than Oklahoma you'll still do the same thing in most cases. Some states like California, Pennsylvania and New York have laws regarding what property owners renting a dwelling must do if a tenant gets bed bugs.

Summing it up…

It is very hard to prove who is responsible for a bed bug infestation once you've moved things into the residence. Getting a paid inspection for bed bugs done before moving in, is always best practice. Obviously, because there is no responsibility from property owners renting to tenants to clean up bed bugs that have infested your home whether their alive or dead. With other insects besides bed bugs no land lord is forced to clean up after a pest control treatment but with certain insects can be forced to pay for treatment, but not with bed bugs.