RI, MA EHS Pest Control Blog

Saying she was traumatized after suffering 25 bedbug bites in the fall at a Holiday Inn in North Carolina, a Spring Valley woman has filed a multimillion-dollar lawsuit against the company that operates the hotel chain.

Yvonne Rollins, 56, is suing InterContinental Hotels Group, seeking more than $7 million, alleging negligence, intentional infliction of emotional distress and breach of contract.

In a lawsuit filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in White Plains, Rollins says that the Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites in Laurinburg, N.C., had a duty to provide her a “vermin-free” room during her two-night stay in October as she visited the area for a family reunion.

According to the suit, Rollins awoke to her cell phone ringing on Oct. 19, turned on a light and saw “something run across her pillow.” That’s when she noticed welts on her left wrist, arm, and hand, as well as a “huge hickey” on her forehead.

When she pulled back the seam of the pillow case, “hundreds of bedbugs scurried out,” the suit says. Rollins, who was staying in the room with her aunt, screamed and ran to tell a man working at the front desk, who agreed to check it out.

“Yeah they’re bugs all right,” he told her, scooping them into a cup and photographing them, as he planned to take them to a manager. With no other rooms available, he offered Rollins sheets to change the bed, but she declined, staying on the second-floor with a relative.

“This isn’t a case about whether the hotel exterminated,” Alice T. Crowe, a lawyer for Rollins, said today. “This is a case about a hotel’s failing housekeeping practices.”

Rollins, who sought medical attention after the attack and was prescribed medication to treat anxiety, also suffered a “persistent nervous cough” because of the episode, the lawsuit filing says, adding that doctors also told her that her condition might compromise her recovery from breast cancer, since bedbugs are known to carry some pathogens.

“It becomes a concern to know that,” Crowe said.

Bennett Gershman, a law professor at Pace University, said when contacted by The Journal News/LoHud.com that such suits are usually about negotiating a settlement, rather than hoping to collect full damages — in this case more than $7 million.

But Crowe bristled at any such suggestion.

“What price would you put on someone’s dignity?” Crowe said.

Rollins, who works part time as a nurse, said in an interview today that she has mostly recovered from the incident.

“I’m hanging in there,” she said. “It happened in October so most of that has worn off, the effects.”

Rollins filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy in 2000 but said her financial affairs are in order and the lawsuit isn’t about money.

Officials at InterContinental Hotels Group could not immediately be reached for comment.

Bus Drivers Battling Bed Bugs

City bus drivers' union reports problem of infestation on city buses, while the Detroit Department of Transportation says the problem is not widespread.

The union representing Detroit's bus drivers has asked the City Council to put pressure on the transit agency to help stop the spread of bedbugs on buses.

About 50 Detroit Department of Transportation drivers have reported seeing the bugs on buses, and some have been bitten within the past year, said Henry Gaffney, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 26.

After receiving a letter from Gaffney in May, DDOT chief executive Ron Freeland said Thursday he asked a maintenance crew to investigate and sent a letter to the union later in the month saying any infested bus would be cleaned.

Freeland said the amount of bedbugs the crew has found so far in the cleaning process isn't unusual for a service with an average of 100,000 riders each day.

"I, personally, am not aware of any widespread problem," he said. "Where we do have problems, we are in fact dealing with it."

Any buses reported to have bedbugs will be cleaned and fumigated, Freeland said. If that doesn't kill them, the maintenance crew can put the vehicle in a paint booth and kill the bugs with heat.

That wasn't enough for Gaffney, though. He said DDOT should be taking preventive measures by treating all of the agency's terminals and coaches.

"If this continues to get bad, you can't force anybody to work in those types of conditions," he said. "It's not fair to the citizens either. Somebody's got to care somewhere in this city."

Bedbugs are flat, parasitic insects that feed on blood of people or animals, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. They are about a quarter-inch long and spread by latching on to people's clothes or luggage. Once in a home, the bugs hide in beds or other furniture, feed while people are sedentary and reproduce.

Their bites affect people similarly to that of a mosquito, said Erik Foster, medical entomologist for the state Department of Community Health.

"Bedbugs have been found in public transit, school buses, public buses, airplanes," Foster said.

It's unlikely that a bus would have a large infestation of bedbugs, however, because there isn't a great place for them to hide, Foster said.

