This is a petty concern, but I have a deep-seated phobia around bugs. I am trying to overcome it, but while I do, it would be nice to have one less thing to worry about freshman year. Are there any dorms that are known for having bug infestations that I should try to avoid? I love the architecture of the older dorms, but bugs would be a definite turn-off. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!
Prob shouldn’t go for BJ then, lol
Like any other large urban area in the Midwest, the city of Chicago is going to have its share of bugs. You won’t be able to avoid them. Ants in particular can be annoying. BTW, my college dorm in CA had this problem as well and it was meticulously cleaned and cared for. Make sure you know where to pick up some ant bait 
Good that you avoided college in Texas - giant flying cockroaches there. Probably the principal reason the educational institutions in that state will always fail to attract non-entomological talent.
In my time in BJ there was a kid (a biology major) who kept a menagerie of bugs and a snake or two in his room. The critters weren’t native to the premises, however - he imported them. The housekeeping staff would not enter the room - they left the weekly change of bedding on the floor outside. Incidentally, the fellow went on to excel in an entirely different field - as the proprietor of a famous guitar shop in Nashville vending customized instruments to the Grand Ol’ Opry stars. It didn’t seem like where he was headed as a U of C student. Those bugs must have been musical (if you can call C & W by that name).
^^ You guys had a housekeeping staff come in and change the bedding every week?
Get one of those plastic squeeze bottles you can buy at Walmart for $0.50. Fill it about 2/3 of the way with boric acid. Snip tip of the squeeze bottle about half-way. Then puff it in a fine mist around the perimeter of the dorm, under and around any sinks, tubs, and toilets. It’s all natural, oderless, and dirt cheap to buy. It’ll kill those little b**stards within a few days.
For ants, take some maple syrup and mix it with 1/2 boric acid. Put it on a paper towel square on the floor. They’ll go after it like crack. In a couple of days, the whole colony will be dead.
@JBStillFlying . If memory serves, they also tidied things up a bit. It was a gentler age.
Thank you for all your responses! I’m not actually worried about ants and spiders-- moreso beetles, and, as marlowe said, cockroaches
@HydeSnark Is BJ particularly bug infested?
Erm…infested probably isn’t the right word but isn’t particularly difficult for small animals to get into the building via the courtyard, including cockroaches or beetles.
My kid is in BJ and says she sees ants on the first floor but that’s about it. No cockroaches. Maybe it varies by house. 
I work on a high floor of a gleaming modern skyscraper, and every once in a while we see some horrifying cockroach. I don’t think there’s a substantial building in America – and certainly no building the size and age of BJ or for that matter International House – that is truly cockroach-free.
I heard a statistic once that went something like “You are never more than 3 feet away from a spider.” I suspect there are other similar stats for bugs. Of course I’ve also heard that “75% of all statistics are made up on the spot.” Have a good weekend.
BTW, cockroaches aren’t horrifying, they are pretty cool if you consider they’ll be here long after we’re gone and were here long before we arrived.
Spiders eat bugs. #:-S
I take your point, but that’s not what my firm’s staff says, or how they react. My use of that participle was an objective, factual representation of the general effect of the cockroaches on the people who notice them.