Call to Schedule Service Today
(312)535-3175
Video shows bed bug infestation in Philadelphia bus seat

By John Rawlins
Saturday, September 08, 2018 07:42PM

PHILADELPHIA — A video showing a bed bug infestation on a SEPTA bus is going viral, and now the transit agency is addressing the problem.

Crystal Lopez was the person who shot the video, showing the bugs scampering along the upholstered seatback. Minutes before she had stretched her arm over that seat.

“Right before I was to pull the cord, I feel like this itching, burning feeling on my arm. It was in its entirety from my wrist to my armpit,” Lopez said.

She says the bug bites triggered an allergic skin reaction, which started as raised welts then became a red rash.

“I felt like my arm was on fire, like my whole arm was on fire and itching all at once,” she said.

Bed bugs can be thought of as tiny hitchhiking vampires. Someone from an infected home can walk them into a public space where they can survive, so long as they have a nearby crevice to hide in.

They have turned up on buses in other cities, as well as taxi cabs, airliners and trains.

Septa has 1,400 buses, and a program targeting bedbugs.

“We have special treatments once a quarter where we apply, or a contractor applies, a material specifically designed to treat bed bugs,” said Asst. General Manager Ron Hopkins.

SEPTA pulled the bus Lopez was riding out of service after she sounded the alarm.

SEPTA is also in the process replacing upholstered seats with plastic.

One way bed bugs can spread in public spaces is through personal belongings. You put down your book bag or handbag near an infestation and they climb aboard and you take them home.

Some experts advise if you are on public transit to hold your belongings on your lap, away from the upholstery, and any possible infestation.

Woman Died Due Due To Extreme Heat From Bedbug Heat Treatment

Woman Died Due To Extreme Heat From Bedbug Treatment, Negligence Lawsuit Claims

An 82-year-old woman’s family who claims a bedbug extermination treatment killed her is suing the pest control company as well as the owners of the Houston apartment complex in which the woman resided.

Bedbugs are typically killed with a combination of aerosol spray and heat treatment. The latter is what Elizabeth Ashbaugh’s family said caused the temperature in her apartment to rise to a scorching 139 degrees and ultimately kill her, they wrote in a negligence lawsuit filed in Harris County on Tuesday, the Houston Chronicle reported

They alleged that the extreme heat caused hyperthermia, which is when the body goes to an abnormally high temperature and can no longer function properly—a problem which is especially risky for older adults, according to the National Institute on Aging.

 

http://www.newsweek.com/died-extreme-heat-bed-bug-treatment-negligence-lawsuit-816703

Bedbugs are getting harder to kill

Bedbugs are joining the resistance.

The critters have started to develop a resistance against two common chemicals used to kill them, according to a new study from researchers at Purdue University. And it might start taking a lot more than a bug bomb to destroy infestations.

To see if every city dweller’s worst nightmare was growing stronger, researchers tested two common weapons in the bedbug sufferer’s arsenal: chlorfenapyr and bifenthrin. Chlorfenapyr is used by exterminators, while bifenthrin can be found in the over-the-counter sprays and aerosols. Their findings were published in the Journal of Economic Entomology.

Ten populations of bed bugs were collected from Indiana, New Jersey, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia and Washington D.C. Researchers sprayed them with the two chemicals and measured how many died after seven days. If more than 25 percent of a population survived, the bed bugs were deemed to have developed a resistance.

Three of the populations showed resistance to chlorfenapyr and five showed resistance to bifenthrin.

Bed bugs have grown resistance to other insecticides in the past, which is considered one of the reasons for their huge resurgence over the past 10 years. Sixty-eight percent of exterminators said bed bugs were the most difficult pest to kill, according to a 2015 survey conducted by the National Pest Management Association.

The research team suggests that exterminators use chemicals in addition to other control methods such as mattress encasements, vacuuming, traps and steam or heat.

For an easier way to rid yourself of bedbugs, you could just move and never look back.

Law requires the boss to warn employees about bed bugs infestations at work

POSTED:APR 29 2017 05:58PM CDT

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (Fox 32 News) – Once you get bedbugs in your house, it’s hard to get rid of them. That’s one of the reasons why Illinois lawmakers are working on a bill to help make sure you don’t bring any home from work.

Rep. Jaime Andrade (D-Chicago) introduced HB0369 Bedbugs Disclosure to Employees Act in January. It passed the Illinois State House and is now under consideration in the State Senate.

It reads:

Requires an employer to notify employees if a person certified under the Structural Pest Control Act has determined the presence of bedbugs at the place of employment. Provides that such notification shall be made electronically via email or, if notice by email is not possible, the employer shall issue a written notification to each employee or post a written notification in a conspicuous place or places used or reserved for employee notices.

The bill also includes a provision that would require employees to warn their employers if they spot bedbugs in the workplace.

NY OKs law forcing landlords to reveal if their buildings have bedbugs

When bedbugs bite, tenants will know about it under a bill passed by the City Council Tuesday.

The legislation, which passed by a vote of 44-5, will require landlords to disclose bedbug infestations in their buildings, through postings in the building or notices given to tenants with their leases.

They’ll also have to report discovering the bugs to the Department of Housing Preservation and Development, which will publish the information on its website.