For the past two months, Rainey Henley, a 17-year DDOT driver, has taken his clothes off immediately when he returns home from his shift. He then throws them in a clothes dryer with hopes the heat will kill any bed bugs.

Henley said he was bitten about two months ago and has seen at least three other bedbugs on different buses.

"It's terrifying, man," Henley said. "I bring 91-percent alcohol and spray my seat and around my driver area before I start."

Gaffney's letter — dated June 19 — was on the agenda Monday for the City Council's Public Health and Safety Committee, but Council President Pro-Tem Gary Brown, chairman of that committee, said Wednesday he hadn't heard anything about the issue.

"There are no bedbugs on DDOT buses," Brown said. "They can't live on a bus. People can bring them on, but they can't live on plastic chairs."

DDOT's customer service line hasn't received any calls within the past year from customers reporting bedbug sightings, Freeland said. He said he planned to have the operations' staff talk to drivers for more details, but he believes cleaning all buses and facilities is unnecessary.

"I think most transit agencies, not just DDOT, would tell you (they) tackle these problems as they occur," he said. "I think if we had a major problem we would know it."

Bedbugs started turning up in Michigan in 2006, and they began spreading rapidly at the start of 2008. The state Department of Community Health receives 15 to 20 calls a week reporting bedbugs, with most coming from southeast Michigan and many from Detroit, Foster said.

The department received funds to provide Detroiters with information about bedbugs, and will begin its outreach in the next couple of months, Foster said.

"When you have a high density of people and you have a high density of people living in multiunit housing, their ability to spread is great," he said, adding "the chance of them spreading is high unless … the infestations are being treated."

George Williams,
General Manager - Staff Entomologist

Pest Control, RI, Pest Control, MA 

Stabbing Follows Spraying for Bedbugs and Attack with 2 Vacuums and a Stool

A Lafayette man stabbed his roommate Saturday evening after an argument escalated into a physical fight while they were spraying for bedbugs, court documents allege.

Jeffrey Hale Ringen, 50, was charged Monday in Tippecanoe Circuit Court with battery by means of a deadly weapon, a Class C felony; criminal recklessness while armed with a deadly weapon, a Class D felony; and misdemeanor battery.

He was being held Monday afternoon in the Tippecanoe County Jail on a $10,000 surety bond, jail staff confirmed.

The victim, Timothy Murry, suffered stab wounds to his left hand and forearm, along with minor injuries to his lip and elbows.

He was treated at St. Elizabeth Central hospital and released, a hospital spokeswoman said Monday.

The incident took place about 6:30 p.m. Saturday in the 1400 block of Elizabeth Street.

According to a probable cause affidavit, Murry told officers that he and Ringen were spraying pesticides to kill bedbugs in their home.

But Murry refused to continue after Ringen cut himself and got blood on the sprayer while trying to remove a plastic piece from it.

This led to a fight in which Murry claimed that Ringen attacked him with two vacuums and a stool, then retrieved a hunting knife. Murry said the knife was aimed at his abdomen, but he managed to block the knife with his arm.

Ringen, however, claimed it was Murry who “jumped” on him, so he reciprocated. He admitted to grabbing a baseball bat to chase Murry from the home but denied stabbing him.

Officers found a knife, with what appeared to be spots of blood on the blade and handle, in a drawer. Ringen said he “might have” put the knife there.

George Williams,
General Manager - Staff Entomologist

Pest Control, RI, Pest Control, MA 

When it comes to battling bedbugs in your home, business, condo, school, hospital, apartment complex, etc. there is ONLY one choice and that is EHS!

Environmental Health Services, Inc. is widely known as an industry leader at bedbug elimination.

George Williams,
General Manager - Staff Entomologist

Pest Control, RI, Pest Control, MA 

Firefighters: Bedbug “Do It Yourself” Spray Causes Fire

A fire that engulfed an apartment in Colerain on Friday night was partially caused by the use of a common bedbug deterrent, fire officials said.

Colerain Township firefighters said they received a call at about 9:30 p.m. reporting a fire on a second floor apartment in the 3500 block of West Galbraith Road.

Firefighters said they brought the fire under control at about 9:50 p.m. with the help of fire crews from Springfield Township and Green Township fire departments.

Authorities said a family of six, including four children, was displaced and receiving assistance from the Red Cross.

