How can I tell if an apartment has bed bugs before moving in?

Look at the places bed bugs leave evidence even in an empty unit: baseboard edges and corners in the bedroom, behind outlet and switch covers, carpet edges, window and door trim, and any furniture or bed frame left behind. You're looking for clusters of black ink-like dots, tiny pale eggshells, shed brown skins, and live flat reddish bugs. A clean result in an empty unit doesn't prove there are none, so also ask about the building's history.

How do I check an apartment for cockroaches?

Open the cabinet under the kitchen sink and look at the back corners and hinges with a flashlight, then look at the gap beside the stove and fridge, the inside upper corners of cabinets and drawers, and around the bathroom sink pipes. German cockroach droppings look like ground pepper or coffee grounds; you may also see brown egg capsules or shed skins. Gel bait dots or many traps tell you the unit has been treated.

What are signs of mice in an apartment?

Droppings about the size of a grain of rice with pointed ends, usually under the sink, in the back of drawers, behind the stove and along baseboards, plus gnaw marks, shredded paper or insulation, and a musky smell. Look at where pipes come through the wall under sinks; gaps there are the usual entry.

Should I sign the lease if I saw one roach?

One large roach near a door in a warm climate may be an outdoor species that wandered in. One small German cockroach in the kitchen during the day suggests an established population. Ask what the landlord does about pests and how the building is serviced, and get any promise to treat in writing before you sign.

What questions should I ask a landlord about pests?

Has this unit or building had bed bugs, roaches or mice in the past year? When was the last treatment and for what? Is there a regular pest service, and does it treat the whole building or only units that complain? How do tenants report a problem, and how quickly is it handled? Some cities and states require landlords to disclose bed bug history; your local tenant agency can tell you.

What should I do if I find pests right after moving in?

Stop unpacking into that area, photograph what you see with the date, catch a sample in tape or a sealed bag, and notify the landlord in writing right away. Finding evidence before your belongings are in the unit is the clearest proof you didn't bring the pests. Tenant rights vary by state and city, so check with a local tenant organization before withholding rent or leaving.

Apartment Pest Inspection Checklist Before You Sign

The fastest way to check an apartment for pests is a 10-minute flashlight tour of four spots: the cabinet under the kitchen sink, the edges around the stove and fridge, the bedroom baseboards and outlets, and the bathroom sink pipes. Those places hold the evidence of the three problems that matter most to renters, bed bugs, German cockroaches and mice, even in a freshly cleaned, empty unit.

This is a practical checklist, not legal advice. Tenant rules on disclosure, repairs and who pays for treatment differ by state and city, so check your local tenant agency or legal aid for the rules where you live.

What to bring to the showing

A bright flashlight (a phone light works, a real one is better).
A white index card or tissue, for wiping a suspicious dark spot: bed bug and roach droppings smear dark brown, dirt doesn't.
Your phone camera, to photograph anything you find with the date.
Five minutes alone in the kitchen, if you can get it. Landlords and agents tend to keep you moving.

The checklist

Where	What to look for	Points to
Under the kitchen sink, back corners and pipe holes	Pepper-like specks, brown egg capsules, shed skins, rice-size droppings, gaps around pipes	Roaches, mice
Cabinet hinges and the upper inside corners of cabinets	Specks and smears, gel bait dots	Roaches
Beside and behind the stove and fridge	Droppings, dead roaches, grease smears, gnaw marks	Roaches, mice
Drawers (pull one out fully)	Droppings in the back and on the runners	Mice, roaches
Bedroom baseboards, carpet edges, corners	Black ink-like dots in clusters, pale eggshells, brown skins	Bed bugs
Outlet and switch plates, window and door trim	Same clusters around the edges	Bed bugs
Any furniture or bed frame left behind	Dark spots on seams and joints	Bed bugs
Bathroom sink and tub pipes, behind the toilet	Gaps, specks, dead insects, damp cabinet floor	Roaches, silverfish, drain flies
Window sills and light fixtures	Dead insects in numbers	Overwintering pests, roaches
Hallway, laundry room, trash room	Traps, bait stations, droppings, smell	Building-wide problem
Your nose	Musty, oily smell (roaches) or musky, urine smell (mice)	Heavy infestation

Bed bugs

Bed bugs are the hardest to spot in a vacant unit, because without a sleeping host they hide deep. EPA lists what to look for: rusty or reddish smears, dark spots like marker ink (droppings), tiny pale yellow eggs and eggshells about 1 mm long, shed skins, and the bugs themselves. In an empty apartment, check bedroom baseboards, the edges of the carpet, behind outlet covers and the trim around doors and windows. EPA's rule of thumb: any crack that would hold a credit card can hold a bed bug.

A fresh coat of paint on baseboards only in the bedroom, or brand-new carpet in one room, isn't proof of anything, but it's worth asking about. Our pages on bed bug signs and bed bug pictures show what the evidence looks like; look-alikes covers the beetles that get mistaken for them.

