Tag Archives: Infestations

by | June 28, 2013 · 6:33 am

Hospitality Industry Health Risks: Oklahoma Motel “Forced To Close” By City Officials Over Bed Bug Infestation, Mold, Water And Sewer Issues

“…City officials said the motel has been under surveillance for about a year and the owners have been told numerous times to fix problems with Hotel Bed Bugs Infestationbed bugs, mold issues, as well as water and sewer…Code enforcement officers said an angry customer called them to complain after noticing bed bug bites on her children and roaches falling from the ceiling…”

A motel in Ardmore is shut down after bed bugs and other issues pose a threat to customers. The Regency Inn located on 2705 on North Commerce St. in Ardmore was forced to close its doors after it failed a city code inspection.

The motel was shut down and customers were forced to leave the building. They said the motel will stay closed until the owner’s fix the issues and it meets city codes.

The owners declined to comment but said they’ll take care of the issues.

For more:  http://www.kten.com/story/22708184/ardmore-motel-shuts-down-after-bed-bug-investation

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by | February 13, 2013 · 7:30 am

Hospitality Industry Health Risks: Bedbug Infestations Rise In 2012 With Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles And Denver Reporting Most Treatments

“…bedbugs continue to be a problem throughout the U.S…(there is a) need to be very cautious when we travel – Bed Bugs in Hotel Roomswhether it is business or pleasure, or to visit family, friends or vacation.”

Bedbugs are on the rise again in the U.S., which means business is booming for pest control companies like Orkin. With increased travel, both internationally and domestically, and higher bedbug resistance to existing pesticides, Orkin has seen an almost 33 percent boost in bedbug business compared to 2011.

The company has just released its rankings of U.S. cities in order of the number of bedbug treatments from January to December 2012. The “Windy City” of Chicago tops the list, followed by Detroit, Los Angeles, Denver and Cincinnati.

Here are the top 50 U.S. cities, ranked in order of the number of bedbug treatments.  The number in parenthesis is the shift in ranking compared to January to December 2011:

  1.     Chicago (+1)
  2.     Detroit (+1)
  3.     Los Angeles (+2)
  4.     Denver
  5.     Cincinnati (-4)
  6.     Columbus, Ohio
  7.     Washington, D.C. (+1)
  8.     Cleveland/Akron/Canton (+5)
  9.     Dallas/Ft. Worth (-2)
  10.     New York (-1)
  11.     Dayton, Ohio (+4)
  12.     Richmond/Petersburg, Va. (-2)
  13.     Seattle/Tacoma (+14)
  14.     San Francisco/Oakland/San Jose (-2)
  15.     Raleigh/Durham/Fayetteville, N.C. (+4)
  16.     Indianapolis (+15)
  17.     Omaha, Neb. (+11)
  18.     Houston (-7)
  19.     Milwaukee (+13)
  20.     Baltimore (-2)
  21.     Syracuse, N.Y. (+2)
  22.     Boston (-8)
  23.     Colorado Springs/Pueblo, Colo. (+2)
  24.     Lexington, Ky. (-2)
  25.     Miami/Ft. Lauderdale (-1)
  26.     Hartford/New Haven, Conn. (+10)
  27.     Knoxville, Tenn. (+11)
  28.     Buffalo, N.Y. (+1)
  29.     Atlanta (-8)
  30.     Louisville, Ky. (+5)
  31.     Charleston/Huntington, W. Va. (+18)
  32.     San Diego, Calif. (-6)
  33.     Cedar Rapids/Waterloo, Iowa (+12)
  34.     Minneapolis/St. Paul (+12)
  35.     Phoenix (-1)
  36.     Pittsburgh (-6)
  37.     Honolulu (-19)
  38.     Grand Rapids/Kalamazoo, Mich. (+1)
  39.     Grand Junction/Montrose, Colo. (-1)
  40.     Nashville, Tenn.
  41.     Lincoln/Hastings/Kearney, Neb. (+7)
  42.     Albany/Schenectady/Troy, N.Y. (+2)
  43.     Charlotte (-10)
  44.     Tampa/St. Petersburg, Fla.
  45.     Sacramento/Stockton/Modesto, Calif. (-4)
  46.     Las Vegas (-30)
  47.     Greenville/Spartanburg/Asheville, S.C.
  48.     Champaign/Springfield, Ill.
  49.     Portland, Or.
  50.     Sioux City, Iowa

For more: http://ehotelier.com/hospitality-news/item.php?id=A24912_0_11_0_M

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by | May 11, 2012 · 6:08 am

Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: Illinois Hotel Sued For $250,000 For "Bed Bug Infestation" During 2010 Stay; Violation Of "Consumer Fraud And Deceptive Practices Act" Alleged

The suit claims hotel employees did not warn guests of the bugs before they stayed in the hotel from March 19, 2010 through May 21, 2010, according to court documents.

