RI, MA EHS Pest Control Blog

Local Man Burns Mattress, Claims Bed Bug Infestation

Health inspectors found no evidence of bed bugs in rooms at the Franklin Motel even after an alleged infestation caused a local man to burn a mattress.

The man, Fred Fehrmann, 48, of Marshalltown, burned the mattress after a coworker called him to the motel for assistance, and he and his wife discovered the mattress was rife with bed bugs.

Tuesday's incident marks the third accusation of bed bugs at the motel, 1108 Iowa Ave. W., since May 31, according to Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals. Inspectors found no evidence of bed bugs in any of the three inspections.

Still, Laura Fehrmann, Fred's wife, tells a different story.

When she and her husband went over to aid the coworker, she said, she couldn't believe how bad the parasitic infestation was.

"I was so dumbfounded. I was at a loss for words," she said.

Even after her husband got home from burning the mattress, she made him take his clothes off outside their home and leave them in a bucket of oil, she said.

David Werning, a spokesperson for the Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals, said his department treats every complaint as if it were legitimate and requires the owner to show proof that he or she has called in an exterminator, something Franklin Motel owner, James Hostetter, had not done for the two previous complaints.

After the Thursday inspection, Inspections and Appeals required the owner to provide monthly invoices from a pest control agency showing that he is taking the appropriate measures.

"We aren't taking anyone's word for it," Werning said.

Although the inspector found no evidence of bed bugs, Werning acknowledged that the insects are nocturnal and hard to spot during the day.

Fehrmann said she put her husband up to burning the mattress because she was concerned for the welfare of the residents' 2-year-old child.

"The manager didn't care at all," she said. "He said 'you guys brought them in and you need to take care of them.'"

Franklin Motel's manager declined to comment for this story.

An incident report at the Marshalltown Police Department confirms Fehrmann's husband, Fred, started the fire, which, according to the report, could land him a reckless use of fire charge, a simple misdemeanor.

"It's not legal to burn a mattress," said Fire Marshal Deb Lundgren.

The fire was relatively small, Lundgren said, and only took firefighters a few minutes to extinguish.

As of Friday morning, MPD reports do not indicate police have arrested Fred Fehrmann.

Fehrmann said she and her husband will deal with any consequences. In fact, she was the one who called the police and fire departments. Whatever the fallout it will be a far shot better than letting the family sleep on the floor, which is what she said they had been doing for some time.

"People need to know how bad the situation is," Fehrmann said of the numerous complaints about bed bugs at the motel.

The mattress belonged to the owner of the motel, who is in the process of evicting the couple, Werning said.

George Williams,
General Manager - Staff Entomologist

Pest Control, RI, Pest Control, MA

This is happening more and more! The company below is linked to the Massachusetts company that did the same exact illegal actions. They broke the law by using a product inconsistent with its labeling. They used an agricultural-exterior product indoors plus not labeled to be used for bedbugs!!! They also used undocumented citizens (illegal aliens) for the labor.

Bottom line is that if you choose a company based soley on the cheapest price you get what you deserve! Bedbugs require expertise and a company with experience + integrity. That plus you should always check their licenses, references, web site, member of local and national pest management associations, etc. YOU GET THAT PLUS SO MUCH MORE WITH EHS….the industry leader in bedbug elimination.

DEP Fines Newark Company $860K for Using Hazardous Chemicals While Spraying for Bedbugs

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has levied a $860,000 fine against Newark-based TVF Pest Control for “misapplication of hazardous pesticides in residences to control bedbugs” during work done in Jersey City and other locations.

The fine comes on the heels of a DEP investigation last summer that found TVF used chemicals not appropriate for indoor use in at least 50 residences and apartments in Hudson, Essex, Hudson and Union counties between January and June 2010.

In addition to the main fine, the DEP is looking to permanently revoke TVF’s pesticide business license and the individual applicator licenses for owner Josimar Ferreira and employee Javier Godoy. The DEP also has charged TVF $10,625 for the cost of the department’s chemical sampling in this matter, and levied a $10,000 penalty against TVF corporate officer Marta Braga for an applicator licensing violation. TVF and the individuals may continue to operate pending the outcome of an administrative hearing, provided a request for a hearing is filed with DEP within 35 days.

“This is an issue of public health and welfare,” DEP commissioner Bob Martin says in a statement. “The DEP is sending a strong and clear message in this case that when companies put residents at risk by intentionally misusing pesticides in dealing with bedbugs they will be dealt with severely.”

The DEP’s investigation, which began after Massachusetts officials told DEP officials that TVF was the subject of a federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) probe in that state, found that the company was spraying Malathion and Carbaryl inside homes and apartments, both of which are hazardous chemicals not approved for indoor use.

