Bedbugs attack at Manayunk movie theater, lawsuit claims

philly (2014) explained,
An East Germantown woman's cinema outing morphed into a real-life creature feature when she was “aggressively attacked” by bedbugs at a local movie theater, according to a lawsuit filed Monday in the civil division of the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas.

Sabrina Hammond attended the United Artists Main Street Theatre 6 in Manayunk on Sept. 28, 2013, according to the complaint. While there, she became fodder for a hoard of bloodthirsty bedbugs, the lawsuit claims.

Hammond allegedly suffered serious parasite-related injuries to the head, body and extremities, “including, but not limited to bites on her legs and buttocks, and a severe shock to the nerves and nervous system,” according to the suit.

The complaint claims the damage has interfered with Hammond’s daily routine and may be permanent. Hammond will have to continue to spend money on medical treatment in the future, the suit alleges.

Both Hammond and her attorney declined to comment, citing the pending litigation.

Reports of bedbugs have been on the rise in Philadelphia for the past several years. A 2013 Terminix survey ranked Philly as the nation’s second most bedbug-infested city.

A Penn Medicine study published earlier this year in the Journal of Medical Entomology found that, from 2008 to 2011, reports of bedbugs in the city rose 4.5 percent each month, an increase of nearly 70 percent year to year. The study recorded 382 reports of bedbug infestations in Philadelphia during those three years.

That number exploded between September 2011 and June 2012, when city residents made 236 reports of bedbug infestations, according to study results. The number of infestations peaked annually in August and reached a yearly low each February, the study found.

Though anecdotal reports of movie theater bedbug infestations are legion, fewer complaints have been independently confirmed. An AMC in Wisconsin reportedly underwent pest control treatments in October after bedbugs were found in three rows of seats in one auditorium of the theater.

In 2010, bedbug infestations temporarily shuttered the AMC Loewes Monmouth Mall movie theater in Eatontown, N.J., as well as AMC theaters in Harlem and Manhattan.

A spokesman for the Philadelphia Department of Public Health said the agency does not require proprietors to report bedbug infestations because the insects are regarded as pests, not vectors for the transmission of diseases.

The lawsuit filed this week faults United Artists Theatres for allegedly failing to adequately inspect its Main Street premises and to observe protocols for the detection and eradication of bed bugs. It also claims the theater maintained conditions “which it knew or had reason to know presented an unreasonable risk of harm to the plaintiff.”

The Regal Entertainment Group, which operates the United Artists chain, did not return calls or emails seeking comment. Court documents did not list an attorney for the company.

The lawsuit, which is asking for less than $50,000 in monetary damages, has been submitted to arbitration, court records indicate. A hearing is scheduled for March 16.

Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/news/Bedbugs_attack_at_Manayunk_movie_theater_lawsuit_claims.html

Protect yourself from bed bugs

ProChem - Remember they are "master hitchikers".

Durham Region (2014) explained,
Bed bugs have been the subject of many headlines lately, as they spread through the community.  They are very difficult to get rid of, so prevention is key.
 The first step is to not bring bed bugs home.  If you are travelling, be sure to check the mattress in your hotel room for the bugs or brown marks indicating their droppings.  Watch for headlines and avoid places with reported outbreaks, including hotels, libraries, movie theatres, etc.

If you have picked up bed bugs, it's important to leave your suitcase outside and immediately wash your clothes in hot water to kill the bugs.  Fumigate your suitcase or bags and leave them in the garage or outside for at least two weeks.

Buy a mattress encasement for all the beds in your home.  If you do bring bed bugs home with you, the encasements will prevent them from making a home in your mattresses, and will make it much easier to get rid of them.

Buying a used mattress can also lead to a bed bug infestation.  Just because you don't see any, doesn't mean that they are not hiding in there.  Your safest bet is to always buy mattresses new and not from stores selling exchanged mattresses.

Another mattress issue that rarely makes headlines is mites.  These also live in your mattress and are sustained by body fluid and dead skin.  They are invisible, but can cause your allergies to go into overdrive.  The simple solution is to starve them out with a mattress pad.  This will prevent sweat and dead skin from reaching your mattress and help allergy sufferers breathe easier when they sleep.
http://www.durhamregion.com/shopping-story/4443221-protect-yourself-from-bed-bugs/

Don't let the bed bugs bite this summer

Prochem - Heat kills bedbugs @ all stages of life.