A couple from Nashville, Tennessee is suing an O’Fallon hotel for more than $250,000 following an alleged infestation of bed bugs during their stay. The hotel’s attorneys are fighting to dismiss the case and the hotel manager says bed bugs are not a problem.

Antwaine and Woodrow Ross allege the Days Inn O’Fallon hotel knew the critters Cinex lectularius, commonly known as bed bugs due to their tendency to be found in bedding, infested their rooms.

The Rosses seek more than $50,000 from each of five counts, which include claims the hotel violated the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Practices Act by concealing the infestation. Days Inn attorneys have filed a motion to dismiss four of the five counts claiming in part that the Rosses “misapprehend what constitutes a nuisance and a concurrent suit to stop an alleged nuisance” and they fail to show the Days Inn acted with “deliberate intention to harm.”

To prevent bed bug issues, the hotel states a program was instituted in 2010 that included:
• purchasing special box spring covers designed for bed bugs at a cost of $2,600 a piece,
• treating each with room approved anti-bed bug powder every three days,
• any room suspected of having bed bugs is locked down for three days and professionally treated,
• increasing the frequency of routine monthly extermination services,
• inspecting 5 to 10 rooms at random during each extermination service and providing a report to management, and
• cleaning each headboard with bleach.

Read more here: http://www.bnd.com/2012/05/10/2171520/days-inn-ofallon-sued-following.html#storylink=cpy

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by | January 26, 2012 · 11:53 am

Hospitality Industry Health Risks: "High-End New York Hotels" Found To Have Bed Bugs

The Ritz is just the latest swanky hotel to report finding the blood-suckers in one of its rooms. Guests have previously complained about bedbugs at the Waldorf-Astoria.

Bedbugs have been spotted at the luxury Ritz-Carlton New York, reports The New York Times. A guest reported the pesky discovery to the front desk Sunday, and hotel management subsequently called an exterminator to rid the room of the creepy crawlers.

Guests in rooms next to the infested area, as well as those above and below it, were transferred to other accommodations and hotel workers received bedbug training, reports the Times.

Scott Geraghty, the hotel’s general manager, told the paper the problem had been remedied.

“Bedbugs are inevitable,” Geraghty said. “They’re brought in by guests and come in on luggage or things of that matter.”

For more:  http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Bedbug-Ritz-Carlton-Hotel-New-York-City-Infest-138120308.html

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by | December 22, 2011 · 6:45 am

Hospitality Industry Health Risks: "Bed Bugs" Have Become Increasingly "Resistant To Chemicals" Used To Treat Hotel Infestations

These mostly nocturnal feeders are difficult to control, not only because they are adept at avoiding detection by crawling into creases of soft furnishing but also because they have developed a resistance to many of the chemicals that have been used to kill them.

Exposure to treated bed nets and linens meant that populations of bed-bugs had become resistant to the chemicals used to kill them, researchers said. The findings could help convince pest controllers to find alternative remedies to deal with the problem.

Since almost vanishing from homes in industrialised countries in the 1950s, populations of the common bed-bug have become re-established in these regions over the past decade or so.

Findings presented at the gathering in Philadelphia showed that 90% of 66 populations sampled from 21 US states were resistant to a group of insecticides, known as pyrethroids, commonly used to kill unwanted bugs and flies.

One of the co-authors – evolutionary biologist Warren Booth, from North Caroline State University in Raleigh – explained that the genetic evidence he and his colleagues had collected showed that the bed-bugs infecting households in the US and Canada in the last decade were not domestic bed bugs, but imports.

For more:  http://ehotelier.com/hospitality-news/item.php?id=22337_0_11_0_C

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by | November 21, 2011 · 7:22 am

Hospitality Industry Guest Health Risks: Expert Panel Discusses Issues Regarding "Bed Bug" Infestations And Treatment (Video)

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZtO2Zq-I5Q]

This live panel discussion from the Bed Bug Business Plan event identifies the most critical bed bug issues in the hospitality, commercial real estate and multifamily property management industries.

Expert representatives include Kevin Maher of the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AH&LA), Patricia M. Areno of Building Owners and Managers Association International (BOMA), and Scot Haislip of the National Apartment Association (NAA).

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by | October 18, 2011 · 9:04 am

Hospitality Industry Health Risks: Wisconsin Hotels Respond To Complaints Of "Bed Bugs" With Swift Action

“Although the National Pest Management Association (NPMA) estimates there has been an increase in bed bugs in America over the last several years, the increase has had a minimal impact on the vast majority of hotels. Bed bugs are brought into hotels by guests; it is not a hotel sanitation issue. Education, awareness, and vigilance are critical. A trained and knowledgeable housekeeping staff is one of the best lines of defense, along with having regular pest control inspections as we have in place at the Rodeway Inn and Suites.”

The Health Department said it has gotten bed bug complains about the Rodeway Inn on Hastings Way and the Days Inn on Craig Road. These reports show how both hotels took quick action to control their bed bug problems.

