Bed Bugs Found at Times Square Movie Theater

MyFoxNY ^ | August 18, 2010 | ARUN KRISTIAN DAS

[Second Amendment First]

The AMC Empire 25 movie theater complex in the Times Square area shut its doors Tuesday night to deal with a bed bug problem.

AMC said it has been testing and treating its theaters after getting complaints from some patrons about bed beg bites.

The company said it inspected the Empire 25 Tuesday and found bed bugs in an auditorium that had previously tested negative.

AMC shut down the complex, located on West 42nd Street, and began treatment, said Justin Scott, a spokesman for AMC.

"At AMC Theatres, the health and safety of our guests and associates is of the utmost importance and we take every guest report seriously," Scott said. "That's why we have taken aggressive and proactive steps to help ensure our theatres remain free of bed bugs."

Scott said that the theater will be treated again in two weeks, as is recommended by pest control specialists.

Bed bugs have seen a phenomenal resurgence in New York in recent years. Once uncommon in industrialized nations, the bugs have become such a problem that the City Council created an Advisory Board to figure out how to deal with the critters.

Since 2009, bed bugs infestations have hit the Brooklyn District Attorney's Office , CNN at the Time Warner Center ,  Victoria's Secret , Abercrombie and Fitch , John Jay College , Manhattan College , a Brooklyn movie theater , and even offices of the city's Health Department .

Bed begs, which feed on human blood, are not known to transmit disease, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Web site.

[Second Amendment First]

Our cities, especially New York, are becoming third world countries. Uncontrolled immigration is allowing diseases and infestations to flourish that had been eradicated here generations ago.

[SnakeDoctor]

Could’ve been worse ... at least it wasn’t crabs.

SnakeDoc

[luvbach1]

Enjoy the movie and don't let the bed bugs bite.:o)

[luvbach1]

Our cities, especially New York, are becoming third world countries.

You're dead on (excuse the expression). Be sure to get your Bubonic Plague shot before venturing forth.

[Mr. K]

OK i may have led a sheltered life, but what are bed bugs, what are the symptoms, and how do you get rid of them or clean to do preventative measures?

I have been traveling a lot in that area for work and this kinda freaks me out

[Stevenc131]

Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, speaking of NY:

You’ve got rats on the westside
Bedbugs uptown
What a mess, this town’s in tatters

-Shattered - Some Girls album circa 1978

[Varda]

I studied bedbugs as part of a class a few years ago. This is a growing problem. It’s not immigration, blame your friendly neighborhood environmentalists and the dups who support them in making effective pesticides disappear.

[Oldexpat]

A good deal of the third world even was free of bedbug infestations( I lived in several where problems are rare). But certain countries have had big problems and they have been transported here. DDT used indoors controls them and malaria..without endangering the environment.

[Common Sense 101]

Go figure... Liberal bastions infested with parasites. Interesting though... I didn’t think it was possible for parasites to live off of other parasites.

[Second Amendment First]

What are bed bugs?
Bed bugs are small wingless insects that feed solely upon the blood of warm-blooded animals. Bed bugs and their relatives have evolved as nest parasites. Certain kinds inhabit bird nests and bat roosts and await the return of their hosts; others have adapted well to living in the ‘nests’ (homes) of people.

Hatchling bed bugs are about the size of a poppy seed, and adults are about 1/4 of an inch in length. From above they are oval in shape, but are flattened from top to bottom.

Their color ranges from nearly white (just after molting) or a light tan to a deep brown or burnt orange. The host’s blood may appear as a dark red or black mass within the bug’s body. Because they never develop wings, bed bugs cannot fly. When disturbed, bed bugs actively seek shelter in dark cracks and crevices. Cast skins of bed bugs are sometimes discovered. Although such a finding confirms that bed bugs had been present previously, it does not confirm that any continue to infest the residence. Thus, inspect carefully for live crawling bed bugs. Because many other kinds of small brown bugs may be discovered, it is critical to ensure that the bugs are correctly identified (more about this below).