“I have heard from many constituents about the enormous disruption caused by these little unwelcome visitors. The best weapon we have against bedbugs is knowledge,” said Councilman Danny Dromm (D-Queens), the sponsor.

Landlords are already required to inform prospective tenants of the building’s history of bedbugs, but don’t have to say anything to current residents.

“I want to assure landlords that there is no need to bug out,” Dromm said. “Bedbugs after all do not distinguish between new and lifelong residents — they’re just out looking for some blood.”

But a landlord group slammed the measure.

“This bill will needlessly alarm tenants that would otherwise not have to be concerned or be worried about an infestation in their building. This bill is just more regulation overkill,” said Rent Stabilization Association president Joe Strasburg.

Bedbugs kill woman, caretaker faces charges

Bedbugs kill woman, caretaker faces charges

USA TODAY NETWORKGordon Rago, York (Pa.) Daily Record3:40 p.m. ET Feb. 25, 2017

A Pennsylvania woman died last year from bedbug bite complications. The insects had invaded the care facility where she was housed.

Now, the woman’s 72-year-old caretaker Deborah Butler faces felony charges including involuntary manslaughter and neglect of care.

Last February, West Manheim Township Police entered the southern Pennsylvania home and noticed the bed bugs. They crawled on walls and along ledges. They scurried on the bed sheets and pillow where an elderly woman slept in a first-floor room. She told officers she was blind, but could “feel them crawling.” Sometimes, she added, they bit her, too.

Paramedics, police said, would later check on that woman, but did not notice any visible injuries. Police said another woman, 96-year-old Mary Stoner, was staying at the home. Two weeks after the visit, Stoner was dead.

An autopsy determined her cause of death was from “complications of sepsis followed by bed bug infestation,” according to charging documents.

Stoner’s family moved her out of Butler’s home on Feb. 3, 2016, after noticing her health worsen. During previous visits, Stoner’s family told police she was in good health. On Feb. 6, Stoner was brought to the emergency room, where doctors found sores on her skin. Staff members were under the opinion the woman’s infection was a result of bed bug bites.

Stoner was discharged from the hospital about a week later, only to be readmitted again. Doctors said she had pneumonia.

She died a week later.

The women, police said, stayed with Butler at her home. Butler provided food, shelter, clothing as well as personal and health care. Both women paid for the care services, documents state.

In talking with police prior to Stoner’s death, Butler told them she had been trying to get rid of the bed bugs since September 2015 and had used store-bought supplies. She said she could not afford an exterminator and blamed Stoner for bringing in the bugs, documents state.

Butler, who was charged last week, had taken Stoner to her family doctor in January because Stoner had been scratching her neck and been sick. Butler did not mention bed bugs during the doctor’s appointment, police said, and Stoner didn’t mention them either.

In the coming weeks, Butler said she noticed no change in Stoner’s condition. But police said “evidence later indicated that the victim’s condition would have been clearly visible and obvious that serious medical attention was required.”

Stoner received no further medical treatment until her family took her to York Hospital. In the week after Stoner’s death, police said they searched Butler’s home and found bed bugs in various stages of their life cycle.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2017/02/25/bedbugs-kill-woman-caretaker-faces-charges/98408062/

Man Sues Chicago Hotel, Claiming He Was Bitten by Bed Bugs in 2 Separate Rooms

A man has filed a lawsuit against a hotel in Chicago’s Near North neighborhood, claiming that he was attacked by bed bugs in two separate rooms while staying there over the summer.

Allen Brown said he was staying at the Courtyard Marriott Chicago Downtown/River North hotel, located at 30 E. Hubbard St. on August 16, when he suffered “numerous bed bug bites” in his sleep, according to the lawsuit filed in Cook County Circuit Court on Dec. 27.

Brown notified hotel staff that he had been bitten by bed bugs, according to the lawsuit, at which point he was moved to a second room in the hotel – where he was bitten by more bed bugs.

The suit against the Courtyard Management Corporation and Marriott Hotel Services, Inc. claims that the hotel rented rooms to guests knowing the rooms were infested, failed to conduct a reasonable inspection of its rooms, and failed to provide pest control services.

Brown seeks $50,000 plus court costs and attorney fees through the lawsuit, according to the complaint.

The suit was filed just days before the annual ranking of “Top 50 Bed Bug Cities” was released, with Chicago dropping from the top spot for the first time in five years.

Pest control company Orkin reports the city moved down two spots for 2016 to take third behind Baltimore and Washington, D.C., when it comes to bed bug infestations.

The Courtyard Marriott did not immediately respond to request for comment.

 

Man bitten by bed bugs on British Airways flight given just 50 Euros compensation
Paul Standerwick said he was bitten over 100 times by bed bugs.

Paul Standerwick said he was bitten over 100 times by bed bugs. Credit: SWNS

A man who was bitten “over 100 times” by bed bugs on a British Airways flight has demanded an apology after he was given just a £50 voucher as compensation.

Paul Standerwick, 36, was about to depart for a family holiday in the US with his wife and two young sons when his flight was delayed by 24 hours.

When his flight finally took off from Heathrow, Mr Standerwick was repeatedly bitten by bugs.

It was only after he landed that Mr Standerwick discovered passengers had been moved from the seat he was sitting in after complaining about the bugs.