But the Health Department said it’s important to remember that just because a hotel has the bugs, it doesn’t mean they’re dirty. “They can get into small cracks and crevasses and crawl out in the place they stop at and quite frequently that is a hotel,” said Courtenay Johnson, the Director of Environmental Health.

A complaint about the Rodeway Inn, filed with the Health Department by a guest claims they found six bed bugs on their bed. Another complaint about the Days Inn on Craig Road showed bed big sniffing dogs looking for the blood sucking pests. Both documents show the hotels took swift action.

“I haven’t seen a hotel or heard of one anywhere else that’s allowed a bed bug infestation to persist,” Johnson said.

For more;  http://www.weau.com/news/headlines/131902858.html?ref=858

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by | September 27, 2011 · 6:10 am

Hospitality Industry Guest Health Risks: Illinois Hotel Sued Six Months After Guests Discovered Bed Bugs In Room

A hotel employee again offered the couple a new room, the lawsuit said, but they declined. After they returned home, they said Gonzales noticed bite marks on Layman’s shoulder. She said a doctor confirmed she was bitten by bed bugs, and the couple’s suit said a Hollywood Casino manager acknowledged the pests were bed bugs.

“..they pulled down the covers and discovered red bugs running on the sheets. Layman said she videotaped the bugs with her cell phone…”

 

A Blue Island couple is suing the Hollywood Casino Joliet and its hotel, saying they found bed bugs in their room more than six months ago. Tamara Layman and Leo Gonzales filed the lawsuit in Will County this month. Layman said she first tried asking a manager there to simply reimburse her for doctor visits, lost property and a ruined weekend. But she said she’s had no success.

The lawsuit said Layman and Gonzales checked into the casino’s hotel March 5, left their luggage in their room and went to the casino. They returned a few hours later and went to sleep. But Layman said she woke up at 1:30 a.m. and noticed a bug on a pillow.

Gonzales killed the bug, and Layman carried it in a tissue to the hotel’s front desk, where an employee offered to give them another room.

Layman and Gonzales said they threw out most, if not all, of what they brought to the casino including luggage. They also said it took 17 days for the hotel to send an exterminator to their home for an inspection.

For more:  http://news.google.com/news/more?q=hotel&hl=en&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&biw=1366&bih=497&wrapid=tlif131713187418910&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ncl=d6mgZ9jhZCUXCgMuGZI-DUW1QcQjM&ei=adaBTpPAMI7MsQLqmoiYDw&sa=X&oi=news_result&ct=more-results&resnum=10&ved=0CMsBEKoCMAk

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by | August 19, 2011 · 6:11 am

Hospitality Industry Continues To Face "Threat Of Bed Bug Infestations" As 80% Of Pest Professionals Have Treated Bedbugs In Hotels During 2011

CLICK ON “BED BUG” TO VIEW ONLINE REGISTRY

* 99% of pest professionals have seen bedbug infestations in the past year (up from 95% in 2010)

*80% of pest professionals have treated bedbugs in hotels/motels, compared with 67% in 2010

*73% of pest professionals believe bedbugs are the most difficult pest to treat
*54% have treated bedbugs in college dorms, up from 35% in 2010
*46% have treated bedbugs in nursing homes, vs. 25% in 2010
*38% have treated bedbugs in office buildings, compared with 18% in 2010
* 36% have treated bedbugs in schools and day care centers, vs. 10% in 2010. That’s an amazing increase, as is the 31% who say they’ve found bedbugs in hospitals, vs. 12% in 2010
*18% have treated bedbugs in trains, buses or taxis, compared with 9% in 2010
*17% have dealt with bedbugs in movie theaters; 5% in 2010

For more:  http://pestworld.org/Bed-Bug-Survey-2011

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by | July 23, 2011 · 7:41 am

Hospitality Industry Health Risks: New Insurance Offerings Cover "Bed Bug Infestation, Loss Of Revenue And Guests' Risk Of Bringing Bed Bugs Home"

“…The new offering covers lost revenue resulting from treating rooms, as well as paying for the cost of eliminating the bugs…”

“…It can also cover business or leisure travellers against the risk of bringing bedbugs home from a conference or overnight stay…”

Lloyd’s underwriters have teamed up with insurance broker Aon and Global Excess Partners, an innovator in new insurance products, to develop a comprehensive bedbug insurance solution for travellers and the hospitality industry.

According to Lloyd’s, bedbug infestations are on the rise, causing hotel owners, landlords and businesses major problems.

High levels of infestation have been reported in the US and Europe, with New York topping the list of cities in a bedbug battle.

Bedbugs are regarded as the most difficult of pest to treat, more so than cockroaches, ants and termites, as they are elusive, can live for a year or more without eating and can withstand a range of temperatures from nearly freezing to 50 degrees Celsius.

For more:  http://www.insurancedaily.co.uk/2011/07/23/lloyds-and-aon-team-with-bedbug-offering/

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