Do bed bugs cause harm or spread pathogens (disease-causing germs)?
Bed bugs seek out people and animals, generally at night while these hosts are asleep, and painlessly sip a few drops of blood. While feeding, they inject a tiny amount of their saliva into the skin. Repeated exposures to bed bug bites during a period of several weeks or more causes people to become sensitized to the saliva of these bugs; additional bites may then result in mild to intense allergic responses. The skin lesion produced by the bite of a bed bug resembles those caused by many other kinds of blood feeding insects, such as mosquitoes and fleas. The offending insect, therefore, can rarely be identified by the appearance of the bites. A physician should be consulted to rule out other causes for the lesions and to offer treatment, as needed. The affected person should resist the urge to scratch the bites, as this may intensify the irritation and itching, and may lead to secondary infection. Physicians often treat patients with antihistamines and corticosteroids to reduce allergic reactions and inflammation. Despite what you may have heard or read elsewhere, bed bugs are not known to transmit any infectious agents.

Where do bed bugs occur?
Bed bugs and their relatives occur nearly worldwide. Bed bugs became relatively scarce during the latter part of the 20^th century, but their populations have resurged in recent years, particularly throughout parts of North America, Europe, and Australia. They are most abundant in rooms where people sleep, and they generally hide nearest the bed or other furniture used for sleeping. Bed bugs are most active in the middle of the night, but when hungry, they will venture out during the day to seek a host. Their flattened bodies allow them to conceal themselves in cracks and crevices around the room and within furniture. Favored hiding sites include the bed frame, mattress and box spring. Clutter around the room offers additional sites for these bugs to hide, and increases the difficulty in eliminating bed bugs once they have become established.

How do bed bugs invade a home?
Because bed bugs readily hide in small crevices, they may accompany (as stowaways) luggage, furniture, clothing, pillows, boxes, and other such objects when these are moved between apartments, homes and hotels. Used furniture, particularly bed frames and mattresses, are of greatest risk of harboring bed bugs and their eggs. Thus, one should carefully scrutinize and consider the history of any used furniture, particularly ‘street’ items so plentiful at the beginning and end of each academic year. Because they readily survive for many months without feeding, bed bugs may already be present in apparently ‘vacant’ and ‘clean’ apartments. Bed bugs can wander between adjoining apartments through voids in walls and holes though which wires and pipes pass. In a few cases, bats and/or birds may introduce and maintain bed bugs and their close relatives (bat bugs and bird bugs). Pest control personnel should be mindful of the presence of blood feeding insects and mites that may be left behind after removing nests or roosts of birds and bats in and on the home.

http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/bedbugs/

[P-Marlowe]

DDT

[Ben Hecks]

Info on hotels to avoid: (previously posted on FR)

http://bedbugregistry.com/

[Buckeye McFrog]

I presume Bed Bugs is not the title of a a 3-D summer blockbuster insect fear film?

[tflabo]

Well at least the blood sucking insects along with the other vermin in NYC are well represented in Washingscum, DC.
Now if bed bugs could only just gay marry think how enviro clean a solution to control them that would be.

[ladyvet]

[luvbach1]

Apparently bed bugs are also body bugs. Or some immigrants must have carried their infested bedding with them.

[LearsFool]

OK i may have led a sheltered life, but what are bed bugs...?

It's not that you've lived a sheltered life; it's that Americans eradicated this pest decades and decades ago. With this unchecked immigration - and, literally, with the unchecked immigrants! - the problem has returned.

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

Way back in 1954, my dad rented a room at a hotel in Saguache, Colorado. In the middle of the night my sister complained about things biting her. When my dad flipped on the light, the walls were crawling with bdbugs.

We immediatly got out of there!

[Oratam]

Until Bloomie’s apartment, or private jet, or Bermuda home, is infested this will remain on a non-issue.

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

Back in 1968, I went to the theater in Koza City, Okinawa. As my eyes adjusted to the dark I realized there were rats running all over the floor.
Luckly, I had been vaccinated for plague.