Boardwalk, bugs, and birthdays

[robinb]

FWIW, Palmetto bugs are cockroaches. They are just not the little brown ones found in the north.

http://www.ext.vt.edu/pubs/entomology/444-288/444-288.html

 

[Jimdvc]

I think we should spread the word that the BWV's have roaches by the bucket full in every room.

Maybe then I can get a reservation inside of 6 mths.

 

[WoodysRoundup]

FWIW, Palmetto bugs are cockroaches. They are just not the little brown ones found in the north.

http://www.ext.vt.edu/pubs/entomology/444-288/444-288.html

Yep, that's what I said....flying cockroaches. They are not, however, the infestation cockroaches that live in the walls and grossly multiply.

 

[robinb]

Yep, that's what I said....flying cockroaches. They are not, however, the infestation cockroaches that live in the walls and grossly multiply.

Next morning we get up to leave and I go to get my shoes on. Lift up
my sneaker with my hand and watch a 2 1/2 inch roach scurry out of my
shoe and run for a hole in the wall.

My guess is that the OP's husband saw Palmetto bugs (aka the American Cockroach: http://www.pestproducts.com/american.htm). They usually don't live in the walls or infest homes and restaurants. They much prefer to live outside. Most of us northerners think of "roaches" as the little 5/8th inch German Cockroaches (http://www.pestproducts.com/german.htm). I'm not sure about the OP as they live in Florida but I've always heard of Floridians calling the larger flying roaches "Palmetto bugs" instead of "roaches".

 

[DebbieB]

FWIW, Palmetto bugs are cockroaches. They are just not the little brown ones found in the north.

http://www.ext.vt.edu/pubs/entomology/444-288/444-288.html

That definitely looks like what I saw . I'm almost positive it came in from the balcony, it was a couple feet from the open door when I saw it.

 

[ilovecoasters]

DH has lived in Florida the past 35 years. I've been here for 15. We know Palmetto bugs. These were large, nasty roaches. Like I said, we weren't looking for compensation and if we had known what he(mgr) was going to do we would have said no. I certainly don't want to give the impression that we fussed to get compensated. Another posted suggested that this should happen to him. Why? It really ruined our morning as we literally threw everything we had in plastic bags and out the door we went by 8:45 am. We just expect better conditions. Isn't this one of the main reasons we joined dvc, the superior accommodations? The manager was very clear that he was not surprised. He asked for us to be very vocal about it, spread the word, call and write MS. He said the BWV needs refurb and it keeps getting pushed back. BWV was supposed to be done this year, but it keeps getting pushed back because of the painting at BCV. This has not changed our viewpoint of dvc. We just think cleanliness needs to be addressed. I've read so many threads about lackluster rooms. If you are not vocal, nothing will be done.

 

[LSchrow]

My guess is that the OP's husband saw Palmetto bugs (aka the American Cockroach: http://www.pestproducts.com/american.htm). They usually don't live in the walls or infest homes and restaurants. They much prefer to live outside. Most of us northerners think of "roaches" as the little 5/8th inch German Cockroaches (http://www.pestproducts.com/german.htm). I'm not sure about the OP as they live in Florida but I've always heard of Floridians calling the larger flying roaches "Palmetto bugs" instead of "roaches".

well, i for one am going to pretend i never read that , & that palmetto bugs are just a type of large floridian insect.
i guess this means that the "palmetto bug" in our FW cabin years back was actually a...um... ..never mind. (yeah, "head in the sand" works for me when it comes to those "C" or "R" words). lol

anyway, i feel very sorry for your experience, OP. we've stayed at the BWVs many, many times, & frequently in a BW view studio. fortunately, we have never encountered a single insect, unlike we have in other resorts: massive ant invasion in OKW (reported to HK repeatedly, finally went to store, bought multiple cans of spray & did it ourselves..they were crawling literally everywhere ), or AK (wickedly huge (looked like) yellowjack nest directly on balcony, nasty stinkers swooping down if we dared go near the glass doors. took a bit over a day & multiple phone calls to get someone to come. that was one i refused to mess with), etc. also, in every one of our stays at the vast majority of moderate, deluxe, & DVC resorts (including concierge, GF, YC/BC, SSR, etc) as well as many hotels outside of WDW, we have "found" at least one item item left by previous guests (hair bows/bands, a single sock, cheerios and/or crumbs somewhere.... ), as well as other indications that the room was not entirely refurbished directly prior to our stay (scuffing, some chips/scratches in furniture, slightly peeling wallpaper, etc). we understand that the rooms are used and cleaned daily, and found the room unacceptable in only two instances of our many stays (if you're curious: PO and poly ~ both were significantly below acceptable (significant amounts of black mold & general filth). we were offered, & accepted, new rooms in each case, however did refuse compensation).
btw, we've been members since 2000, & we hadn't received a single "welcome home" phone message until our newest (4th) guide. we didn't even knew they were customary until then .
however, parking across the street was unacceptable, imho. apparently, they need to start enforcing the "BW guests only" as during the F&WF, where the front-gate guard asked for ID in addition to parking pass, & the other entrance/exit was wo-manned as well.
i hope this was an isolated incident, especially as we've found the BWVs to have consistantly high standards, very clean with markedly little "wear & tear" in the rooms and common areas, great & helpful CMs, & a superior level of service. the fact that the manager was receptive & offered quite generous compensation leads me to believe that he was at the very least as surprised as you by the incident(s) (if such a problem was a frequent occurance, it would not be economically feasible to continually offer compensation).

