We all know the old adage: “Good night, don’t let the bed bugs bite.” But who would imagine that there is a growing pest problem in some of the leading hotels where beg bugs are being identified and reported?
A new web site, www.bedbugregistry.com, is a useful tool to see up-to-date information from recent attacks at hotels and other locations around the country. The web site depends on visitors to report their bed bug experiences, sometimes even divulging the exact room number where the attack occurred. The site lists bed bug attacks by city, area, hotel name, and even provides a new email alert sent to your personal website address when addresses near you report bed bugs.
Perusing over the site, there are well-known hotels in large cities that charge top dollar for their rooms that have reported recent bed bug attacks. Some report problems in college student dorms, apartments, hospitals, and condos, along with the date of the attack and how the management staff did (or did not) handle the complaint. A map shows the area where the building or hotel is located along with a list of nearby sites that have been identified with bed bugs.
For those who are new to bed bug attacks, the little red brown insects hide in mattresses, bedding, or headboards and usually bite humans at night. The bites are characterized as red welts that itch and burn and can be found all over your body after a night’s sleep. Getting rid of the bed bugs can be difficult. The web site offers suggestions on how to be aware or rid yourself of bed bug outbreaks.
The problem was thought to be eradicated by the use of pesticides like DDT. But after it was banned in the U.S. in the 1970s, the problem has grown worse in the past year or two as bed bugs have traveled back to the U.S. Hotels are taking notice; later this month, the New York State Hospitality and Tourism Association has scheduled a Web seminar on bed bugs. The Pest Control Technology Group has two seminars on the bed bug problem scheduled in August for Boston and Orlando, Florida with speakers, pest control manufacturers, liability and legal discussions, and other information.
Learn how to check for bedbugs in hotels.
by Debora Toth at Long Island Travel Examiner