Comments on: bed bug lawsuit against the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, Kensington, London

By: The Times (UK) on bed bug epidemic in the USA | bedbugger

The Times (UK) on bed bug epidemic in the USA | bedbugger — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 04:49:00 +0000

[…] about the lawsuit filed against the exclusive Mandarin Oriental in London, by a visiting businessman who was allegedly bitten extensively by bed bugs […]

By: nobugsonme

nobugsonme — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 22:18:03 +0000

Doug, I second the recommendation to go to tripadvisor.com and write a review. It’s an easy way to warn others–I personally check it before booking.

EVERYONE–please continue responses to Doug on the latest “Tales of Bed Bug Woe” thread INSTEAD of here. It will have more readers:
http://bedbugger.com/tag/tales-of-bed-bug-woe/

By: Bugalina

Bugalina — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 17:48:50 +0000

Doug…I hate to tell you this, but it is possible that you transported them home with you…also Please go onto TripAdvisor and report the Days Inn infestation on it…..helping others to advoid bed bugs is crucial….Bugalina

By: Doug Kegler

Doug Kegler — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 16:30:47 +0000

Here are 3 articles that I read that said it can take 9 days for lesions. (Its under Disease and Health Risks paragraph). I too hope I didnt bring any back. But, I’ve been home of a week and my wife doesnt have any bites.

http://www.pestcontrolcanada.com/INSECTS/get_rid_of_bed_bugs.htm

http://medent.usyd.edu.au/fact/bedbugs.html

http://health.state.ga.us/pdfs/environmental/handbook%20v9.pdf

By: buggedinbrooklyn

buggedinbrooklyn — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 15:40:38 +0000

welcome Doug,
sorry to hear your story.
I never woke up to ever see them on me, but I too woke up on my first night with as much as 40 bites on my arm.

anyway, I never heard of bite showing up so late…7 days later sounds odd to me.
I wonder if you broght home any bugs. lets hope not.

anyway, please read the FAQ at the top of the page and I hope others will chime in about such a delayed reaction.

buggedinbrooklyn

By: Doug Kegler

Doug Kegler — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 15:24:32 +0000

I am another victim of the bed bugs from Jan 20, 2007. Luckily, I happened to wake up only after sleeping for 2 hrs and noticed the bugs all over the bed. I left the hotel and they didnt charge me for the room. But, I thought I hadnt been bitten, and to my surprise welts starting appearing on my body 7 days after the visit. I read that each person is different and it can take up to 9 days for the welts to appear. My concern is that hotels are not pro-active in looking for signs. I received approx. 40 bites in only 2 hours. I’m sure every other occupant of this DaysInn hotel room that slept through the night got a lot more bites than I did.

By: Bugalina

Bugalina — Thu, 18 Jan 2007 15:42:26 +0000

Someone posted on the bedbugger blog that the problem with people is that they want “absolutes” and that politicizing bed bugs is not the answer…I am sorry but I must disagree…If not an absolute death then are we to continue on accepting the fact that bed bugs can continue showing up in our homes ? Bed Bugs are insidious, they go the very core of one’s quality of life..most intelligent people cannot function optimally when they are being attacked by bed bugs..Its impossible. How many exterminations can we afford ? How many times can we be told to “pack it all up “….How can I ever sleep comfortably in a hotel bed again? Here is my kneejerk reply to the comment made about wanting absolutes…How long do we have to “tip toe” around bed bugs?
I cannot imagine demanding anything but an absolute
death when it comes to bed bugs…..How can people in
America be expected to accept bed bugs….They are now
being found in Hotels, motels, airplanes, schools, colleges,
transport vehicles ( I often wonder whether mine came
from the town car that I took home from JFK
)…trains, apt. bldgs., homes , movie theatres, stores, on and
on….In order to exterminate them one must strip
their homes down to a bare bones environment and be
subjected to constant exterminations, which are
costly..financially and emotionally..So if there are
no absolutes, then I translate to mean that life must
continue down this road…Do I have to accept the fact
that bed bugs can easily be brought back into my home
and that I will once again have to spent thousands on
extermination and then it can happen again…and
again…and that doesn’t speak to the fact that all
of my belongings are in storage…I can take them out
of storage but then if bed bugs show up again…I have
to repack everything…all my books, my collectibles, my furniture
…a lifetime of things..that I am now living
without…I think people MUST politicize bed
bugs…They go to the very core of quality of life…the
core…They were eradicated once before from North America…Why should we not expect them to be
eradicated once again…How can we go on tiptoeing
around bed bugs…Well you can say…Don’t tip
toe…and if they show up…have your life turned
upside down again…and spend thousands of dollars
again…I totally support these lawsuits….having had
bed bugs I am a changed person…I can never again
stay in a hotel comfortably..sit in a movie theatre seat, nor take a town car to
the airport …nor rest easy knowing my son is living
in a college apt…on and on….If it was just a
matter of a few dollars and a monthly visit from the
exterminator..I could accept that….But you know
..this is not the case….Its a nightmare…nothing
less than a nightmare..and I for one want an absolute
for bed bugs….I want to live like I did before
them….I want to live like my parents did…not
having to worry about bugs infesting their beds,
furniture , floors, walls, laying in wait to suck
their blood….its a travesty that this is being
allowed to get to such epidemic proportions….I think
only those who have experienced having them live in
the wilds of their homes, can truly grasp the
nightmare of bedbugs…This is a communicable bug folks…it spreads on people..its very serious and must be given attention from those who pass legislation…We need help…..Deb

