Yesterday’s post chronicled the woes of the Milford Plaza in Manhattan which is being sued by an unhappy couple who got nibbled on by bed bugs during their stay. It’s not the first hotel or motel to be sued by grossed-out guests and it won’t be the last. A lawsuit is expensive even if damages aren’t awarded. Here’s what hotel and motel managers need to know about bed bugs:

• Bed bugs hitch a ride into hotel rooms on guests’ clothing and luggage.
• A room that was bed bug free this morning can be infected in the afternoon by the arrival of a bug-carrying guest.
• Most of the bed bugs won’t leave with the guest. They’ll stay in and near the bed, nesting in the mattress, box springs, linens, carpeting, bed frame, baseboards, under wallpaper, nearby furniture, etc. and start to multiply.
• Bed bugs spread easily through electrical and plumbing conduits and voids, air ducts, elevator shafts, in laundry carts, even on the clothing of your housekeeping staff.
• If a room is infected, the rooms adjoining and above and below are likely to also be infected.

For more information on bed bugs, click here. You’ll find information on how to identify bed bugs, where to look for them, and how Stern Environmental can get rid of them for you.