Paul Standerwick was bitten by bed bugs during a British Airways flight with his wife and two young sons (pictured).
Paul Standerwick was bitten by bed bugs during a British Airways flight with his wife and two young sons (pictured). Credit: SWNS

“Me and my son moved seats to sit and watch the landing by the window,” he said.

“It wasn’t until after we landed, actually, that someone tapped me on the shoulder and said the people sitting in the seats we moved to were moved on after they complained about bed bugs.”

Mr Standerwick added: “I thought nothing of it at the time. But about an hour later, at our hotel, these horrible, itchy bites started to appear.

“They got really infected. Lots of pus. They were everywhere. On my neck, my back, shoulders and legs.

Paul Standerwick said he is still scarred by the bed bug bites.
Paul Standerwick said he is still scarred by the bed bug bites. Credit: SWNS

“Where I was bitten lots of times in one place there was what looked like large bites the size of a 50 pence piece. If I had to guess, I would say I was bitten well over a hundred times. I’m still scarred. It’s horrible.”

Mr Standerwick then only received a £50 voucher from British Airways as compensation for his ordeal.

“I’m not even a compensation person,” he said. “I don’t like that attitude. All I want is a proper apology. I paid for a premium service, and what I got was the complete opposite.”

A spokeswoman for British Airways said: “We have said sorry to our customers for their experience and appreciate it must have been upsetting.

“We work hard to provide the best possible experience for customers on our flights and we’re sorry that on this occasion we haven’t met our customer’s expectations.”

Bed bugs repulsed by certain colours

By Michelle Roberts
Health editor, BBC News online

Bed bugs appear to have a strong preference for particular colours – a quirk that could be used against the troublesome pests, say scientists.

According to the work in the Journal of Medical Entomology, the blood-sucking insects love black and red but hate yellow and green.

This information could help make better traps to lure and catch the bugs.

But it is too soon to say if yellow sheets can stop them nesting in your bed, say the US researchers.

Bed bugs are tiny and they like to live close to their next meal – your blood. They can hide in the seam of your mattress or a joint in your bed frame. They tend to prefer fabric and wood over plastic and metal.

But Dr Corraine McNeill and colleagues wanted to find out if colours affected where bed bugs might dwell.

They carried out a series of experiments in their lab, placing bed bugs in dishes with different colour shelters made out of card.

Rather than taking cover at random, the bugs appeared to select the shelters according to their colour, showing a preference for black and red.

Dr McNeill said: “We originally thought the bed bugs might prefer red because blood is red and that’s what they feed on.

“However, after doing the study, the main reason we think they preferred red colours is because bed bug themselves appear red, so they go to these harborages because they want to be with other bed bugs.”

The bugs appeared to dislike yellow and green shelters, possibly because these bright colours remind them of brightly lit areas that are less safe to hide in, say the researchers.

Past studies have found these two colours are unattractive to other blood-sucking insects such as mosquitoes and sandflies.

Dr McNeill said: “I always joke with people, ‘Make sure you get yellow sheets!’ But to be very honest, I think that would be stretching the results a little too much.

“I don’t know how far I would go to say don’t get a red suitcase or red sheets, but the research hasn’t been done yet, so we can’t really rule that out completely.”

Bed Bugs Bite: Budget Apartments Loaded, Study Finds

by MAGGIE FOX

People living in budget apartment buildings across northern New Jersey are likely to have bed bugs and not even know about it, a new study finds. A team from Rutgers University found that one in eight low-income apartments had bedbugs, and half the time the residents didn’t even know it.

But the researchers said an in-person inspection can efficiently and cheaply find the bugs so that owners and landlords can do something about them. Untreated, bedbugs spread fast.

Left to their own devices, residents either used ineffective methods to deal with the bedbugs or just moved out, according to the the team, led by Changlu Wang at Rutgers.

They inspected more than 2,300 low-income apartments in Bayonne, Hackensack, Irvington, and Paterson.
About Bedbugs

“Infestation rates ranged from 3.8 to 29.5 percent among the buildings, with an overall infestation rate of 12.3 percent,” they wrote in the Journal of Medical Entomology.

“Within each apartment, the bed area trapped significantly more bedbugs per trap than the sofa (or upholstered chair.)”

Half the residents who had bedbugs didn’t even know, the team reported.

Those who tried to do something about it often did the wrong thing. “The majority of the residents (59 percent) who experienced bedbugs applied insecticides themselves in spite of the availability of professional pest control service contracted by the housing authorities,” the team wrote.

“The vast majority of the residents who applied insecticides used pyrethroids, household products, and essential oils. These products are largely ineffective for controlling bedbugs,” they added.

Although frequently washing bedding in hot water can help, a third of the residents didn’t do this, the team found.

And many didn’t notice the bites, either.

“Overall, 68 percent of the residents reported symptoms and 32 percent did not report symptoms after being bitten,” the team wrote. That’s because the insects inject an anesthetic when they bite.
“Among those with self-reported symptoms, the symptoms and their frequency were: pain 90 percent, itchiness 20 percent, welts 13 percent and insomnia 8 percent.”

Bedbugs became rare at the end of the last century, but they’ve been coming back as people travel more and forget about the pests.

“The trajectory of the bedbug infestation history in four cities suggests that bedbugs started to show up in residential buildings in the early 2000s, confirming earlier reports about the recent bedbug resurgence,” Wang’s team wrote.

