Bed Bugs, the Last Thing Travelers Want to See in a Hotel Room, but Most People Can’t Identify Them.
According to an article in Entomology Today, most business and leisure travelers in the USA can’t identify a bed bug, even though the tiny pest evokes a stronger response in hotel guests than any other potential room issue putting the hospitality industry in a difficult spot.
In a recent survey of USA travelers conducted by researchers at the University of Kentucky, 60 percent of travelers said they would switch hotels if they found evidence of bed bugs in a guest room. However, no more than a quarter of respondents said they would switch hotels for factors such as signs of smoking or dirty towels or linens. In the same survey, just 35 percent of business travelers and 28 percent of leisure travelers correctly identified a bed bug in a lineup of other common insects. The results of the research are published today in American Entomologist, the quarterly magazine of the Entomological Society of America. A link is provided at the end of this article.
It is important to contact an experienced bed bug attorney if you have been affected by bed bugs in a commercial property. Contact us today for a free consultation.
The blood-sucking little monsters, bed bugs, are becoming resistant to common insecticides.
The Huffington Post reports that in the ongoing battle between bedbugs and the humans whose blood they suck, it seems the bugs may be winning — at least in some parts of the country.
After a recent list of the most bed bug infested cities in the USA was released by Terminix in February, new research conducted on bedbugs from homes in Cincinnati, Ohio, Jersey City, New Jersey, and Troy, Michigan, shows the pesky little bloodsuckers have become resistant to the insecticides commonly used to kill them. So, what do we do now?
“While we all want a powerful tool to fight bedbug infestations, what we are using as a chemical intervention is not working as effectively as it was designed to,” Dr. Troy Anderson, an assistant professor of entomology in the Virginia Tech College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and one of the scientists behind the research, said in a written statement.
The answer is more research is needed to determine whether bedbugs in other parts of the country have become resistant to the insecticides, a family of compounds known as neonicotinoids, or neonics. But that disturbing possibility might help explain the results of a recent online survey by the National Pest Management Association and the University of Kentucky, which showed that 64 percent of pest management professionals think bed bug infestations are on the rise.
Bed bug infestations seem to be something that will continue to be an issue in commercial and residential locations. If you or someone you know have been affected by bed bugs at any commercial property or facility, please contact our lawyers for a FREE case evaluation.
USA Today reported that 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.
If you or someone you know have been affected by bed bugs at any commercial property or facility, please contact our lawyers for a FREE case evaluation.
A recent report released by Terminix and reported by Inquirer.net shows the most bed bug infested cities in the country. Ohio came in first with two of their largest cities, Cleveland and Cincinnati. Houston came in 6th place on this list Terminix compiled from by looking at the number of bed bug service requests the company received during the first half of 2017.
Cleveland, Ohio
Cincinnati, Ohio
Detroit, Michigan
Las Vegas, Nevada
Denver, Colorado
Houston, Texas
Phoenix, Ariz.
Indianapolis, Ind.
Oklahoma City, Okla.
Philadelphia, Pa.
Baltimore, Md.
Pittsburgh, Pa.
Washington DC
Tucson, Ariz.
San Francisco, Calif.
St. Louis, Mo.
Atlanta, Ga.
Tampa, Fla.
Memphis, Tenn.
San Diego, Calif.
Staying in a hotel in any of the above cities? Look out for reddish-brown blood spots on sheets or mattresses, a strong musty odor, or signs of the creepy-crawlies themselves which are the size, shape and color of an apple seed.
If you or someone you know have been affected by bed bugs at any commercial property or facility in Texas, please contact our lawyers for a FREE case evaluation.