German cockroaches

German cockroaches are an apartment-building pest; UC IPM notes they are especially common in multi-unit housing and move between units through plumbing, wiring gaps and under doors. The kitchen tells the story. Under the sink and at cabinet hinges, look for droppings like ground pepper or coffee grounds, smears on cabinet corners, and brown egg capsules about 1/4 inch long. An adult German roach fits into a 1/16-inch crack, so look into the narrow gaps, not just the open shelf.

Signs someone is already fighting them: dots of gel bait in hinges, bait stations in every cabinet, sticky traps behind appliances. See what roach droppings and egg cases look like, and how German cockroaches differ from the big outdoor roaches that wander in.

Mice and rats

Mouse droppings are about the size of a grain of rice, dark and pointed at the ends; rat droppings are much larger. Check under sinks, the back of drawers, behind the stove and along baseboards. UC IPM notes a mouse fits through a 1/4-inch gap, so look at where pipes enter the wall under the kitchen and bathroom sinks: open holes around pipes are an invitation. Shredded paper, chewed food packaging left behind, grease marks along walls and a musky smell all add up. More in signs of mice and mice vs rats.

Other things to notice

Silverfish, drain flies and springtails point to moisture, often a slow leak under the sink or a bathroom with poor ventilation. They're not a reason to walk away, but a soft or stained cabinet floor is worth reporting before you move in. See silverfish and drain flies.

Questions to ask the landlord or agent

Has this unit, or the units next to, above and below it, had bed bugs, roaches or mice in the last year?
When was the last pest treatment in this unit, and for what?
Is there a regular pest service for the building? Does it treat the whole building or only units that complain?
How do I report a pest problem, and how fast does someone come?
Who pays for treatment?

Write down the answers. Some cities and states require landlords to disclose recent bed bug history or to keep buildings free of pests; your local tenant agency or legal aid office can tell you what applies.

Red flags vs normal

Usually normal	Worth a hard question	Walk-away level
A dead beetle on a window sill	A few bait stations in the kitchen	Live German roaches in daylight
One spider web in a corner	Fresh caulk around every pipe	Droppings in every cabinet
Ant trail on a summer day	Neighbors mention past bed bugs	Dark spot clusters at bedroom baseboards or outlets
Old empty trap under the sink	Musty smell under the sink	Neighbors say the building "always has roaches"

Move-in day

The day you get the keys is your second, better inspection, because you can take your time.

Inspect before you unpack. Go through the checklist again with the unit empty. Photograph anything you find, with the date.
Check what you bring. Bed bugs travel on secondhand furniture, mattresses and boxes. Inspect used furniture before it comes inside, and break down cardboard boxes promptly; roaches like corrugated cardboard.
Put sticky traps down. A few cheap sticky traps under the sink, behind the fridge and in the bathroom for the first two weeks tell you more than any inspection.
Seal the obvious gaps. Steel wool and sealant around pipe holes under sinks keeps mice and roaches from wandering in from neighbors. Ask the landlord first if your lease requires it.
If you find something, report it in writing right away. Legal aid guides for tenants make the same point: evidence found before your things are in the unit is the clearest proof you didn't bring the pests.

What not to do: don't set off a bug bomb in a new apartment "just in case." It doesn't work on roaches or bed bugs, and can push roaches into neighboring units. See do bug bombs work.

What renters who've been through it say

Threads on r/Bedbugs and r/Renters from people who found out about pests at or after signing share a few patterns:

Disclosure often comes late. A recurring story: the landlord mentions a past bed bug problem on lease-signing day. The most useful replies suggested asking specific questions on the spot: when was the infestation, when and how was it treated, how many follow-ups, were neighboring units treated, and what happens if bugs show up again.
Building size matters more than the unit. Experienced posters point out that an empty unit is easy to treat, but neighbors lived through the same infestation. In a small two- or three-unit house the risk is lower; in a large building with a history, many said they would walk away if they still could.
If you must move in, use the empty window. People who went ahead suggested a heat treatment or professional inspection while the unit is still empty, keeping belongings off the floor and away from walls, and setting monitors under the bed legs from the first night.
Your own move can bring them. Several stories run the other way: a partner or roommate with bed bugs about to move in. The consistent advice was nothing comes in that hasn't been through a hot dryer or inspected, and confirm the ID first; in one case the "bed bug" photo turned out to be a different insect.
Photos and dates win disputes. In deposit and damage fights on r/Renters, tenants with dated move-in photos of every room were in a far stronger position than those without.

If the building has a problem anyway

Pests in apartment buildings are a building problem. German cockroaches and bed bugs in particular usually need the landlord's pest company to treat the affected unit and the units around it, with tenants preparing their apartments. If treatment is scheduled, our guide on preparing for pest control treatment explains what to do before and after the visit. For a sense of what landlords pay, see pest control cost.

Apartment Pest Inspection Checklist