Monthly Archives: June 2018

Bed bugs are a real problem in the Washington D.C. area and the more people learn about bed bugs the more complex the problem may seem.

An issue that we are regularly asked is who is responsible (landlord or tenant) for paying for bed bug extermination in Washington DC?

We have learned from talking to thousands of individuals with bed bugs, no two bed bug situations are the same.

Weve heard from people who have moved into places that were infested, brought the bugs in themselves from a trip or elsewhere and often from people who find out that the bugs are coming from a neighbor.

The first place to look is at the lease itself. As the bed bug epidemic has increased over the years, landlords increasingly have addressed bed bugs specifically in the lease. This may or may not be legally enforceable but can serve as a starting point for discussion.

Washington DCs Office of the Tenant Advocate is another resource for guidance on how to address tenant/landlord responsibility for bed bug removal.

Their mission is to provide technical advice and other legal services to tenants regarding disputes with landlords. Washington DC has a Tenant Bill of Rights which includes a requirement that landlords keep the property in good repair.

This isknown as the warranty of habitability. According to the Tenant Bill of Rights The landlord must maintain your apartment and all common areas of the building in compliance with the housing code, including keeping the premises safe and secure and free of rodents and pests, keeping the structure and facilities of the building in good repair, and ensuring adequate heat, lighting, and ventilation.

As difficult as it may be, If you know you have bed bugs you need to discuss the situation with your landlord and the sooner the better, as a bed bug problem can get out of hand pretty quickly.

Unless you know otherwise, dont assume that you were responsible for bringing in the bed bugs, as our experience has shown that roughly a quarter of our Washington DC clients are dealing with neighbors who are the source of the bed bugs.

And keep in mind, both you and the landlord have a vested interest in solving this problem so ideally you should be on the same team.

Here is the original post:
Bed Bug Extermination in Washington DC, Who Pays?

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We had a bedbug scare just days before moving. Dave called me back quickly and talked to my wife and I in great detail, looked at pictures, and explained concerns related to bed bugs and moving. Luckily for us out intruders were not bed bugs! I was incredibly impressed with his knowledge of treatment procedures, patience and genuine concern --- all while not even getting a sale from us. There is no question this will be the only place I call if this (god forbid) ever happens again.

I cannot say enough about the care and attention we received from David at Capital K9 Bed Bug Solutions. This is truly a rare company! We reached out to them after a trip with concerns that we had brought home unwelcome pests in our luggage. David arrived that same afternoon, verified that we were in the clear, and taught us everything we need to know to protect ourselves going forward. David's canine companion also checked our home which gave us even more peace of mind. (The bug I had found turned out to be a carpet beetle.)I did a lot of research online before I called them. This company follows the recommended protocol to use both heat and insecticide where appropriate. If their inspection fee ($250) seems steep to you, know that it was worth every penny to us. If your home needs to be treated, David applies $100 of the deposit fee towards that cost. We highly recommend David and his company if you should ever need this service. I won't call anyone else.

Dave was a fantastic help. He did a full visual inspection with me first. Afterwards, he brought Lexi through for a sweep of the whole area. No visual evidence found, and Lexi did not alert anywhere.I had a hunch that it might be a carpet beetle problem, and it was. Capital K9 was able to give me piece of mind, and determine what my root problem was.All in all, Dave was: timely, friendly, professional, straightforward, and unbelievably helpful.I would not hesitate to recommend Capital K9.

Licensed real estate agent here, VA and DC. The guy and his dog, Lexi, were really helpful in checking the foreclosed home my client is about to buy and renovate for bed bugs in NoVA (Annandale, VA). He was ethical and definitely did not come off as a scam artist trying to take advantage of my clients. He spotted a dead bed bug and provide both me and my client with viable / cost effective solutions. Will work with him again.

