No matter where you live and no matter how high up your apartment is, bugs are a fact of life that you can’t get away from. Almost every lease out there has a clause about infestations. If you’ve rented from an individual and not a management company, you may be out of luck here, which is why it is so important to get something in writing from your landlord on this topic.

Every professional management company has a contract with a local pest control company to handle issues regarding bugs. Most apartments are sprayed on a regular basis for issues, while others are only sprayed once bugs find their way into your home. That’s why it is so important to report issues as soon as they happen. If you catch a single ant or a roach in your home, kill it and keep an eye out for more. You only need to report problems if they become commonplace.

Perhaps the biggest threat to apartments in North America these days is bed bugs. These little monsters can cause red welt-like bites all over your body and they are extremely difficult to get rid of once you have them. If your building has a history of bed bugs, you want to perform regular inspections of your bed area. Lift up the mattress and check in between the box spring and your mattress for small black dots. If you notice bites on you, check them against bed bug bites on the Internet and if you feel that you have a positive match, call your landlord right away. Bed bugs only need to feed once per year and then they spend the rest of their time laying eggs, so it is only with the hard work of renters that these pests can be wiped out for good.

Believe it or not, there is an existing etiquette when it comes to cleaning your apartment. You have an obligation to keep your living space neat and free of bugs and trackable dirt since you are living in such close quarters with other people. If you aren’t the type of person who is into cleaning, you may want to consider getting some help in this area as a filthy apartment can be grounds for eviction.

First off, you need to have your blinds open when you clean so you can see the dirt you are trying to eradicate. However, since many people enjoy walking around nude or semi nude in their home, be sure that no one else can look in your window as you are cleaning in the buff. You might just end up on YouTube if you aren’t careful.

Next, be sure you do any noisy cleaning during the day or at the very latest, the early evening. Vacuums can make a lot of noise and depending on how good your building’s soundproofing is, it can sound like your neighbors are about to break through the walls.

If you are going to use a strong chemical cleaner like Tilex in your bathroom or bleach, be sure to open your windows and get proper ventilation. These products give off an incredibly strong odour that can be absolutely choking. You don’t want your next cleaning session to be your last.

If you have pets in your home, consider switching to all natural cleaning products. The last thing you want is for Fido of Fluffy to get into something that could make them sick or even kill them.

If you know that your landlord is headed over, take a moment to remove a few layers of dust from the bookshelf and push the vacuum around a little. It makes a good impression and shows that you care about your rental space.