Fire officials said the residents of the apartment were using isopropyl alcohol in a spray bottle to kill bedbugs. Officials said the home-remedy is common, but droplets formed by spraying the chemical dramatically increases the evaporation rate of the alcohol.

The vapor released is extremely flammable and was ignited by a cigarette, firefighters said.

No injuries were reported, firefighters said. The fire caused an estimated $30,000 in damage to the building and its contents.

George Williams,
General Manager - Staff Entomologist

Pest Control, RI, Pest Control, MA 

Cockroaches, Bed Bugs, Mold Spark $10M Lawsuit

A civil lawsuit alleging long-term substandard living conditions against the owner of the Cordova Estates apartments in Rancho Cordova is seeking $10 million in damages for 97 tenants.

"It's horrific. It's disgusting. I can't describe it. I was without heat for three years," said tenant Jessica Munoz, the named plaintiff in the lawsuit.

The lawsuit, filed this month, alleges that the property owner, Juvenal Campos, did not fulfill his duty to maintain habitable apartments for tenants paying $525 to $725 per month in rent.

A prepared statement sent by "the owners" of the property stated that they are trying to address issues in those apartments.

"We are disappointed by the filing of this lawsuit," read the statement which was signed "the owners".

Meanwhile, Rancho Cordova code inspectors stress Campos is facing a string of code violations based on a recent walk-through of the apartment complex.

"He is facing roughly 150 violations ... He could face fines in the hundreds of thousands of dollars if we continue to come out and things not be done," said Kerri Simpson, Rancho Cordova Code Enforcement officer.

City officials said they are working the property owner to fix the owner. However, Simpson said previous agreements to fix problems in the past failed.

George Williams,
General Manager - Staff Entomologist

Pest Control, RI, Pest Control, MA 

Tenant Starts Apartment fire Trying To Kill Bedbugs

A fire started in an apartment as the tenant used a cigarette lighter to chase bed bugs, police told 24 Hour News 8.

No one was injured and the blaze was contained to a bedroom, which sustained fire, smoke and water damage.

The fire was in a second-floor residence at Fox Ridge Apartments, 1400 Alamo Hills Dr. in Kalamazoo.

Members of the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety were dispatched around 6:35 p.m. Thursday and evacuated the building. They then extinguished the flames in 15 minutes.

The resident admitted to starting the fire and tried using a fire extinguisher but had to evacuate as the fire spread.

George Williams,
General Manager - Staff Entomologist

Pest Control, RI, Pest Control, MA 

A Hairy Body Can Mean the Bed Bugs Won't Bite (Because they Can't Get to the Skin)

Finding hairs in your food can be disgusting, and it seems that blood-sucking insects feel just the same.

Scientists have discovered that hairy people are better protected from parasites, as the hair makes it harder for the bugs to reach skin.

Bed bugs and other parasites such as mosquitoes, midges.

But as the insects search for somewhere to dive in, the nerves in hairs also increase the chances of them being felt on the skin and swatted away.

Researchers studied 29 brave volunteers who had one arm shaved before hungry bed bugs were placed on their skin

The results of the experiment showed that people with more hair - both longer hairs and fine, almost invisible 'vellus' hairs - were more protected.

Hair covering the arms extended each insect’s search for an ideal feeding ground, and increased the likelihood of it being detected.

Because of this, bed bugs and other parasites including mosquitoes, midges, ticks and leeches prefer relatively hairless areas such as the wrists and ankles, the scientists claim.

Study leader Professor Michael Siva-Jothy, from the University of Sheffield’s Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, said: 'Our findings show that more body hairs mean better detection of parasites.

'The hairs have nerves attached to them and provide us with the ability to detect displacement. By forming a barrier and providing detection, these hairs prolong search time and make detection more likely because the bug has to spend more time clambering over them.

'The results have implications for understanding why we look the way we do, what selective forces might have driven us to look the way we do, and may even provide insight for better understanding of how to reduce biting insects’ impact on humans.'

The findings may explain why humans have retained a body-covering of fine hair.

'Our proposal is that we retain the fine covering because it aids detection and if we lost all hair, even the relatively invisible fine hair, our detection ability goes right down,' said Prof Siva-Jothy.

The research is published today in the Royal Society journal Biology Letters. Prof Siva-Jothy said it would be wrong to assume women will always be bitten more often than hairier men.

He pointed out: 'Men have more body hair than women which is caused by the action of testosterone at puberty. This does not necessarily mean that women are more likely to be bitten.

