Woes to travelers in many major cities...

[TheCotMan]

Something that has been making an appearance in the news for over a year is, Bed Bugs. Yep. It seems even 4 and 5 star hotels have been hit with these pests.

Problems have been reported in San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York City, Miami, and even Las Vegas.

I know we have many travelers here...

Have any of you had problems with bed bugs in any hotels?

[TheCotMan]

No matter what hotel you choose to give your business, bed bugs are a risk-- so far, it seems a fairly small risk. I decided to do a little searching:
bed bug fact sheet:

* 500% increase in US hotels over the last 3 years
Signs your room may be infested:
* Check your sheets for tiny blood-spots,
* Note evident of bug carcasses or casings."
* Rooms infested may have a sickly sweet smell (can also be a false positive)
* They can attach themselves to clothing and luggage-- make sure you don't bring them home with you.
* If bit, you may notice a bump, may develop a red spot and white dot if infected.
* Not known to transmit diseases.

web page

* Nocturnal
* 600% increase in British Columbia over 3 years (2003-2005)
* "Even the cleanest homes and hotels can have bed bugs."

pdf2

* eggs hatch faster in warmer waeather
* claims "bed bugs" can harbor diseases, but there are no reported cases of communication/trasmission of diseases.

Nice collection of links with cited stories.

* link to wall street journal item where a UNLV person claims that many reported "cases" of bed bug are are attempts at fraud.

National Geographic

"In a landmark case a motel chain in the United States was successfully sued for [U.S.] $382,000 after guests were bitten by bedbugs [Matthias v. Accor, 2003]," he said.

Summary of Matthias v. Accor, 2003

[Deviant Ollam]

i'd like any suggestions that are available for decontaminating a room prior to using it. should i strip the bed and spray RAID on the mattress? not that i plan to notice much if i get a couple tiny bites, but i'd like to do anything i can above and beyond looking for signs of infestation.

[Nikita]

That seriously freaked me out dude. * shivers* I thought that was just a saying- bed bugs bite.... Now I'm all paranoid about bed bugs, Oh well...just one more thing to add to list.

[TheCotMan]

i'd like any suggestions that are available for decontaminating a room prior to using it. should i strip the bed and spray RAID on the mattress? not that i plan to notice much if i get a couple tiny bites, but i'd like to do anything i can above and beyond looking for signs of infestation.

I came across information on this too. If they are on clothing, stuffed animals, orcertain kinds of luggage than can handle it, you are supposed to be able to run this stuff in a dryer on high for 30 minutes.

It was suggested, one of the reasons they are making a come-back is because they are more resistant to the broad-spectrum pesticides we use today. If you actually spray, you are supposed to target any and all cracks and crevices. They can hide in cloth, sheets, clothing, blankets, wall cracks, electrical outlets, phones, carpet, and more. If they are in the matress, they mention steam cleaning, leaving the matress out in the cold over night (does not apply to Las Vegas, since it is not cold enough)

If they are in the carpet, steam cleaning of the floor is suggested because of the eggs.

Almost all of the sites suggested using professional exterminators.

One site listed things that were done *wayyyy* back. Legs of the bed in containers filled with kerosine? (Crazy)

They are nocturnal, and attracted to CO₂. Sleep with the lights on with a bunch of plants? (Lights to defeat "night" and to aid photosynthesis in plants, otherwise they make even more CO₂.)They are more active in warm environments than cold. Sleep with the AC running? (I have no idea how effective these might be.)

According the hotel practices, once the hotel is informed of an infestation, they are supposed to close the hotel room and kick the people out. I've tried contacting The Riviera to see what they would do... offer a spare room? What if the hotel is booked up? Money back? money back with cancellation fee? without cancellation fee? exterminators while you wait? There are many complaints about many hotels (posted on hotel review sites) all around the US where guests were charged for the night, without reduction in price.
Their response in the first round was:

Due to the highly competitive nature of the Las Vegas hospitality market, we adhere to the policy of not engaging in external discussions regarding internal practices or procedures.

I've tried rephrasing the question and making it more generic, and am waiting for a response. I can check with other hotels in Las Vegas if I have time, just list them.

[Added for a future post:]
http://municipalcodes.lexisnexis.com...ANIMALS.html#1

[astcell]

That is quite the list. Be sure to include it in the Defcon program so everyone checks out their room for carcasses!

[TheCotMan]

First hop:
http://www.lasvegasnevada.gov/

Contacted by email. Referred to:
http://www.cchd.org/

Search resulted with:
http://www.cchd.org/disease_factsheets/bed_bugs.htm :

What if I think my hotel room has bed bugs?
Bed Bug Fecal Matter on Mattress
Bed bug fecal matter on bed.

Most good hotels have a plan in place to deal with bed bug infestations. If you believe a room is infested with bed bugs, notify the front desk immediately. You will most likely be moved to another room.

Notify the Southern Nevada Health District’s Environmental Health Division at (702) 759-0588 to report the infestation.

To prevent bringing the bed bugs with you to the new room, have clothes washed in hot water and dried in a commercial dryer for one hour and store luggage in a sealed plastic bag.

I'm going to see if they have any per-hotel statistics on reported cases so we can see a breakdown based on hotel name, and maybe seasonal changes, and/or time of year for each hotel.

Message sent. Waiting for reply.

One item really "bugs" me: what will the hotel do if all of the other rooms are full?

On a positive note, now we have a number to call if this is a problem for any room at any hotel in Las Vegas.

[TheCotMan]

Re: Woes to travelers in many major cities...

Nice information:
http://www.lasvegasvisitor.com/healthreport.htm

The Clark County Health Department conducts random inspections of local restaurants. An establishment receives an "A" grade if it has received no more than 10 demerits . A "B" grade is given to those establishments with 11-20 demerits. A "C" grade to those with 21-40 demerits. Any establishment with more than 40 demerits is closed immediately. The grade is issued and posted at time of inspection. All establishments have the right to clean up their business and ask for a reinspection before the next scheduled inspection.

[Hotels A-R.. snipped]

Riviera:
2901 Las Vegas Bl. S. Tel: 702-734-5110
02/10/06. Downgraded to a "C because of repeat violations.
01/23/06 - Le Bistro bar.22 demerits. Grade "C"
Milk and half and half kept at improper temperature and beyond expiration date.
04/18/06 - Jax snack bar. Downgraded to a "C" because of repeat violations.

[Hotels R-Z snipped]

Nothing specific about Bed Bugs, but the report summary mentions restaurants, not hotel rooms.

I did not get a response to my request for hotel stats and reports, so I am trying again.

Press releases on health related issues in Las Vegas:
http://www.cchd.org/press_releases.htm
http://www.cchd.org/archived_releases.htm

[astcell]

Re: Woes to travelers in many major cities...

What if I think my hotel room has scene whores?

Same plan as the bed bugs?

[TheCotMan]

Re: Woes to travelers in many major cities...

What if I think my hotel room has scene whores?

Same plan as the bed bugs?

I guess that depends...

Did you invite them into your room? If they really are scene whores (with no skills) they probably did not gain illegal access, so why did you invite them in? ]:>

Ohhhh.. I guess you could have left your door open....
ROOM RUSH!

I think you are supposed to ask them to leave. If tihs is too difficult for them, then hotel security might help with education.

[Gadsden]

Re: Woes to travelers in many major cities...

What if I think my hotel room has scene whores?

Same plan as the bed bugs?

That would fall under crabs, not bed bugs.