“The bedbug management contracts in the four low-income communities were not effective in bedbug elimination. Overall, results suggest an urgent need to suppress bedbug infestations in these communities and reduce further bedbug dispersal among communities.”

The good news is that the inspection system the team devised is cheap and good at finding the bugs.

“Assuming (a) $50 per hour labor rate, the average per apartment cost for the building-wide bed 25 bug monitoring protocol was $12 per apartment,” they wrote.

Bedbugs are tiny, hide in cracks, and can go weeks without feeding, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. They do not carry disease, but people can have allergic reactions to them and their bites can be annoying.

Bed bug reports increased by 44 percent in New York City

Other than “flight delay” or “LaGuardia Airport,” there might not be a two words that make travelers more uncomfortable than “bed bugs.” So prepare to be creeped out, because reports of bed bugs in New York City’s hotels have increased more than 44% since this time last year — even at some of the city’s most expensive, five-star properties.

According to the Bedbug Registry, a database that records bed bug-related complaints and sightings, the nasty little insects have been seen (or felt) in 176 of the 272 hotels that are members of the Hotel Association of New York City. The New York Daily Newsreports that guests had even complained of bed bugs in the glitzy rooms at the Waldorf Astoria, the Millennium Hilton and the New York Marriott Marquis (we like to picture those bed bugs driving tiny Bentleys right into the mattress folds).

Even one guest complaint places a property on the Bedbug Registry, but 18 hotels combined for 363 complaints, making up 42% of all of the bed bug sightings in the city. That is beyond bad news for those hotels; according to a study conducted by the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture, just one mention of bed bugs in an online hotel review could lower the value of a room by $38 for business travelers and $23 for leisure travelers.

Lisa Linden, a spokesperson for the Hotel Association, told the Daily News:

“Bedbugs are a global issue that extend beyond hotels. Every member of the Hotel Association of NYC that we are aware of has an active anti-bedbug program in place. If a problem arises, it is dealt with immediately and effectively.”

So what can you do if you’re heading to New York in the near future (other than start clawing at your own skin immediately)? A pest control expert told CBS2 that guests should pull back the sheets to examine the mattress for bed bugs and place their suitcases on luggage racks or in the bathtub to keep any disgusting stowaways from climbing into their bags. It also probably pays to educate yourself on what bed bugs do and do not look like, to prevent you from freaking yourself — or other guests — out unnecessarily. Those University of Kentucky researchers also discovered that 2/3 of study participants couldn’t tell a bed bug from other household insects.

Rise of the SUPER PESTS: Bed bugs are becoming resistant to common insecticides

By SARAH GRIFFITHS FOR MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED: 09:03 EST, 28 January 2016 | UPDATED: 09:45 EST, 28 January 2016

They live in the cracks and crevices of beds and crawl out a night to suck blood by detecting our body heat and carbon dioxide.
Now the much loathed bed bug is threatening to become even more of a pest because it is resistant to a common insecticide, scientists warn.
Exotic holidays have been blamed for the recent resurgence of bed bugs in homes as they hitch a ride on clothing or in luggage.

The research has found the parasites have developed a tolerance to neonicotinoids, or neonics, because of their widespread use.
It is the first study to show the overuse of certain insecticides has led to an increased resistance to the compounds, making them much less effective than advertised.

In the US alone, millions of dollars are spent on the most widely used commercial chemicals to kill bedbugs, but their overuse has led to an increased resistance to the compounds.
Assistant professor Troy Anderson, from Virginia Tech College of Agriculture and Life Sciences said: ‘While we all want a powerful tool to fight bed bug infestations, what we are using as a chemical intervention is not working as effectively it was designed and, in turn, people are spending a lot of money on products that aren’t working.

‘Unfortunately, the insecticides we were hoping would help solve some of our bed bug problems are no longer as effective as they used to be, so we need to re-evaluate some of our strategies for fighting them.’
Products developed to eradicate infestations in recent years combine both neonics with pyrethroids – another class of insecticide.
In the US alone, millions of dollars are spent on the most widely used commercial chemicals to kill bedbugs (microscopic image shown) but their overuse has led to an increased resistance to the compounds[/caption]Assistant Professor Dr Alvaro Romero from New Mexico State University added: ‘If resistance is detected, products with different modes of action need to be considered, along with the use of non-chemical methods.
‘Companies need to be vigilant for hints of declining performance of products that contain neonicotinoids.
‘For example, bed bugs persisting on previously treated surfaces might be an indication of resistance.
‘In these cases, laboratory confirmation of resistance is advised, and if resistance is detected, products with different modes of action need to be considered, along with the use of non-chemical methods.’
The study, published in the Journal of Medical Entomology, is the first to confirm the resistance.
Researchers collected bed bugs from homes in Cincinnati and Michigan and exposed them to four different neonics: acetamiprid, dinotefuran, imidacloprid and thiamethoxam.