I've had to deal with the nightmare of bedbugs twice (two different apartments years apart), and though it is a terrible ordeal, Capital K9 is truly the best when it comes to dealing with these pests.The first time, I found 1 bed bug and Michelle talked me through my options, and did not make me feel rushed into any course of action (I suspected it was a lone hitchhiker and didn't want to rush into treatment yet - unfortunately I was wrong). Later, we ended up doing the heat treatment (after heat and one additional pesticide treatment, we had no further problems). Dave was always willing to answer all of my questions and concerns the whole way.The second time, I called Dave immediately to identify the bug I found. I ended up going with pesticides which is a little more work up front but cheaper cost wise. Again, Dave leaves you with the confidence that they will work with you until the problem is gone. I wouldn't wish bed bugs on anyone but I'd highly recommend Capital K9 to anyone that encounters them. The prices are competitive and the peace of mind is worth every penny.

After nightmare experiences with Terminix and over-paying for an ineffective K9 search with American pest, I frantically spent hours upon hours researching bed bugs and calling about 6 more companies. As soon as I spoke with Dave, I could tell immediately he knows what he's talking about. He confirmed much of what Google told me, and taught me more. When he came to my home, he knew exactly where to look for them (lifting the bed completely up along with the slates on the frame and looking high in the curtain folds). Neither of the other companies did this. We opted for a whole house heat treatment with Cimexa application. The cost was in the middle of the other quotes I'd gotten, however, the guarantee was far superior-90 days. Every other company said 30 days. Dave assured me that he doesn't leave clients with bed bugs, and I believe him. The two men who came to do the work were nice and seemed like they really knew what they were doing. It's been 3 days, but, from what I can tell, it's the 2-3 week mark that really proves they are gone. Dave also said he will bring one of his dogs at the 1 month mark to sniff around. One mark of caution, I don't think I realized just how hot they make your house. Our AC is older and it was 95 degrees out the day we did it, so we had to sleep somewhere else that night. I wish I had planned for that from the beginning as it was stressful with a three year old to make arrangements so late. Also, some of the varnish blistered on our wood floors, there's a new plaster crack in our wall, and the heat in our basement sucked in a significant amount of water through the cinder blocks (but luckily only in our unfinished section). On the upside, haven't seen a spider or millipead! Good luck and hope you learn sooner than us to use a good company!

Dave was incredibly knowledgeable and helpful. I was getting grouped "bites" for 5 consecutive days and lost a lot of sleep wondering if we had somehow gotten bed bugs. I called several pest management places but Dave seemed the most informed over the phone. And so glad I did. Some companies just automatically treated without inspection because they said early infestations were not easy to detect. Dave came over and did a very thorough look through of our bed and bedroom. He also taught us a lot of the signs to look for. He also brought a dog trained to find the bugs. And in the end determined we didn't have bed bugs (very honestly) and suspected carpet beetles. Gave us tips on how to eradicate (which worked without an exterminator). Would highly highly recommend.

When we discovered that our toddler had bed bugs in his room, we called so many places in the DC area looking for help. I was immediately impressed by the time that Dave (the owner of Capital K9) took to talk to me about the situation, the wealth of information/knowledge he had, and the honest way he conducted his business. Unlike some places which only guarantee for a short time after treatment, Dave assured me that his team would not leave us with bugs but would do whatever it took to kill them. And indeed, they did; his team came to spray three times and, in doing so, solved our problem. They were kind, calming, professional, discreet, and efficient. I highly recommend them to anyone with bed bugs.

I have not actually used this company, but I have been in touch with Dave on numerous occasions and am very impressed by him. Instead of jumping at the opportunity to charge me for an inspection, he went over the things to look for over the phone. He also texted me pictures of what to look for in the bug and offered to look at any pictures I took to see if he could positively ID the bug. My dad just informed me that he has a close friend that is an exterminator that I think will end up treating our house for free; however, should these measures not work, I will 100% be contacting Dave for a heat treatment. I would VERY HIGHLY recommend this company. Dave is an EXPERT and is very honest. Thank you Dave for sharing your bedbug knowledge. I am so very thankful.