i'm sure i speak for many by saying thank you for reporting your findings to the manager, & that we hope that you had a wonderful time, nonetheless

 

[keishashadow]

hmmm, we had more than a few on the wall of studio @ BCV 2 years ago; had to request (several times that night & the next day, while the mgr hid from me ) that the room be exterminated by outside pest control.

the deed was done late afternoon the next day, although the mgr never did call me back

WDW executive offices did, with promise he would be reprimanded

fyi, no mention of compensation for points was ever mentioned; nor did i request any...just wanted mgmt to step up customer service/response time...apparently, they have.

very understandable that situation will happen in buggy FLA, they just need to follow good/standard customer service policies in erradication and issue apologies and outline what will be done to fix the problem imo

 

[antree]

OMG,OMG,OMG I am scared to death of those things and the thought of them makes my skin crawl. I won't go back to All Star because I seen them there. I know, I know they are all over but I don't want to be bunking with them. Now I am going to be seeing these bugs in my dreams tonight. We just stayed at BWV in Nov and our second room there was dirty looking and was in much need of a makeover. I hated it.
We always have a problem with housekeeping, they never show up, I don't know what we did wrong, but it seems we never get our full cleaning when we are there. We are always there for at least 10 days. Our last trip I gave up and cleaned it myself everyday. Maybe it does have to do with how crowded the hotel is, because the last few times we were there it was a full house no rooms left anywhere and those have been the worst times trying to get housekeeping to come in.

I agree BW needs a makeover NOW!

 

[Judique]

I think we should spread the word that the BWV's have roaches by the bucket full in every room.

Maybe then I can get a reservation inside of 6 mths.

I've seen quite a few palmetto bugs over the years at BWV. Also at the Poly, Coronado, WLV, Pop....to name just a few. They come in or under doors.

The salamanders bother me a bit more when they get inside. I know they are harmless, but if they get in my bed, I'll be screaming! The palmettos usually don't survive long unless they are rescued and thrown back outside.

You should also keep an eye open for snakes, especially if you get a ground floor room. Leaving the door open especially at night could be an invitation!

 

[AKLFan3]

I wonder if the roach problem could also be a result of some guests not taking out their kitchen trash on the non-trash/towel service days. Obviously food attracts bugs, and if some guests do not understand what to do with their empty pizza cartons, chicken bones, or whatever leftovers they have from cooking/buying dinner, then this can certainly increase the likelihood of bugs and roaches coming into the room. I'm not letting BWV completely off the hook here since keeping up with extermination and proper housekeeping is their responsibility. And I also do not know how many days it would take to attract roaches to a dirty villa. But maybe if your room is in-between two villas that have mounds of trash piled up in the kitchen for several days, that could be enough to cause a bug problem.

 

[Sammie]

Please, please complain to Member Services, this problem with housekeeping is a DVC related issue not the resort. I can guarantee you that type of problem is not occurring on the Inn side of the BW.

 

[Maistre Gracey]

I may be in the minority (as usual), but I'm more concerned about the valet parking!!

I know I haven't been frequenting the boards as of late, but did DVC do away with that benefit??..

MG

 

[bnlbebes]

I wonder if the roach problem could also be a result of some guests not taking out their kitchen trash on the non-trash/towel service days. Obviously food attracts bugs, and if some guests do not understand what to do with their empty pizza cartons, chicken bones, or whatever leftovers they have from cooking/buying dinner, then this can certainly increase the likelihood of bugs and roaches coming into the room. I'm not letting BWV completely off the hook here since keeping up with extermination and proper housekeeping is their responsibility. And I also do not know how many days it would take to attract roaches to a dirty villa. But maybe if your room is in-between two villas that have mounds of trash piled up in the kitchen for several days, that could be enough to cause a bug problem.

Didn't the OP say that they had found "old food by the sofa?" If there was food left there by HK, then how much food was left laying around by the previous guests?