They also used the chemicals on a bed bug colony kept free of insecticide exposure for more than 30 years and to a pyrethroid-resistant population from Jersey City that had not been exposed to neonics since they were collected in 2008.
Those that hadn’t been exposed to the neonics died after contact with very small amounts of the pesticide, while the Jersey City bed bugs showed moderate resistance to acetamiprid and dinotefuran, but not to imidacloprid or thiamethoxam.
The Jersey City colony’s resistance could be due to pre-existing resistance mechanisms.
When exposed to insecticides, bed bugs produce ‘detoxifying enzymes’ to counter them.
The levels of detoxifying enzymes in the Jersey City bed bugs were higher than those of the susceptible Harlan population.
Professor Romero explained: ‘Elevated levels of detoxifying enzymes induced by other classes of insecticides might affect the performance of newer insecticides.’
The Michigan and Cincinnati bed bugs, which were collected after combinations of pyrethroids and neonicotinoids were introduced, had even higher levels of resistance to neonics.
It only took 0.3 nanograms of acetamiprid to kill 50 per cent of the non-resistant bed bugs from Dr Harlan’s lab, but it took more than 10,000 nanograms to kill 50 per cent of the Michigan and Cincinnati bed bugs.
Just 2.3 nanograms of imidacloprid was enough to kill 50 per cent of the Harlan bed bugs, but it took 1,064 and 365 nanograms to kill the Michigan and Cincinnati bed bugs, respectively.
The numbers were similar for dinotefuran and thiamethoxam.
Compared to the Harlan control group, the Michigan bed bugs were 462 times more resistant to imidacloprid, 198 times more resistant to dinotefuran, 546 times more resistant to thiamethoxam, and 33,333 times more resistant to acetamiprid.
The Cincinnati bed bugs were 163 times more resistant to imidacloprid, 226 times more resistant to thiamethoxam, 358 times more resistant to dinotefuran, and 33,333 times more resistant to acetamiprid.

Bed Bugs that Feed Are More Likely to Survive Pesticide Exposure

January 25, 2016 by Entomology Today 1 Comment

By Josh Lancette
Many studies have been done on how effective certain pesticides are when they are applied to bed bugs. However, most have not allowed the bed bugs to take a blood meal after being exposed to pesticides, which can change the mortality rates, according to an article in the Journal of Medical Entomology.

Josh Lancette
Researchers from Rutgers University found that bed bugs that were allowed to feed after being treated with insecticides either had greater rates of survival, or they took longer to die than bed bugs that were not allowed to feed after being treated.
“Our results indicated that post-treatment feeding significantly reduced or slowed down bed bug mortality,” the researchers wrote.
In one case, bed bugs that were unable to feed after being sprayed with an insecticide had a mortality rate of 94 percent. But bed bugs that did feed after being sprayed with the same insecticide had a mortality rate of just 4 percent after 11 days.
This difference is important because most experiments that test the efficacy of insecticides against bed bugs are performed in labs where the bed bugs can’t feed after being exposure. However, in the field, bed bugs can feed after being treated with an insecticide, and the reduced or slowed mortality could give them a chance to reproduce.
“Many of the insecticides labeled for bed bug control may not be as effective as claimed, because of the inadequate testing method,” said Dr. Narinderpal Singh, one of the co-authors. “People often use laboratory bioassay results to predict field performance of an insecticide. It is important the testing conditions are similar to what would occur in the field. Current established test protocols for bed bug insecticides do not provide bloodmeals to bed bugs during the test period. We suspect the mortality data typically observed might be different if the tested bed bugs were provided a bloodmeal during the observation period.”
The researchers suggest that feeding “stimulates detoxification enzymes responsible for insecticide resistance,” which is why more bed bugs survive after taking bloodmeals, so using insecticides in tandem with other control methods is the best option.
“Incorporating non-chemical methods into bed bug control is very important in order to achieve good results,” said Singh. “Some examples of non-chemical methods include vacuuming visible bed bugs, applying steam to furniture and baseboards, laundering bed sheets and infested clothing, encasing mattresses and box springs with bed bug encasements, and installing interceptors under the legs of beds and upholstered furniture.”
The researchers also suggest that insecticide efficacy testing protocols should be changed so that they include using recently fed bed bugs, and that bugs that are fed one to three days after being exposed to pesticides.

Fire started when man rubs alcohol on self for bed bugs

Hotel from hell: Guest films horrifying video of his mattress crawling with BED BUGS that ‘left his girlfriend covered in bites’

A California man has shared a horrifying video that shows a mattress infested with bed bugs that left his girlfriend’s body covered in bites during their stay at a Manhattan hotel.
Elgin Ozlen, from Long Beach, posted a video on YouTube on Friday that shows more than 50 bugs crawling in the seams and along the sides of the mattress he says was in his room at the Astor on the Park Hotel on the Upper West Side.
Ozlen begins the YouTube video from outside, showing that the hotel is across the street from Central Park before walking into the lobby and up the elevator to his room, number 509.

He reveals that it is the third room him and his girlfriend have been moved to in two nights after the heater didn’t work in the first one and the power outlets didn’t function in the second.
‘The third one we’re in is going to shock you,’ he says. ‘Because half the power outlets don’t work, the heater doesn’t work as well, and the surprise you’re going to see.’
‘I want to let everyone know today is my birthday, and this is what my experience has been.’

Ozlen puts the key into door and first reveals the space heater they have to use because the heater is broken, and shares that only two outlets in the room work.
Meanwhile the camera momentarily flashes on the bed, which has been stripped of its sheets.
‘I noticed today my girlfriend’s arms, and side and stomach, in a full rash, from what I assumed came form outside,’ Ozlen then says.
‘But really, it came from this bed.’

