In continuation from Wednesday…

Horrified, the hotel’s executive manager asked if I was there to investigate the hotel for a story.  I told no, that in fact I was in town for the singing convention.  I did tell her that I found something terrible in my hotel room that needed addressed immediately.  I then opened up the folded cardboard that I was carrying and explained to her that they were Cimex Lectularius, otherwise known as bed bugs!  I told her that I would require a new room; far away from the room I had been assigned.  I also asked if my new room could be sprayed for bed bugs since I knew that that hotel had an infestation problem.  The executive manager quickly agreed to my request and assigned me a fabulous suite far away from the bed bug nightmare in room 2112…hopefully!

I was assured that pest control would be called immediately and that the room, along with the rooms on either side of 2112, would be in quarantine while the “situation” was being handled. I did ask the hotel if they ever used a bed bug sniffing dog at their establishment.  I explained how dogs are far more accurate at finding infestations than humans are.  She said that their pest control company employs a beagle.

I arrived at my new suite and spent the next hour inspecting for bed bugs.  This room appeared to be in the clear, but as long as pest control was paying a visit, I would sleep better knowing that my new room was treated for bed bugs too!

Upon inspecting my new room, I did find something under the head board that I was not anticipating seeing…a mouse trap!  When I left the hotel later that day to head over to the convention, I asked the executive manager if they were having a mice infestation problem.  She looked terrified as she asked if my new room had a mouse in it.  I then asked if it was customary to leave mice traps in the guest rooms.  She of course said “no” and hung her head in disgust…first bed bugs and now a mouse trap!  When I arrived back at my suite, the mouse trap was removed.  Left on the granite bar was a huge gift bag filled with scrumptious chocolates, candy, drinks, delicious snacks, and a note of apology for the “incident in room 2112”.

Stay tuned for more bed bug adventures in Philadelphia! There’s more than just one hotel in Philadelphia with bed bugs!

Continuing from Monday…

I took note of the fact that the hotel did not use a Climbup Insect Interceptor or a Mattress Encasement, both of which could help protect customers from bed bugs.

It was then time to tackle the bed.  It was a beautiful pillow top bed, covered in a white goose down comforter and white sheets.  I flipped all of the bedding to the center of the bed and began my inspection.  I quickly realized that I was in trouble…there was a suspicious pile of black pepper like debris sandwiched in between the pillow top layers near the foot of the bed.

Despite what I saw, and all that I know about bed bugs, I was in denial about the fact that I was likely looking at a pile of bed bug excrement.  I took a piece of cardboard advertisement from the room and folded it up like a box and began to gather the pieces of my find with tweezers.  Still in denial, I tried to convince myself that what I was picking up was some sort of crumbs…only how could they have gotten under the sheet in between the pillow top?  Logic prevailed and I continued my search in hopes of finding an actual bed bug to confront the hotel management with.  It did not take long for me to unearth several bed bugs, in several different stages of their life cycle.  The bugs clearly had a face and legs.  One was dead, several were alive.  I folded up my evidence, gathered my belongings, and quickly exited the once pristine room.

On the way to the lobby a nice lady in a suit entered the elevator.  She asked me if I was leaving the hotel.  I said “no, I just arrived”.  Just then the doors opened and more people boarded the elevator.  She looked at me with a confused look and asked “Is there a problem with your room?” I told her “Yes, but you might want to speak to me in private.”  We silently rode to the bottom and she asked if I could follow her to a private location.  It was then that I told her that I worked in the pest control industry.  I also told her that I am a writer.

Please check back on Friday for the conclusion.

In continuation from Wednesday…

Everything was going along quite nicely in my conversation with the staff member, so I decided to ask the dreaded question…”Do you have a bed bug infestation problem at your hotel?”  I really did not expect her to say, “well, yes Mrs. ‘C’ we do have bed bugs, come on down!”  As always, I was curious to see what her reaction to my question would be.  As is usually the case, she did not disappoint!  This kind woman spent five minutes telling me that they don’t have bed bugs because they are a very clean establishment and that they change their sheets and towels every day.  She said that they pride themselves on keeping the room dust free and clean the windows…and other nonsense that had nothing to do with a bed bug infestation.  So after she rambled on a bit, I politely told her that having bed bugs had nothing to do with being cleanly.  I told her that bed bugs were a blood sucking parasite that could be found in flea bag motels and 5 star hotels.  I then asked her if the cleaning staff was trained to look for bed bugs each time they cleaned the guest rooms.  After a long pause, she said “Mrs. C”, why exactly do they call them bed bugs; do they live in the bed?”  It was then that I knew I was in trouble.

I then spent the next 15 minutes educating the reservation staff member about bed bugs.  She was very thankful for the information that I gave her once I was done.  The last thing she asked me was “is it wrong for me to be itching right now?”  I responded by telling her “nope, bed bugs do that to a person!”  So beware; if you are traveling, your hotel staff might not even know what bed bugs are.  It’s up to you to ask the right questions and look for bed bugs yourself because you cannot be guaranteed that the staff has received the education they should have been given.

Stay tuned for more Vacation Follies.  Bed bugs are in Philadelphia, not just New York City!  It was a bed bug filled adventure!

Countries all over the world have bed bug infestations. Some of the major reasons are international travel, changes in pest management procedures, immigration and pesticide resistance.

A large number of bed bug infestations have been reported to government officials in New York City but the actual number of infestations is much higher since a lot of New York City residents don’t file a complaint with the government.

