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Abstract

Bed bugs (Cimex lectularius) are annoying pests whose bites cause various medical and economic problems. In recent decades they have reappeared in the US and worldwide. In some states, this has led to the implementation of control measures such as disclosure policies in which landlords must notify potential tenants of current or past bed bug infestations in their property. It may seem that this would be detrimental to landlords, but is this really the case? To find out we developed a mathematical model to estimate the financial impact of bed bug disclosure policies on landlords over time. We determined that the cost of disclosure is high at first, but after a few years, landlords experience savings, as the prevalence of bed bugs decreases.

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About this article

Reading level
Scientific topic
Key words
NGSS standards
AP Environmental science topics
IB Biology topics
Scientific methods
Type of figure
Location of research
Scientist Affiliation
Publication date
August 2019

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