Now the camera is back on the bare bed and Ozlen flips the mattress over as the camera finds the black bugs, which Ozlen says are ‘the size of your pinky nail’, together in clumps.
‘Another one there, another one there, another one there,’ he repeats, showing bug after bug before the camera zooms in on a massive clump.
Ozlen then turned the camera on his girlfriend to show how one of her arms was covered with bites
+10
Ozlen then turned the camera on his girlfriend to show how one of her arms was covered with bites
‘About 50 right there,’ he says.
‘I don’t have time to show you them all, but this is no joke,’ he continues.
‘We’re not staying in the Bronx, we’re not staying in Brooklyn, we’re not staying in Queens. This is Manhattan.’
Ozlen then begins touching the bugs with a pen to show them crawling around the mattress.
‘Look at this, an infestation where my girlfriend slept last night,’ he says. ‘I can’t believe it. They’re everywhere on the bed.’
‘I hope no one stays here ever again.’
Ozlen then takes the camera to the bathroom and turns it on his girlfriend, showing huge bites running down one of her arms, as well as bites on her stomach and back.
‘I hope this video makes it to court, and this place gets what it deserves,’ he says.
Astor on the Park told the Daily Mail Online that no one was available at this time to comment.
The 112-room hotel, where room rates average under $110 according to New York Magazine, has a three-and-a-half star rating on TripAdvisor.
It also has a two-and-half-star rating on Yelp, as it has been hit with a number of one star reviews since the release of Ozlen’s video.
Reviews of bed bugs at Astor on the Park date back as early as 2011, in a TripAdvisor review by an Australian man who said he was ‘eaten alive’ by bed bugs while staying at the hotel.
‘I am not talking one or two bites,’ he wrote. ‘My whole arm looked like I was diseased.’

The man said the staff ‘seemed concerned’ when he showed him his arm and that a maintenance man sprayed the mattress and room ‘with some bug killer’.
‘It appeared to help,’ he wrote. ‘I only got a few bites the second night.’
One December 2014 Yelp reviewer, who said she paid $175 for one night, said she found a cockroach in the room and woke up the next morning with bed bug bites.
Another May 2015 Yelp reviewer called the hotel ‘the most disgusting place’ she had ever been in and said she and her fiance found ‘gray dots’ after taking the blanket off the bed.
‘I had no idea if they were bugs, but what was enough,’ she wrote. ‘We left that night and will never be back.’
Reviews on both TripAdvisor and earlier in Yelp vary widely, with titles ranging from ‘A little gem’ to ‘3 nights in hell’.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3382086/Video-shows-bed-bugs-crawling-mattress-Astor-Park-hotel-Manhattan.html#ixzz3wCTPO8v4
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

Horrifying study shows how far bed bugs can spread in apartment buildings.

By Seriously Science | September 14, 2015 6:00 am
Bed bug
Image: Flickr/AJC ajcann.wordpress.com

If bed bugs are living in your home, they are probably hiding out and waiting to sense the carbon dioxide from your breath to home in on their next blood meal. But how did they get there in the first place? If you haven’t recently picked up a mattress off the street (always a good plan), it’s often assumed that they could have migrated from your neighbor’s place. But how frequent these wanderings are, or if they actually happen, hasn’t been demonstrated… until now! Here, scientists captured bed bugs from infested apartments in New Jersey, painted their backs, released them, and then watched over the next several months to see where the little monsters ended up. It turns out that, yes, bed bugs make the rounds of neighboring apartments, and they can live inside empty apartments for months without a blood meal. And perhaps the worst part? “The estimated number of bed bugs per apartment in the six apartments was 2,433–14,291.” Sleep tight!

Mark-Release-Recapture Reveals Extensive Movement of Bed Bugs (Cimex lectularius L.) within and between Apartments

“Understanding movement and dispersal of the common bed bug (Cimex lectularius L.) under field conditions is important in the control of infestations and for managing the spread of bed bugs to new locations. We investigated bed bug movement within and between apartments using mark-release-recapture (m-r-r) technique combined with apartment-wide monitoring using pitfall-style interceptors. Bed bugs were collected, marked, and released in six apartments. The distribution of marked and unmarked bed bugs in these apartments and their 24 neighboring units were monitored over 32 days. Extensive movement of marked bed bugs within and between apartments occurred regardless of the number of bed bugs released or presence/absence of a host. Comparison of marked and unmarked bed bug distributions confirms that the extensive bed bug activity observed was not an artifact of the m-r-r technique used. Marked bed bugs were recovered in apartments neighboring five of six m-r-r apartments. Their dispersal rates at 14 or 15 d were 0.0–5.0%. The estimated number of bed bugs per apartment in the six m-r-r apartments was 2,433–14,291 at 4–7 d after release. Longevity of bed bugs in the absence of a host was recorded in a vacant apartment. Marked large nymphs (3rd– 5th instar), adult females, and adult males continued to be recovered up to 57, 113, and 134 d after host absence, respectively. Among the naturally existing unmarked bed bugs, unfed small nymphs (1st– 2nd instar) were recovered up to 134 d; large nymphs and adults were still found at 155 d when the study ended. Our findings provide important insight into the behavioral ecology of bed bugs in infested apartments and have significant implications in regards to eradication programs and managing the spread of bed bugs within multi-occupancy dwellings.”