Once the little critters find a home in an apartment unit they can easily invade neighboring units. A lot of people have bed bugs but they don’t realize it because they don’t get a skin reaction to the bites. This can be a big problem in apartment buildings since people that don’t get a skin reaction don’t complain about bed bugs to the apartment manager which gives ample time for the bed bugs to invade other units. Also some people believe they have mosquito bites when they are actually bed bug bites.

Bed bug monitors are an important part of a comprehensive bed bug prevention plan.

A pest extermination company located in Manhattan claimed that the commercial market for bed bug treatments is growing three times faster than the residential market. Yes indeed, bed bugs are invading hotels, banks, hospitals, offices and perhaps even haberdashery shops at a fast pace. Restaurants are also having bed bug infestations. Retail shops are also having problems with the odious insects. They seem to be everywhere.

What can people do in their battle against the horrible bed bugs? Well, don’t put used furniture in your residence, especially the furniture dumped along roads. People dump the furniture not because they find it boring but often because it is infested with bed bugs.

Bed bug monitors are very effective at providing early detection that the little critters have invaded your residence. If you think you have a bed bug infestation hire the services of a bed bug pest control company that provides the services of highly trained bed bud detection dogs. They are superior to humans at finding bed bugs.

Continuing from Thursday…

Not only is Josimar Ferreira accused of operating a Massachusetts extermination company without being certified, but it has been reported that he has also allegedly maintained pest control companies in New Jersey and New York as well.  Both New Jersey and New York have cited Ferreira for operating an unlicensed pesticide business.  It makes you wonder how he is able to obtain toxic pesticides, without being properly licensed.  Clearly there was a breakdown…in three states!

Stern Environmental Group has been providing expert bed bug and pest control services in New Jersey and New York for over ten years.  We pride ourselves on providing our customers with the safest pesticide application available, and offer a wide variety of services and products to meet many different types of needs.  We offer professional services to both residential and business customers alike.  Whether you are looking for help with bed bugs, rats, mice, squirrels, raccoons, groundhogs, ants, spiders, cockroaches, or bee control, Stern Environmental Group’s licensed pest control applicators are here to lend a helping hand!

Residents of New York City and New Jersey and other places may be interested to know that scientists have been analyzing bed bug saliva protein. Sounds exciting! Well the saliva proteins are the reason why bed bugs can suck blood out of their human victims and be able to escape and not get smashed by their human blood meal. The findings of scientists may have medical applications in diagnosing bed bug bites as well as preventing itching.

The proteins in the saliva of these blood sucking insects make the blood vessels of their victims dilate which creates a better blood flow, inhibit clotting and also prevents people from immediately feeling pain and itching that could wake up the human blood meal. The human would probably crush the odious bed bugs.

Some scientists believe that the proteins contained in bed bug saliva may be utilized for immune detection of humans and animals to bed bug exposure or as part of desensitization vaccines.

Bed bug monitors are an important part of a comprehensive bed bug prevention plan.

It’s important for anyone who applies pesticides to be licensed by the state that they are working in so that officials can make certain that the proper chemicals are used at all times, in the correct scenarios that they are intended for.  When used improperly, people are at risk of becoming ill, and in some instances, even death can occur from over-exposure to poisonous chemicals.

A Massachusetts man, who was running a pest control company, was recently arrested by federal authorities for using agricultural chemicals for bed bug infestation treatments.  As you all know, bed bugs are found on the inside of homes and business establishments; and this is where the man is accused of spraying the toxic chemicals.  People who have experienced his lack of expertise say that he did a poor extermination job when he visited their homes.  Not only did he leave an apartment uninhabitable due to over-spaying, he also sprayed a baby’s crib with the potentially harmful chemicals that he used!

Upon further discovery of Josimar Ferreira’s alleged crime, federal authorities have also announced that he has not been able to pass the certification test to even be in the pest control industry.  Ferreira, is a Brazilian national and is not in America legally.

Please check back on Tuesday for the conclusion.

A woman named Nancy LeClair said she spent hundreds of dollars in her fight with bed bugs. She said “The only reason I do not have them now is that I washed all my bedding, got rid of any and all furniture, much of which was fairly new and moved.” Perhaps some residents of New York City and New Jersey have basically done the same thing. Bed bug infestations can be expensive.

Unfortunately, people are still bringing in used furniture into there residences that they found along streets. People need to realize that some of the furniture was dumped because it has bed bugs! Even used furniture bought at used furniture stores may have bed bugs. Some of these stores don’t thoroughly check used furniture for bed bugs and don’t use proper techniques for eliminating the terrible insects.

People in New York City, New Jersey and elsewhere that have bed bugs need to have a bed bugs pest control company provide treatments. Sprays for roaches or ants won’t kill bed bugs.

Continuing from Thursday…

The trouble is that disinfecting a building will not get rid of bed bugs as an infestation is not caused by being unclean.  Even the cleanest five star hotels have been subjected to bed bug infestations.  The metal bunk beds could be a good solution, but since bed bugs are good at hiding, any crack, crevice, or even a screw hole is an invitation for bed bugs to await their next blood meal…the residents.  Bug bombs are not good to use on bed bug infestations.  Instead of killing off the pests, these stubborn blood suckers tend to scatter to surrounding rooms when bug bombs are used, thereby spreading the infestation faster.

Additionally, the Salvation Army is hoping that the heat that is generated in the box truck will be high enough to kill off the existing bed bugs that are infesting the bunk beds.  According to their spokesperson, the beds are due to be donated at a later date once the bugs are dead.

Because the resident’s belongings were not treated, there will likely be more bed bugs at the facility.  Bed bug monitors, bed bug sniffing dogs, and Cryonite are super effective in the war against bed bugs!