Visalia Times Delta (2014) explained,
When Heather Rozzell of Visalia thinks of bed bugs, she gets a little squeamish.

The 40-year-old has never had any encounters with the blood-sucking bugs, but when she travels, they're never far from her mind.

Rozzell travels about twice a year. When she's on the hunt for a hotel, she always checks reviews and does her homework before booking a room — all to avoid the pests.

"One of the things I do when I make a reservation is ask if they've had a recent outbreak of bed bugs, and of course they always say no," Rozzell said. "So when we get there, I'm always lifting up the sheets, looking in the creases and making sure I don't see any of the little critters in there."

Rozzell's caution may be well warranted more now than ever before. According to recent reports, the country's bed-bug population is seeing a resurgence. The parasites are fueled by summer heat which is now sweeping into the valley just as travel season begins.

A 2013 Bugs Without Borders Survey conducted on behalf of the National Pest Management Association showed 99.6 percent of pest management professionals treated for bed bugs within the year and that infestations increased in the majority of locations in which professionals typically treat for bed bugs. That number is up slightly from 99 percent in 2011.

Of the locations cited in the 2013 Bugs Without Borders Survey, 75 percent of the locations that have seen an increase in bed bug activity have been hotels and motels.

The Bed Bug Registry, a free online database that allows the public to report bed bugs at locations across the U.S. and Canada, shows much less bed-bug reports in the Valley than in the more heavily populated California regions that include the San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles.

Since its 2006 launch, the website, which doesn't confirm reports, has collected about 20,000 accounts across 12,000 locations.

Local hotels

A Visalia hotel and a Tulare hotel are among the locations reported in the area on the website.

Included is the Lamp Liter Inn, which has had three reports since 2010 despite its four out of five overall guest rating on travel website Expedia. This rating includes a 4.1 out of five rating regarding room cleanliness based on 485 reviews.

Lamp Liter Inn Manager Jan Lee declined to comment for this story.

Shilpa Patel, a receptionist at America's Best Value Inn in Visalia, said their hotel takes a vigilant approach to prevent bed bug infestations. The West Main Street hotel was not listed on the bed bug registry website.

Patel said the hotel's cleaning maids "pull mattresses out and look at all things." She said maintenance men perform monthly checks of mattresses, spring boards, bed frames and other furniture to guarantee rooms are bed bug-free.

The Tulare hotel listed on the database is Motel 6 along North Blackstone Street.

Prevalence

Despite reports citing a surge in the bed bug population, Tulare County Health and Human Services Agency's Division Manager of Environmental Health, Nilsa Gonzalez, said the department has had a few recent complaints regarding bed bugs but no significant influx of calls.

Debra Ipox, owner of Visalia's Swift Pest Control, counters this. Ipox said her company has had a substantial increase in requests for bed bug removal during this year in Tulare and Kings County.

"We're going into the season right now," Ipox said. "It started early this year. We've already done about five or six jobs already within the last 30 days and that's definitely up from last year."

At the same time last year, Ipox said her company had only received one or two requests.

Extermination

To prevent bed bugs from penetrating mattresses, Ipox said individuals can purchase bed bug mattress covers that keep the insects out. Those with an infestation can use home remedies or call local pest control groups for either a heat treatment, Fumitoxin treatment or a liquid spray treatment, Ipox said.

Though there is no solid evidence to explain why nationwide people may be seeing an upsurge in bed bugs, a resurgence in their population happens every few years according to Bernadette Burden, spokesperson for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And there are theories.

"We do know that oftentimes you'll see circumstances where certain types of pesticides or other types of agents that are used to control or interrupt the spread of bed bugs in terms of their lifecycle, they may become immune to the different types of agents that are utilized to reduce and control and prevent the spread of bed bugs," Burden said. "[…] But there's not really a reason or cause to say this is likely the reason why they've re-emerged."

How to avoid bed bugs when traveling

Bring a flashlight to inspect for bed bugs.

Do not unpack. Put bags on dresser or in the bathroom and inspect room immediately.

Remove bedsheets and mattress pad and inspect edging, seams and other areas.

Inspect headboard and use flashlight to look in space between wall and headboard.,

Inspect furniture near bed and look behind pictures on wall.

If bed bugs are found, have hotel staff relocate you and belongings to another room that's not adjacent to one inspected.

According to United States Environmental Protection Agency
http://www.visaliatimesdelta.com/story/news/local/2014/05/29/let-bed-bugs-bite-summer/9707729/