Failed attempt to fight bedbugs sparks devastating fire

Young
(Photo: Courtesy of Sherry Young)

USA TODAY NETWORK Daniel Bethencourt, Detroit Free Press

DETROIT — Sherry Young says she spent close to a year living in fear of bedbugs.

So on Monday, sleep-deprived and desperate, she turned on her apartment’s stove and oven. She left for a day.

Then she returned, sprayed herself with rubbing alcohol, and started pouring alcohol across the floor.

The ensuing flames tore through the 48-unit apartment complex, growing so powerful that the building’s roof caved in. Nine fire engines and about 60 personnel fought the blaze.

By the time it was over on late Tuesday afternoon, the building was considered a total loss. Five people, including Young, were taken to the hospital, in what the Detroit Fire Department is calling an accidental fire. Three of the injured were firefighters.

Young, interviewed by phone from the hospital, said she was overcome with regret.

“I’m so sorry,” she said, struggling to speak as she began sobbing. “I didn’t mean it. My neighbors … everybody’s displaced because of me.”

Young moved into a unit at Ramblewood Apartments on Detroit’s west side more than two years ago. She had been homeless and placed in the unit by Travelers Aid, which could not be reached for comment.

Sometime around January, she began to notice markings on her body. She thought she was breaking out — but then the marks multiplied, and she noticed what looked like bedbugs.

She wasn’t sure they were bedbugs, but a neighbor had seen bedbugs recently and thought they had spread to Young’s apartment instead.

Young called Travelers Aid. They sent an exterminator whose treatment of the apartment was supposed to last six months. But Young was getting bites again within a couple weeks.

Someone who worked with Ramblewood Apartments tried to exterminate them as well. That also didn’t seem to work.

The bedbugs would disappear then re-appear. Young became more desperate. She says that she asked management to be moved to another unit, but was told one wasn’t available. She ran a steam machine all over the sheets, but the insects would crawl up onto the ceiling and then drop down on her.

“I feel like I’m in some kind of horror movie, with this thing laying eggs around my bed,” she said.

And the bedbugs wouldn’t seem to leave her body either, though she was taking twice-daily baths.

“I was in a state of torment,” she said.

That’s when Young was close to a breaking point. A day or so before Tuesday’s fire, Young decided to try to heat.

“I didn’t know that the fumes were so ignitable. Had I known that, I would not have doused myself before going into the apartment.”
Sherry Young
A neighbor had told Young that after leaving the oven and stove on for days, their bedbugs had disappeared for good. She thought the intense heat might work for her as well.

But she also decided that alcohol might work, too. She bought 20 bottles from a Walmart in Dearborn.

She then turned on her stove and oven. She spent Monday night sleeping in her car, as the apartment heated up.

Theodore Reynolds, who lives nearby and used to live in at Ramblewood Apartments, remembers running into her and noticing how sleep-deprived and distraught she was. He could also see the various markings from the neck up.

“She really believed that she was under attack,” Reynolds said.

Then the next day, on Tuesday afternoon, shortly before going back inside the apartment at 2 p.m., she doused rubbing alcohol all over herself.

“I didn’t know that the fumes were so ignitable,” she said. “Had I known that, I would not have doused myself before going into the apartment.”

Before going inside, she said a prayer. She hoped this attempt would work once and for all.

Then she opened the door.

The room inside was like a sauna. The walls were hot to the touch. Young began pouring alcohol on the floor, one section at a time.

She was pouring close to the oven when she turned around and saw that the floor was on fire. It was the section of floor where she was standing. Her boots were on fire, and so was she.

Young ran out of the apartment as fast as she could, screaming for the Fire Department. But then, she says she feared for her neighbors. So she turned around and ran back inside, running through thick smoke , and banged on doors, trying to get neighbors out.

She kept banging until she fell to the ground. On the floor, the air was much clearer. At some point a neighbor and at least one other person physically pulled her away.

She was taken to the hospital for burns a short while later.

“I feel so bad about everything and my neighbors mostly,” she said. “They didn’t deserve that.”

In the aftermath of the fire, Ramblewood’s management moved some of the residents into other units owned by the company, said Amelia Hoover, a disaster program specialist with the Red Cross. Many were given Red Cross vouchers for $125.

But some residents had no place to go afterward. Corace Harleque, 59, who is handicapped, said he can’t stay at any of the other units because they don’t have wheelchair access. He said he had no idea where he was going to sleep on Thursday night.

“It’s not right,” Harleque said.

Young is still in the hospital. When she gets out, she doesn’t know where she’ll be staying next.

“I’m feeling desperate,” she said between sobs. “I’m being tormented. I’m living in a nightmare.”

Super bed bugs immune to pesticides

DANIEL BATEMAN THE CAIRNS POST SEPTEMBER 30, 2015 5:50AM

SUPER bed bugs are breeding in everything from backpacker hostels to five-star resorts, but scientists believe they are close to finding a way to stop them.

For years, pest managers worldwide have been reporting bed bugs are becoming immune to insecticides.

In Australia bed bug infestations have risen about 5000 per cent since 1999, according to Westmead Clinical School.

University of Sydney researcher David Lilly, however, has found two ways the pests have developed this immunity.

“There’s two different things at play: there’s enzymes, which the bugs have which detoxify insecticide,’’ he said.