By: nobugsonme

nobugsonme — Tue, 16 Jan 2007 23:10:11 +0000

Doug,

“Covering up the problem” seems to be the crux of this lawsuit. Yes, all hotels can get bed bugs, and can do so quickly. But they can’t get a LOT of bed bugs overnight. They must be accountable and take steps to avoid the situation, and must be honest about the source of the problem once a customer asks. In this case the couple unwittingly took the bugs home and even had biopsies from an oncologist, thinking the welts might be cancerous. Had the hotel told the truth, once they discovered the bugs and were asked directly about the presence of insects, things might not have been as bad.

But another factor seems to be that the number of bed bugs in this room was apparently quite large. It’s not like the previous occupant brought all those bugs in with them, in their suitcase. So these bugs have been biting and nesting in the hotel for some time.

The San Franisco Public Health document which details the guidelines Doug mentions are here (WARNING: click, and a PDF will load):
http://www.sfdph.org/eh/pubs/BbReg.pdf

By: Doug Summers MS

Doug Summers MS — Tue, 16 Jan 2007 17:29:45 +0000

Hopefully, lawsuits like this one will bring accountability to the industry. We need regulations like the San Francisco Public Lodging Guidelines which requires disclosure, records and training for the staff. This is a huge issue for the housing & public lodging industry. Unfortunately the current response is to perform an attempt at a cover up. Legal actions may eventually persuade the industry to take responsibility for the problem.

On the other hand, can you imagine the logistics of trying to keep a large international hotel bed bug free in London? New guests check in every day. Any of them may bring a new infestation into the building. The guests that are bitten often do not know that they have been bitten by bed bugs. As a result the hotel often does not get notified. The lack of effective control agents and increasing resistance to the products that are on the market make total eradication an extremely difficult challenge.

I’m not interested in making excuses for negligence, but the hotel owners are in a difficult position. Ultimately I think accountability is the key that will bring about a change in their behavior. This is a public policy issue that will be heavily lobbied as it goes through the political process.

By: nobugsonme

nobugsonme — Tue, 16 Jan 2007 16:41:37 +0000

Jess– wonderful response!

Bugalina–yes, I think a few more of these and hotel chains will start to be more proactive.

About the fumigation: I understand Vikane can’t be used in one unit of a multi-unit dwelling, because the whole building has to be tented. I doubt they’re able to circumvent that rule. It’s more likely that the people writing the press release are not aware of the distinctions. The complaint says only their apartment was treated (so why the “embarrassment” surrounding that fumigation–it would make more sense that they were embarrassed because they DID tent the building and everyone had to know).

I also see the word fumigation in almost every article about college dorms being treated — and I think it’s the same phenomenon, people using “fumigation” incorrectly as shorthand for applying pesticides. A major peeve of mine, by the way. Because new Bedbuggers often rush to use bug bombs (”fumigation!”) and later discover the gross error this is.