Hero? Visionary? All-Around awesome dude? Yes, yes, and yes. Dave and his team are a bunch of relentless killers (of bedbugs). They committed bug genocide at my DC rowhome at the beginning of October (whole-house heat treatment), and have been following up with sprays since then. The infestation on this short-sale rowhome was beyond extensive (think Starship Troopers meets Tremors meets IDK, some MTV/HGTV hoarders show). When cleaning out the house, I had teams of Home Depot guys threaten to quit on me on several occasions because of the level of bug infestation.After getting several quotes, I decided to go with Capital K9 and I have not had a moment of regret since. Their price was competitive, and Dave was the only person who actually went to the house to check it out himself. In addition, Dave walked me through every step of the process and answered all of my questions like a true professional. Despite having MULTIPLE months of treatment and follow-ups, Dave and his guys have been 100% on top of everything. They are responsive, dedicated, and extremely friendly. I highly recommend these bug warriors to anyone in need of bedbug extermination.

I cannot begin to describe the superb integrity of this company, Dave in particular. I recently just had my second child and my mother was here staying and helping taking care of my newborn and my 14 month old. She started developing red welts on her in the middle of the night in the room she was staying in. We called other companies and they said we had bedbugs. This was an absolute nightmare just having a newborn and another small child in the house. Most Companies wanted two hundred dollars just to come out and inspect. I called capital K9 and I didn't hear back from them during the day. I got a text message at 10 o'clock that night asking if it was still OK to talk. They apparently had had a rough week and still wanted to follow up with me. After speaking with Dave he told me exactly where to look and what to look for and asked me to send him a picture of anything I found. He also in turn sent me pictures of what to look for and what the bugs look like. He confirmed over the phone we did not have bedbugs, but that we had carpet beetles. (They are easily confused)He was also in the middle of a busy week and guided me in the right direction to get the problem taken care of even though they could not handle it.I'm pretty sure if somebody will go through that kind of trouble to help you, you will get excellent service and results if you go with this business!!

I didn't use this company, so maybe this review won't count. But this review is about integrity.I called several other companies to come out and check out our home for bugs. I explained to them all that my son had (what looked like) bites all over his body. They were all eager to tell me I have bedbugs and they could send out sniffing dogs for an outrageous amount of money. When I called Capital K9, I spoke with an informative woman who told me how to check for bedbugs and asked me to call her back when I finished. I searched as she said and found no signs. I called her back, and she assured me that it wasn't bedbugs. I described the bites and she said to take him to the doctor (sounded more like a rash to her). He needed to go in to the doctor for another reason anyway, so I brought him in a couple days early and the doctor verified that it was a fungal rash, prescribed some ointment, and within a week everything was better.The point is, everyone else was in a hurry for me to waste not only my money, but my time as well. She gave me information that I'm sure they all are capable of providing (but didn't). And no, she didn't make a sale that day with me. But I guarantee if I ever suspect bedbugs (or know anyone else who does), this is the place we'll be calling.

Echoing the other reviewers on this page, Dave is a consummate professional and all-around excellent resource on all things bedbug related. Even though we were fortunately given the all-clear after a small bed-bug scare, Dave and his team really went out of the way to assuage my concerns and answer all of my questions, and never once tried to sell me on any services. In fact, Dave personally called to give me guidance on how to inspect my own home over the phone. Ultimately, for additional peace of mind I ended up hiring him for a last minute inspection - and Dave accommodated me right away. While not the "cheapest" option out there, their prices are very reasonable and most importantly, Dave really stands by his work. While I hope to never have to hire him again, Dave has my highest recommendation for anyone facing bedbug issues. His genuine concern for clients and all-around dedication to his work make Capital K9 the best choice for detection and extermination.

Very professional and knowledgeable. The dog was cool too. Ultimately and most importantly they were successful when a different company was not

Dave and his team are AMAZING! Dealing with bed bugs is a horrifying and humiliating experience and it was overwhelming, to say the least. Dave and his team were thoughtful, kind, professional and extremely knowledgeable about what was necessary to eradicate our bed bug problem.His team of men went the extra mile to help with moving furniture and checking everywhere.Dave stayed in contact with us throughout the whole process and even responded to my worrisome texts at 11pm at night. He was very reassuring and considerate. We couldn't have asked for a better service for such a difficult pest problem.We HIGHLY recommend him and his company. They are not about just taking your money and spraying some random pesticide. They take great care and pains over their clients. THANK YOU SO MUCH DAVE!