“We want pest control companies and individuals to address the bedbug problem in a safe, responsible manner,” Martin says. “They should use only registered pesticides and employing smart, approved housekeeping practices and non-pesticide techniques to control the troubling insects.”

In announcing the fines, the DEP points out that New Jersey residents have the right to obtain notification information from companies to identify chemicals used to control pests in their residences.

“The DEP urges residents to arm themselves with information about pesticides used in their homes,” DEP assistant commissioner for compliance and enforcement Wolf Skacel says in a statement. “Also, we are cautioning that pesticides can only be used in strict accordance with the product label. Persistent bedbug problems sometimes prompt companies or desperate residents to use substances that can create hazardous situations, leading to potential health problems that are far more serious than bedbug bites.”

If TVF has applied liquid spray to control bedbugs in your residence prior to July 2010 and no one has contacted you yet, the DEP wants to hear from you immediately at 609-984-6513 (or 609-984-6914 for Spanish speakers).

George Williams,
General Manager - Staff Entomologist

Pest Control, RI, Pest Control, MA 

Tiff over bed bugs leads to stabbing.

A tiff over bed bugs ended with a man suffering a serious stab wound, police say.

Thurmell Maley, 42, was being held Sunday in the Hamilton County Justice Center on a felonious assault charge after an incident that was reported Saturday at Maley's home in the 2600 block of Burnet Avenue here.

Maley used a kitchen knife to stab Anthony Rice in the left side of his stomach and back area, "following a verbal altercation over (Maley) having bed bugs," police and court records say.

Rice suffered serious physical harm, a court document says, but no further information on his condition was immediately available.

Maley is to appear in Hamilton County Municipal Court at 9 a.m. Monday.

George Williams,
General Manager - Staff Entomologist

Pest Control, RI, Pest Control, MA 

Bedbugs Take Cheer out of School Trip

A cheerleading squad that checked into the Quality Inn said they found numerous bed bugs and evidence of bed bugs in more than one room. Friday, they drove six hours to the Grand Rapids area for an early Saturday competition and discovered bedbugs in their room.

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

Waldorf Astoria is Haven for Bedbugs! Md. Tourist Third to Sue Famed Hotel for Bloodsucker 'Attack'

A Maryland woman is suing the Waldorf Astoria for $10 million because, she says, she awoke at the fancy hotel and found bedbugs all over her body.

Svetlana Tendler is the third tourist since last year to sue the famed Park Ave. hotel over a nasty encounter with the tiny bloodsuckers.

"I felt like I was eaten alive by bedbugs, which have attacked my body," she said.

Tendler, her husband, Jacob, and their two kids stayed at the hotel in August 2007, the suit says.

One morning, she awoke to a nasty bedbug attack.

Photographs released by her lawyer, Anna Carley, show bites on Tendler's arms and legs.

"The defendants did nothing to assist plaintiff, Svetlana Tendler, in treatment of ... bed bites or fumigation of [her] luggage," says the suit, filed in Manhattan Supreme Court.

Tendler, of Owings Mill, Md., initially filed a summons against the hotel in August.

She filed a new, detailed complaint this week.

A Michigan woman who says bedbugs attacked her during a family vacation sued the hotel in November.

The hotel also was sued in October by a woman whose 6-year-old daughter said she was victimized by bedbugs during a visit last February.

Hilton Worldwide, which owns the Waldorf Astoria, declined to comment.

Source = NY Daily News

George Williams,
General Manager - Staff Entomologist

Pest Control, RI, Pest Control, MA

Click on Image to Enlarge

There are things that we see in our industry that are pest impressive to down right jaw dropping disgusting. This fits both those tags!

Here is the story...

40 unit commercial apartment building. Report of bedbugs in two units on two floors. I get there and find both units were positive for bedbugs, just minor activity. After questioning the two tenants plus the superintendent there was nothing conclusive as to why they had bedbugs. Best to inspect abutting units to see if there is anything else going on. I asked to get into unit “3-A” to which the superintendent responded “Joe has lived there for 15yrs and has never once complained about pests or anything.”

I replied, “Exactly the reason why I need to get in there.” The second “Joe” opened the door we found the epicenter of the bedbug problem. There was not ONE SQUARE INCH of the apartment that did not have bedbugs!!! This was a problem that was at least 3yrs old if not longer.

The picture you see is his comforter with tons of live bedbug, eggs, cast skins, fecal matter, etc. YEARS WORTH! Needless to say he was causing bedbugs in adjoining units, even more proof that pests don’t know property lines! This was a perfect example of your neighbors pest issue becoming yours. EHS brought in our K-9 bedbug detection team to sweep all 40 units. What started as two units with bedbugs became six units with confirmed bedbugs. No worries, EHS eliminated the bedbugs.

George Williams,
General Manager - Staff Entomologist

Pest Control, RI, Pest Control, MA