1/11/2012 Indiana Woman Hospitalized Over Bedbugs

A Jeffersonville woman said her 81-year-old sister was hospitalized after receiving severe bedbug bites.Bedbugs are commonly found in apartment complexes,, and the Health Department said one Jeffersonville building has gotten several bed bug complaints.

“These people are actually paying to live with bedbugs,” said Mary Hanley, the sister of a bedbug victim.Hanley’s said her 81-year-old sister was just released from the hospital after suffering severe bedbug bites.Hanley’s sister’s back is red and splotchy and the family said she got the bedbugs at her apartment in the Claysburg Towers in Jeffersonville.“They’re terrible. We pulled it back and it’s like moving, the sheets are moving. It was terrible, horrible,” Hanley said.

The Health Department said bedbugs don’t actually transmit diseases, like mosquitoes, but they do draw blood and hospitals stays because of their effects aren’t unheard of.

“Some cases we have heard of people being hospitalized for secondary infections, not necessarily because of the bedbug and what it did, the bite and the scratching that happened later could’ve caused the issues,” said Doug Bentfield with the Clark County Health Department.The tower’s management declined to comment on the issue, but the Clark County Health Department said since 2009 eight cases of bedbugs have been reported at Claysburg Tower, a public housing complex which is home to low-income seniors and residents on disability.

“Me and my sister went over to her apartment and pulled her covers back and they were just crawling everywhere and we were so scared. We’ve never seen those before and then she had blood all over her sheets where she had just been laying there,” Hanley said.

“It’s got nothing to do with the cleanliness of the environment or anything. It’s got everything to do with, were you in contact with an area that just happens to have them?” Bentfield said.Hanley said her sister, who has Alzheimer’s, was one of the original residents in the building and that many family members have lived there in the past. She claimed they’ve never had a problem there before.“They weren’t on that floor yet. They’re going floor by floor evidently, but they should have been doing better than this. It should have never gotten to that point,” Hanley said.“The problem with apartment complexes is everybody has to get on the same page so if there’s a dwelling that has 40 different families in it, you can’t just treat one apartment. You have to actually treat the entire facility,” Bentfield said.Hanley said she was told management is taking steps to remove the bugs, but her sister plans on moving out.“She’s coming out of there. I’m taking her out. She can’t stay there,” Hanley said.Hanley said though her sister will move out of the Claysburg Towers, they’re too scared to bring her things with her.

The Health Department said the best way to avoid acquiring bedbugs is to use extra caution when buying used furniture. At hotels, keep personal items away from upholstered surfaces and walls and check the bed for signs of the bugs before getting in.

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12/6/2011 Bedbugs Infest Tampa Fire Station For Months

If you’re a firefighter, you’re used to fighting a familiar foe, but one Tampa fire station has been dealing with a much smaller enemy: Bed bugs.

“The bed bug issue was brought to our attention in the middle part of September,” said Tampa Fire Assistant Chief Nick Locicero.

The firefighters at Fire Station 15 on South Himes aren’t sure where the creepy critters came from, but they’re certainly ready for their unwanted house guests to go away.

“They don’t like the infestation, nobody would, but yeah, they are working with us as much as possible,” Locicero said.

The bugs were discovered in the dorm where the 18 firefighters at the station sleep.

That room is now off limits, so many of the firefighters have to sleep in the lounge area on couches and cots.

Despite the somewhat cramped quarters and inconvenience, Tampa fire officials say they’re handling it like pros.

“They’re still doing a fabulous job,” Locicero said. “They know that they have a task at hand responding to calls so they’re making their way through it.”

So, where did they come from?

It’s believed someone picked them up at one of the various calls the firefighters respond to, but they’ll never know for sure.

Local exterminators say bed bugs are keeping them busy.

“It is extremely common for us to get bedbug calls three to four times a week,” said David Nelson of Neslon Pest Control.

The experts say if you think you have a bed-bug problem call a professional immediately.

Back at fire station 15, they’re fighting their new enemy with an enemy they know.

“There’s a heat treatment that is provided, and basically, that is one of things that really does eradicate the pest is a high-heat environment, so we did that not once but twice,” Locicero said.

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12/2/2011 Should Tenants Or Landlords Pay For Bedbug Treatment?

The bed bug problem across the country has gotten so bad that many property managers have added “dead bug addendums” to their leases, according to Gold Seal Termite and Pest Control in Indianapolis. It is to relieve companies of the high costs associated with getting rid of them.
However, what if bed bugs are not specified in a lease? Who pays for the costly treatment?
Misty Brooks, a mother of two, noticed bed bugs in her daughter Kaley’s bed in July.
“I went to go change my daughter’s linens and I saw a bunch of bugs in there and it just grossed me out,” said Brooks.
When Fox59 visited the apartment, we could see blood spots around the outlet, in the corners of the kids’ room and live bugs were crawling around the walls.

“They’re on the beds, they’re on the walls, and you can see them on the walls,” said Brooks. “It is disgusting.”

Brooks told Fox59 managers at the Sawmill Apartments did send a company to get rid of the bugs in July. However, the process did not work and the bed bugs remain.

Brooks said she was then told it was her responsibility to have the apartment treated and that she must have brought bed bugs when she moved in last December.  She believes the problem is complex-wide because of how often pest control workers show up.

“I’ve seen them outside of apartment over there, apartments in the front of the complex, sitting right outside the building, so I know we’re not the only apartment that has them,” said Brooks as she pointed in all directions of the complex.

So, who pays to have the bed bugs removed? It depends on your interpretation of the lease.

The lease states: The owner has the right to exterminate any infested apartment. The lessee may be asked to remove portions of their personal belongings for pest control treatment. In the event that pest control treatment is required due to an infestation caused by the lessee’s abuse or negligence, use of the premises, then the lessee will be responsible for the cost of pest control treatment in the leased apartment unit and any adjoining apartment units and or the common areas of the building.

Fox59 went to the leasing office at the Sawmill Apartments. We were kicked out and sent to Magna Properties, the management company.

There, Mike Abdalla, Magna’s president, said he was going to call security if Fox59 did not leave after we asked about the bed bug problem.

On the phone, Abdalla said they remediate bed bugs for residents initially and give them literature on how to solve the problem further.  He said if they are notified of a problem, they will fix it.

Brooks will likely move when the lease is up but everything is infested.

“We’re going to have to start all over, we’re going to have to throw everything out,” said Brooks.

She is still waiting for answers from Magna properties.

“My son, he always tells me there are bugs on his bed and it makes me want to cry,” said Brooks. “You know, he shouldn’t have to live like that. He shouldn’t have to get bitten up because they don’t’ want to deal with their problems.”

According to Gold Seal Termite and Pest Control, prices to get rid of bed bugs range from $300 to $1,000.

Abdalla said he would call Fox59 back to tell us what he was going to do to fix the situation for Brooks and the rest of the residents. However, he never called back and did not return our calls.

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