'Blood-sucking insects are likely to have been selected to prefer to bite hosts in relatively hairless areas.”

The Sheffield scientists are investigating the biology, reproduction and immunity of blood-sucking insects.

Their aim is to find more effective ways of controlling parasitic insects and the diseases they spread.

George Williams,
General Manager - Staff Entomologist

Pest Control, RI, Pest Control, MA 

Judge Allows Class Action Lawsuit in Apartment Bedbug Case

A lawsuit alleging that managers of two Des Moines apartment buildings for the elderly and disabled turned a blind eye to a growing bedbug infestation for more than two years will now be allowed to proceed as a class action, a Polk County judge ruled Thursday.

Polk County Senior Judge Joel Novak certified the class in a 27-page ruling that’s expected to eventually spark new settlement talks between residents and the owners of Elsie Mason Manor and Ligutti Towers.

Lawyers for roughly 300 current and former residents of the low-income apartment buildings first filed the lawsuit in March 2010 seeking money for back rent, lost property and other hardships because of a bedbug problem stretching back to late 2007.

Residents at the time complained that they’d been repeatedly bitten, forced to discard infested furniture and shunned both by relatives and other landlords too afraid to rent to them. While some residents are believed to have escaped with only emotional damage and laundry bills, others suffered repeated property losses and medical costs.

“Everybody sleeps on the floor,” Elsie Mason resident Robert Hobbs said in an interview last year describing infested furniture. “You have to.”

Court papers say the bedbugs eventually were brought under control after building officials last year hired a new exterminating company that treated both facilities with 120-degree heat.

The head of American Baptist Homes of the Midwest, a Minnesota agency that manages the buildings for the First Baptist Elderly Housing Foundation in Johnston, has previously acknowledged mistakes by on-site managers — including failures to aggressively treat the infestation or to deal appropriately with resident complaints.

American Baptist President Dave Zwickey could not be reached for comment Thursday. He earlier has said the organization intends to settle with residents eventually, once court proceedings sort out who is owed money and how much.

According to Novak’s ruling, evidence presented so far indicates that several hundred possible plaintiffs share common complaints involving personal injury and misrepresentation by building management. Iowa law allows such cases to be handled together when they share common legal issues and when it would be impractical for each individual person to bring his or her own lawsuit.

“This case, in fact, seems to be the paradigm for when a class action is appropriate; a case attempting to vindicate the rights of a group of people who individually would be without effective strength to bring their opponents into court at all,” the judge ruled.

Plaintiffs’ attorney Jeffrey Lipman on Thursday described class certification as the case’s first major hurdle for residents attempting to show that their claim should be taken seriously.

“Conventional wisdom is that that’s your fight is class certification,” the lawyer said. “It’s a class action now.”

Source = associated press

Bed Bugs Make Jail An Even More Unpleasant Place To Be

The holding-cell area in the 120th Precinct station on Staten Island has been shut down as officials grapple with a bed bug infestation that has made conditions there unpleasant for prisoners. A defense attorney tells the Staten Island Advance that for months now bed bugs have been a problem in the holding cells, which are notoriously filthy. You may recall this dump from the story about the licensed massage therapist who was arrested and forced to clean an overflowing toilet at the station house before cops let her go without charging her. Looks like cops need to arrest a couple of exterminators now.

"There were some critters found in the area where the cell attendant works," one "NYPD insider" tells the Advance. "They’re trying to process as few people as they can through there," says another source. In a statement issued by the Department of Correction, a spokesperson says, "We are aware of concerns in the Staten Island 120 Precinct regarding bedbugs. DOC will have an exterminator go out tomorrow [Friday] to inspect our Staten Island court facilities [holding pens]. If there is a problem, we will arrange to treat the pens with a combination of steam and chemicals when the pens are empty — over the weekend."

Bedbugs have previously infiltrated the school system, the United Nations, district attorneys offices, and Howard Stern—so it was only a matter of time before they wound up in jail. But we think the city is going about this all wrong; they should be welcoming the bed bugs with open veins! Let them have the jail. Hell, let them have the whole precinct. Pack as many bed bugs in there as possible, then bomb the whole place back to the stone age. True, they'd probably survive that too, but it sure would feel good, wouldn't it?

Source: Gothamist.com

George Williams
General Manager - Staff Entomologist

Pest Control, RI, Pest Control, MA