Summary: College dorms and apartments have a lot of activity, which makes it easy for pests to invade. This blog explains the habits of 6 common college pests and the best ways to prevent them. Pointe Pest Control provides reliable services.
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College campuses are essentially mini cities, especially at the huge universities with tens of thousands of students. It’s great to have everything (food, coffee, friends) within a short radius.
However, the steady coming-and-going of people can also make it easy for pest problems to pop up. It’s easier to solve these issues when you know what you’re facing, so study up on the pests that you’re most likely to see on campus!
Bed Bugs
The most dreaded campus pest, bed bugs are a common threat to dorms and apartments alike. That’s because these pests thrive in communal spaces where they have access to plenty of warm blood. This is also what makes them such menaces. Bed bugs spread to other rooms and buildings by hitchhiking on bags, clothes, and furniture.
While bed bugs (thankfully) don’t spread diseases, they’re still very annoying. They breed quickly once they have a food source, and it takes them about 7 weeks to go from an egg to an adult. The adults flatten their bodies to hide in every crack and crevice you can imagine.
Since bed bugs can go a year without food, they have no problem waiting for an empty dorm room to be occupied again. These pests can only be eliminated by professionals because bed bugs are resistant to standard pesticides. Any type of bed bug activity needs to be addressed ASAP — before they spread.
Rodents
Rats and mice seem like they’d be too big to be sneaky pests, but trust us. Mice fit through gaps the size of a pencil and rats the size of a quarter, so they don’t need a grand entrance. Once inside, rodents access deeper parts of the building by using their strong teeth to chew through everything. They stay inside walls, ceilings, and cabinets for maximum protection.
Rodents also use clutter to hide and gather nest materials, which is probably the best cleaning motivation. In addition to diseases (hantavirus, plague, etc.), rodents can also bring fleas, ticks, and parasites to the homes and buildings they invade. Rodent issues spike in fall and winter when they’re trying to escape the cold, so we’re about to enter their busy season.
Ants
Believe it or not, ants are not exclusively a kitchen pest. They do tend to invade places with lots of food, but they don’t solely set their sights on the kitchen. Any place that has reliable food and water is appealing to ants. That’s why they’re also seen in bathrooms a lot, as there’s a lot of moisture in those rooms.
Once ants find a safe food source — preferably one that’s sugary or protein-packed — they lead their fellow workers to it with pheromones (scent chemicals). The trail leads from the food to the nest, which is likely outside. Ants are relentless when they have access to a food or water source, so they won’t stop invading until they’re eliminated.
Roaches
Roaches love moisture, so they’re often found in sewers and pipes until they crawl their way into a bathroom, kitchen, or laundry room. The communal bathrooms and laundry rooms in college residences are optimal roach habitats. They can also hitchhike on cardboard boxes, so check your packages before you bring them inside.
Roaches don’t just invade “dirty” spaces. As long as they have water, food, and a dark hiding spot, they can live anywhere. These nocturnal pests produce their oothecae (egg cases) wherever they feel safe. Roaches trigger allergy and asthma symptoms with their skins and droppings, so if you or your roommate have sudden symptoms, it could be a hidden roach problem.
Silverfish
Speaking of nocturnal pests who hide in the dark and love moisture (boy, they share a lot of similarities!), silverfish are another common college pest. These shiny pests are most common in spring and summer, and they prefer warm, damp, and dark spaces. They’re usually seen in bathrooms and laundry rooms, especially if there’s a leak somewhere.
Silverfish are independent pests that want to stay hidden from everyone while they search for food. Their favorite foods are starchy, but not the kind of starch that we enjoy in potatoes and rice. They eat a lot of glue, paper, cardboard, and book bindings. Silverfish aren’t big enough to do a lot of damage, but it’s still annoying to find your book filled with tiny holes.
Flies
A random housefly buzzing around the room isn’t cause for concern, but a group of flies that won’t leave everyone alone? That’s a different story. Fly infestations are usually because of a sanitation issue. A clean room won’t attract flies, as they need food sources to survive. They’ll still enjoy the shelter without the allure of food.
Flies prefer decaying organic matter, but they’re drawn to all kinds of food. That’s why they like trash cans and animal waste (gross!). Flies spread diseases by landing on fresh food after walking on these gross items, so you don’t want to eat anything that a fly touched. To solve a housefly issue, remove the full trash bag, open food, or whatever is attracting them.
How to Keep a Pest-Free Dorm Room
It can feel disheartening to read about these pests that have the ability to not only infest a room with their huge numbers, but also to spread disease and destruction. That’s why we’re leaving you with our top prevention tips! These are tailored towards students living in college dorms and apartments, but these tasks are great for keeping pests out of any indoor space.
Our recommended tasks for preventing pests are:
- Store food properly — All pests are food-motivated, so remove their biggest attractants by protecting your food. Use airtight containers, bag clips, and zip-top bags for snacks and ingredients. Also, clean up crumbs and spills immediately with your antibacterial cleaner of choice.
- Use mattress & pillow protectors — You probably use these already since they’re on every college packing list, but it’s worth mentioning here. These protectors prevent bed bugs and mites from invading the mattress and pillow — a big concern, as we said earlier.
- Take out the trash — Trash is another huge pest attractant, so taking it out when it’s full is important. Plus, no one wants to live in a smelly, garbage-filled room! Use strong bags to contain everything, and wipe down the can if it has any food residue on it.
- Keep items off the floor — Roaches, rodents, silverfish, and ants are more likely to infest objects that are on the ground since they have easy access. Keep your books and school items in their rightful places, and don’t leave dirty clothes or dishes out for long periods of time.
- Do the dishes — Encrusted dishes on the counter and damp dishes filled with wet food remnants are both appealing to pests, including rodents and roaches. Wash and dry your dishes within 24 hours to prevent these pests — your roommates will thank you!
- Contain the dirty laundry — Dirty clothes that are strewn around the room are irresistible to many pests. Keep the laundry in your basket or hamper, and treat stains with a stain remover ASAP (crickets love stains). Try to do the laundry on a consistent basis to keep the pile under control.
- Check the room for entry points — Dorm rooms and college apartments aren’t the biggest spaces (what an understatement!), so pest entry points are easy to spot. If your window screen, weatherstripping, or walls have any holes or cracks, let your RA or maintenance team know.
- Look out for pest problems — We know you have enough on your mind throughout the school year, but keep an eye out for new pest problems. True pest activity, like an army of ants or a rodent family living in the wall, need to be reported to your RA or maintenance team immediately.
Bookworms Welcome, Pests Stay Out!
Between the mountain of assignments and the full social calendar, college students have enough stress without adding a pest infestation to the list. Pest prevention is most effective when it’s paired with professional treatments, like the long-term solutions from Pointe Pest Control.
Our licensed technicians solve every pest issue by assessing the situation, determining the species, and creating a customized treatment plan that targets the root of the problem. We look forward to keeping your home or business pest-free this season. Contact us for a free quote on our reliable pest control services today!
Citations
Poppie, R. (n.d.). How to prevent dorm bed bugs in college. The Beloit Mattress Company. Available at https://beloitmattress.com/bed-bugs-in-college-dorms/?srsltid=AfmBOooaKPdSaFUR67aMY91io_yISfeoLBPohO9wJ08PZfNcEjuJ3CrN (Accessed on August 11, 2025).
Top 5 pests problems in schools/universities. (2021, April 7). Pointe Pest Control. Retrieved August 11, 2025, from https://www.pointepestcontrol.net/top-5-pests-problems-in-schools-universities/
