My sister's office has bedbugs!

[mamamary]

Just heard from my sister. Apparently there was concern over bedbugs at her job in Manhattan. She said dogs were brought in that gave indication that her office and a few other offices in her building have bedbugs. She is freaking out. She is currently in a different part of the building waiting to hear from human resources. She will not go back into her office.

Now I know alot of us on here talk about bedbugs at Disney but I don't really pay that much attention. I do know that I remember reading that you can bring them home with you from vacation. Now obviously she doesn't have suitcases but she carries a pocketbook with her.

Anyone care to share any words of advice that I can pass along. My other sister is currently doing some research online. Oh I feel so bad........

 

[sandramaac]

All I can say is, DON'T LET THE BED BUGS BITE sorry, I could not resist

 

[mamamary]

All I can say is, DON'T LET THE BED BUGS BITE sorry, I could not resist

I won't pass that onto her esp. since she just called to say that they were found in her chair

 

[sandramaac]

omg, so sorry now I am defintely feeling itchy

 

[NotUrsula]

She's probably OK as long as she didn't store her handbag, etc. inside a drawer or closet. Bedbugs normally never come out into the light, and if her bags were not in the office at any time when/where it was dark, they probably did not get into them.

HOWEVER ... To be extra-safe, she can seal them (and any pieces of clothing that she might have left at the office overnight) into a black trash bag and leave it out in direct sunlight for several hours. Temps over 120F will kill them.

 

[mamamary]

She's probably OK as long as she didn't store her handbag, etc. inside a drawer or closet. Bedbugs normally never come out into the light, and if her bags were not in the office at any time when/where it was dark, they probably did not get into them.

HOWEVER ... To be extra-safe, she can seal them (and any pieces of clothing that she might have left at the office overnight) into a black trash bag and leave it out in direct sunlight for several hours. Temps over 120F will kill them.

thanks - I'll pass this along

 

[jfoofj]

That is awful.... I'm itchy now. Was she having issues with itchiness?

 

[mamamary]

That is awful.... I'm itchy now. Was she having issues with itchiness?

Not that they are telling her much at work but it seems a co-worker has them bad at home. So they brought in these dogs??? (I know it sounds weird) which detected bugs in a few different offices. Just heard from my sister. She is hanging around outside her building. Human resources has not told them anything and she said if they don't contact her by the end of the day she is not coming in tomorrow. Luckily she hasn't noticed anything on her but just the thought that it's in your office (couch/chairs). Yuck.

 

[dicar123]

If bed bugs only opportunity to feed is during the day, then they will come out during the day. They can easily travel on clothes and other items (bags, purses).

Most people do not react to bites, so even if she feels she hasn't been bitten, she still must check her home if bugs were found in her chair. Items can be either heated (in a clothes dryer or outside), or frozen to kill bugs. Websites will give more specific guidelines.

If she has them in only one room in her home, I would absolutely encourage her to get professional advice on eradicating them and tips on how to discourage transmission between home/other rooms in the home and the office.

We ended up spreading them throughout our home and we did successfully treat them ourselves. By the time we realized they were throughout the house, we had nothing to lose by trying it on our own vs a couple thousand dollars for an exterminator.

 

[dicar123]

nevermind

 

[Silent1CB]

Since certain pesticides are now banned that used to be effective, this problem will continue to grow in the USA as foreign travel is so easy and other countries have always had bedbug problems.

Not just hotels, also apartment buildings have them.

Pays to educate yourself a little bit on what to do & what not to do.

 

[mamamary]

Her office has already been in touch with an exterminator. I told her she needs to get her house looked at asap. she is just really mad at her company - they haven't even told the rest of the staff yet as of now.

The exterminator said they will spray her office on Fri. but that makes the bugs active for the next two weeks. She was not happy to hear this. But she will def. get her house looked at - I'm assuming the company will foot the bill for this but I'll let you all know once they tell her anything.

 

[PrincessKsMom]

There was just an article in the news a few days ago that the corporate headquarters of Goldman Sachs in Jersey City is having the same problem.

 

[Eeyore'sthebest]

Umm, I work in an office building in Manhattan. Can I ask where she works. I know there are a lot of buildings but EEEKKKK!!!

 

[mamamary]

Umm, I work in an office building in Manhattan. Can I ask where she works. I know there are a lot of buildings but EEEKKKK!!!

Right near where David Letterman's show is - sorry I don't have the street.

 

[dicar123]

Since certain pesticides are now banned that used to be effective, this problem will continue to grow in the USA as foreign travel is so easy and other countries have always had bedbug problems.

Not just hotels, also apartment buildings have them.

Pays to educate yourself a little bit on what to do & what not to do.

At this point, I recommend that EVERYONE encase their mattresses. The good ones cost about $100, but that's nothing compared to the price of most mattresses. It's a big problem that is only going to get bigger.

 

[tndislvr]

I am one of the lucky ones who found out today (via a bed bug sniffing dog) we did indeed bring the little &#@$%#@! home with us.

Dicar....any words of wisdom on how to deal with this? The dog only indicated the bugs in one room (thank goodness) of course I fear if she missed them somewhere else. I'm just disgusted by this entire situation. And leery of ever staying in another hotel. I don't really blame the hotel as having BB has nothing to do with cleanliness (as where we stayed was immaculate - at least on the surface) but it is still frustrating nonetheless. Makes me wish we hadn't even taken our trip.

 

[dislaney]

Yikes! Am I the only one that had no idea there was such a thing as bed bug sniffing dogs??

 

[daisyduck123]

Yikes! Am I the only one that had no idea there was such a thing as bed bug sniffing dogs??

Nope! I had never heard of them before this.

 

[tndislvr]

I only found out yesterday when contacting my pest control company. Since we had no visible signs they recommended the dog (as they won't treat if there is no evidence of bugs). I was so hoping I was wrong and all the bites I got on vacation were just mosquitos. I am just sick tonight.....and unable to sleep.