Boom in tiny bedbugs is causing big trouble: (May 15, 2009)
http://news.yahoo.com/s/mcclatchy/20090515/sc_mcclatchy/3234191_1
The biggest bedbug outbreak since World War II has sent a collective shudder among apartment dwellers, college students and business travelers across the nation.
The bugs — reddish brown, flat and about the size of a grain of rice — suck human blood. They resist many pesticides and spread quickly in certain mattress-heavy buildings, such as hotels, dormitories and apartment complexes.
Two shelters have closed temporarily in Charlotte, N.C. , because of bedbugs, a Yahoo chat group dedicates itself to sufferers and countless bedbug blogs provide forums for news, tips and commiseration. State inspectors say that more emphasis may be needed to tackle the creatures.
Federal officials have taken notice of the resurgence. Last month, the Environmental Protection Agency held its first-ever bedbug summit, and now a North Carolina congressman wants to take on the insect.
Democratic Rep. G.K. Butterfield just introduced legislation that would authorize $50 million that's already in the Department of Commerce budget to train health inspectors how to recognize signs of the insects.
15 years
I wonder if this means Health Inspectors will start to Randomly inspect lodging operations like Hotels, B&B's, Inn's & Hostel's? Health Inspectors do surprise inspections for Restuarants all the time, and for good reason. I do not see Bed Bugs as a Public Health issue, rather a guest service one.
15 years
I do not see Bed Bugs as a Public Health issue, rather a guest service one.
Well... I think hostels would benefit if those places doing absolutely nothing about the problem would be shut down.
I remember when Busabout used a hostel in Prague with a massive bedbug problem. Apparently, the management didn´t care. Prague is their last stop before Vienna. That meant for us: one busload full of infested travellers checking in every other day.
We should have welcomed the coaches dressed in airtight banana suits and sprayed the guests before they walked in. :D
15 years
I wonder how the Department of Health will practice Bed Bug control? Will they require all Lodgeing operations to maintain a Log that records all guest complaints involving Bed Bugs? If any body needs training to look for signs of Bed Bugs it is the Housekeeping staff.
15 years
Patrick - if you have bed bugs you will very quickly learn about it - from the guests. Check that it really is a bed bug problem - small clusters of 10 or so bites. A lot of the time it is a problem with flies or mosquitoes.
Wishing you a bug free season - it's not fun!
15 years
I already know what a Bed Bug bites looks like as I have seen it before on myself and from guests that come to the front desk with complaints. My posting was a question on how might The Department of Health will go about inspections and enforcement of properties that do nothing about this growing problem. $50M sounds like alot of money to folks like us, but when you think of all the Lodging properties in all the States it is a drop in the Ocean. I am definetly not advocating a position of ignoring the problem, that would be insanity.
14 years
Note: I branched some of the off-topic posts to a new thread here: http://www.hostelmanagement.com/forums/bbxeliminator-bed-bugs.html
Related Pages
Log in to join discussion