“And secondarily, we’ve just found a strain that has a much thicker cuticle, so basically the skin of the insect is thicker. This means it is much tougher for an insecticide to get through to where it needs to act, and once it does get in, the bugs are very good at detoxifying it before it has a chance to work.”

Mr Lilly, whose research was presented at the Australian Entomological Society Conference in Cairns on Monday, said understanding the insects’ immunity was the first step in finding an effective control.

One possible solution includes adding synergists to pesticides, to enhance the effectiveness of other chemicals.

“The enzymes can be turned down quite a lot,’’ Mr Lilly said.

“That means the insecticides can still be very effective. It should make it easier for pest managers to gain control, which is the ultimate goal we are trying to achieve.”

The researchers have been collecting bed bugs for their studies from across Australia, including Cairns.

Mr Lilly said the pests did not discriminate between different types of accommodation.

“You find them everywhere from backpacker hostels, all the way through to five-star resorts,’’ he said.

“This is mirrored across the world as well.”

Cairns Pest Control owner John O’Grady welcomed any new developments to assist in bed bug eradication.

“It’s common knowledge in the pest control industry that bed bugs are very, very difficult to control with insecticides,’’ he said. “They’re definitely becoming resistant to most insecticides.”

Palatine Public Library Closed Thursday for Possible Bed Bug Infestation Source

Updated at 3:41 PM CDT on Thursday, Jul 9, 2015
bedbug_042211

The Palatine Public Library was closed Thursday due to a possible bed bug infestation.
Library staff said they found two dead bed bugs in the main library Wednesday evening. Both bugs were discovered on an isolated table in the library’s main room, staff said.
“While only two bugs were found, the Library is exercising all due diligence and has scheduled a complete and thorough inspection of the 90,000 square-foot building for Thursday, July 9, 2015,” the library announced in a Thursday release on the closing.
All programs and events scheduled for the day at the main library at 700 N. North Ct. have been canceled for the inspection.
The library’s Hoffman Estates location at 3600 Lexington Dr. in Hoffman Estates, and the Rand Road branch, located at 1585 Rand Rd. in Palatine, will remain open.
Bed bugs are not new to the Chicago area, as the city topped the list of Orkin’s top 50 worst cities for bed bugs for the third year in a row in January.
Orkin ranked U.S. cities by the number of bed bug treatments they performed from January to December in 2014. In Chicago, treatments were reported in a number of skin-crawling locations, including public transit vehicles, downtown office buildings, police headquarters, a fire station, a school, a library and a movie theater, according to Orkin.
“Bed bugs are a serious issue across the country, and they’re very difficult to control,” Ron Harrison, an Orkin entomologist and director of technical services said. “Bed bugs are not limited to any level of cleanliness or income, which means they can be found in any home or hotel. They’re great hitchhikers, and people often bring them inside on their clothes or in their luggage.”
To accommodate for the increase in bed bugs in recent years, the Orkin study showed that Americans are spending significantly more to eliminate bed bugs. In 2013, Americans spent $446 million on bed bug treatment compared to just $70 million in 2004.
Bed bugs are not known to spread human disease like other insects, but they can leave an affected person’s skin itchy and covered in bloody welts.
“Palatine Library is taking a strong proactive approach to resolve this incident quickly, and will continue to monitor and mitigate the issue to minimize patron contact. No incidents of bites or evidence bug detritus have been reported,” the library’s staff wrote.
Palatine’s main library is expected to reopen for normal hours on Friday.

Source: http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/Suburban-Library-Closed-Thursday-for-Possible-Bed-Bug-Infestation-312993501.html#ixzz3fVQ7cu45
Follow us: @nbcchicago on Twitter | nbcchicago on Facebook

Bed Bug Prevention When Traveling

Bed Bug Prevention When Traveling

If you stay in a hotel or motel, keep these bed bug travel tips in mind. it is important that you take some precautions to ensure that your room is bed-bug free before you settle in. In a recent survey by NPMA, 75% of pest control professionals indicated that they have encountered infestations of bed bugs in hotels and motels. The NPMA recommends the following tips for bed bug prevention when traveling:
At hotels, pull back the sheets and inspect the mattress seams, particularly at the corners, for telltale stains or spots. If you see anything suspect, notify management and change rooms/establishments immediately.
Thoroughly inspect the entire room before unpacking, including behind the headboard and in sofas/chairs. If any pests are spotted, change rooms/establishments immediately.
If you do need to change rooms, be sure that you do not move to a room adjacent and/or directly above/below the suspected infestation. Bed bugs can easily hitchhike via housekeeping carts, luggage and even through wall sockets. If an infestation is spreading, it typically does so in the rooms closest to the origin.
Consider placing your suitcase in a plastic trash bag or protective cover during the duration of your trip to ensure that bed bugs cannot take up residence there prior to departure.
Remember: bed bugs travel by hitching rides. After your trip, inspect your suitcases before bringing them into the house. Vacuum your suitcase thoroughly before storing away. Consider using a garment hand steamer to steam your luggage, which will kill any bed bugs or eggs that may have hitched a ride home.
Wash all of your clothes – even those that have not been worn – in hot water to ensure that any bed bugs that may have made it that far are not placed into your drawers/closet.

Need help in a hurry? Request a Quote Now!

    PhoneEmail