I'm grateful to Dave (and Lexi)! I had just returned from vacation, with bites everywhere and was really anxious about possibly having brought the bugs back with me. Not only did Dave help calm me down, but he took time to educate me on bed bugs and on what to look for. He explained things to me as he was doing them, which really helped in a situation like this, where one feels a complete loss of control - not to mention the itch factor. I never felt rushed. At a certain point, you just have to make a choice and trust. So glad I chose K9!

I was extremely impressed with Capital K9 Pest Solutions. I was getting bit by something in our home, but couldn't figure out what it was. I was convinced it was bed bugs, because I would wake up with bites. Dave initially spoke to me on the phone for about 20 minutes while we discussed the problem I was having. He thencame over and spent at least an hour and half with us investigating and educating us on bed bug signs. Dave's two dogs both searched our home, but there were no bed bugs. I got my peace of my mind though, which was priceless. We washed every single thing possible in our home, and also had an exterminator spray for the unknown pest that was biting me. I've been bite free for a month now (knock on wood that it stays this way). Whatever issue we had is gone now. I highly recommend Capital K9 Pest Solutions to anyone who even thinks they have a bed bug problem.

Dave is so amazing and friendly and knows what he is talking about! He took the time to stop by, no charge to look at my house and find out where the problem was coming from and provide me with my solutions. I had the service done about a month or so ago. I am a young college student and live in a large house of 3 other college students which could make things really hectic. Dave, however allowed us to all pay in different ways such as cash, credit, check. He also had one of his guys spray each of our cars with one needing to be done the next day. The guy who sprayed our house was also very polite and informative!! The woman in the office, Michelle is also so sweet and comforting! We communicated mainly through email which is perfect for me being in school all day! Overall, the service was QUICK, PROFESSIONAL, BEST PRICE ( in terms of other places and with a 90day warranty + car service) "I shopped around," Most importantly, two months in and we are still BITE free! I even asked Dave to stop by randomly recently to double check and he said NO PROBLEM and is working with my schedule.

Capital K9 was an amazing company to work with. Having bed bugs feels like a nightmare that you cannot wake up from, and it is easy to start to feel there is no solution.Dave and his team were kind and caring to me, even when I was a mess. They systematically took care of everything, while educating me about the bugs and helping me to prevent this problem in the future.When the first two treatments were not enough, they would have been well within their rights to charge me for another visit, having already fulfilled what they had promised to do, and having passed the date of the guarantee. However, Dave and his team came back again and again for MONTHS after the expiration of my guarantee. HIGHLY recommend.

I was disappointed by the level of unprofessionalism I experienced with these people. Not only did Dave not come by for an inspection in the beginning as he said he would, they were more than happy to take advantage of my trainwreck state when I was being bitten and move forward with the heat treatment. The heat treatment was of zero help and I paid more than 2k for it. In every single follow-up call or text or email when I mentioned the issue was still present, they came by and did a visual inspection and claimed there were no bedbugs despite the fact that I was getting bitten. I have found that applying DE (a simple and cost effective remedy) worked wonders, and Dave specifically warned against DE (of course he and his con artists would be out of business if customers knew any better). 7 months after their so-called heat treatment, I was still facing bites until I started applying DE in all cracks and crevices. Watch out for the paperwork they make you sign saying they offer no guarantees about the effectiveness of their treatment (in my case where an apartment was involved) and their fake guarantee just means they may come again but spray your property with toxic chemical also rather than redo the heat treatment. One of the worst possible exterminators I have had experience with, hands down. I would have disputed the charges with my credit card company if I hadn't signed the document where they effectively tell you that there is no guarantee against reinfestation.

See the article here:
Capital K9 Bed Bug Solutions - Navy Yard - Washington, DC