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Bed bugs in another women’s shelter in Charlotte, North Carolina

nobugsonme — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 16:41:27 +0000

A Charlotte, North Carolina shelter that houses women who have suffered domestic violence has evacuated residents for several weeks while bed bugs are removed, according to the Charlotte Observer:

The Charlotte-area United Family Services domestic violence shelter has evacuated its residents to “a safe place” in order to battle a recent infestation of bedbugs, said Libby McLaughlin, vice president of development and communication. The staff anticipates reopening the shelter in two to three weeks.

But the move has added to the difficulties the women face, which include other time constraints. Shelter rules dictate that, upon arrival, residents have 30 days to find a job and another place to stay.

The bites and rashes from the bedbugs have made it hard for some women to find a job. And the medicine given to fight the itching, such as steroids or Benadryl, has triggered the addictions of some women with substance abuse problems.

“People are saying to go back home,” said one anonymous shelter resident. “I don’t have that option, because I’m not going back home.”

One would hope that the normal rules of the shelter would be adapted during such a crisis.

While removed from much more dangerous situations in their homes, these women have still been suffering from a lesser kind of “domestic crisis.” It’s a lot to expect for women who may be losing a lot of sleep and suffering from stress, visible bed bug bites, and itching (which can be quite uncomfortable) to find new jobs and a new home within thirty days.

We’ve previously reported on another Charlotte shelter, the Salvation Army women’s shelter, which houses homeless women, and which has been battling bed bugs off and on for nearly a year. The Salvation Army has apparently spent $50,000 in the last few weeks on renovations aimed at eliminating their bed bug problems.

Meanwhile, the United Family Services shelter has invested in new flooring, mattresses and bedding. It has also purchased a new dryer and new metal frame beds. (It is not mentioned in the article, but I hope they are getting good, aggressive pest control treatment as well.)

Local public health officials stress bed bugs are not a health problem,

“This is not a public health pest,” said Lynn Lathan, environmental health supervisor for the Mecklenburg County Health Department. “They’re annoying, but not transmitting disease.”

However, I personally think that a condition which can cause serious skin irritation, visible welts all over your face and body, other allergic reactions, anxiety and loss of sleep is a health concern.

Nevertheless, the women at United Family Services have worse threats to worry about:

For women in the United Family Services shelter, there’s a choice: Face the bugs in the shelter, or face abuse at home.

“I have a choice of going back to my husband and getting punched in the eye or getting eaten by bugs,” said one anonymous shelter resident.

We can only hope things are better for these women soon.

Charlotte, NC Salvation Army Women’s Shelter has bed bugs again

nobugsonme — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 14:08:53 +0000

Back in August 2007, we reported on a Salvation Army women’s shelter in Charlotte, North Carolina, which was fighting bed bugs.

Ten months on, they’re in the news again. News 14 Carolina reports:

Last August, crews removed mattresses and spread polyurethane on the beds to stop bed bugs from hiding in the cracks. “Overall they were sympathetic, because they were amazed how one person could get bitten so many times,” said the woman.

In a statement, leaders at the shelter said “It’s unfortunate and a challenge. We’re being consistent and have hired a contractor to rework the plumbing and add a new washer and dryer to keep clothes and bed sheets cleaner. Along with new mattresses, we have recently added 60 new beds, and will add another 50 news beds in the near future.”

It’s not easy to get rd of bed bugs. And I hate to sound cynical, but it is probably quite a feat keeping a shelter bed bug-free even for ten months. Keeping in mind that many shelters are infested, the potential is always there for new guests at this shelter to bring them in.

That said, no one should have to live with bed bugs, and I am glad that the management is taking steps and I hope they have good, experienced advisors working with them on their bed bug treatment and prevention plans.

Unfortunately, fighting bed bugs can mean a less hospitable atmosphere to guests, who often carry their homes, in the form of their few worldly belongings, with them (a practice which likely contributes to the spread of bed bugs):

Last year, officials with the shelter suggested the bed bugs may have come from dirty clothing. They are now monitoring how many belonging are brought into the shelter to protect residents.

Gaston County, N.C. health officials to hotel: bed bugs not a serious violation

nobugsonme — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 18:16:09 +0000

This story from Eyewitness News in Gastonia, North Carolina is about a woman named Patricia Starling who lived in a Super 8 motel with her two sons after they lost their home in a fire.

Starling said she went back the motel, captured some of the bugs and gave some to Gaston County health officials. Specialist Doc Thompson said they found three or four bed bugs in 20 of the rooms. He said the bugs can’t carry disease, but they can cause dermatitis. He said he advised the owner of the steps needed to get rid of the bugs and gave them 2 weeks to start with exterminations.

Officials “found bed bugs in 58 percent of the rooms available to daily rental.” I would venture that if they found 3-4 bed bugs in 20 rooms, even more may have infestations. PCOs tell us finding bed bugs in infested rooms is not that easy.

But that’s not the whole story.

Eyewitness News asked why the health department couldn’t just shut down the motel until the bugs are gone. Thompson said that a motel has to get a grade of 70 or less before they can shut it down. Even with the bed bugs, the Super 8 had a rating of 85. He said if they do not take steps to get rid of the bugs by next Thursday, then he can serve them with a notice of intent to suspend. Then after 30 days, if nothing has changed, the department can pull the motel’s permit and shut it down.

The hotel manager told journalists, “she has an exterminator who comes by once a month.”

Whatever routine treatments a building already gets won’t necessarily do it. I hope the hotel manager is getting good advice from a PCO who knows bed bugs, and that they’ll do everything they can to get rid of bed bugs quickly.

Once a month treatments are not likely to eliminate bed bugs. In my understanding, “the steps needed to get rid of bed bugs” include more frequent, aggressive treatment as well as ensuring infested furnishings are properly treated or discarded.

It is not clear to me whether even having bed bugs in all the rooms would constitute a grade below 70, worthy of shutting the hotel down, or if other violations would be needed to dip that number low enough. This is wrong. Bed bugs are a serious problem, even if they are not known to spread disease. Hotel guests who stay one night and port bed bugs home with them can bring home a problem that causes thousands of dollars of damage and months of suffering.

I am not litigation-crazy. I agree with some bed bug lawsuits and not others. But if someone stays in a hotel room known by a hotel to have bed bugs, and gets bitten or brings bed bugs home, I hope they’ll sue the pants off that company.

It is very disturbing that customers will apparently continue to rent the 20 bed bug-infested rooms. Not only is the hotel given two weeks to even begin treating for bed bugs, which is far too long, but it appears they can keep renting out those rooms.

If they don’t exist, new regulations should be put in place to prevent hotels from renting infested rooms.