SYRACUSE -- Update: 5:30 PM
A tenant at McCarthy Manor in Syracuse says she's been dealing with a bed bug problem for longer than a year.
Robin Standish says exterminators have worked on her apartment several times, but the problem just keeps coming back. She says the bugs are all over her furniture, forcing her to throw some away.
"Sometimes I can't sleep at night because I'm getting bit up by bed bugs," says Standish. "I've had friends take me out of my apartment and pay for rooms for me to sleep in because I can't sleep at night."
She's not the only one who has had problems.
"They're terrible. They're little. They crawl on your skin. They bite you, and they infest your whole apartment," says tenant Mark Adams.
Bed bugs are small, red bugs that are active at night and feed on blood. They travel through furniture, luggage, or clothing from an infested area.
Onondaga County Health Department officials say the agency doesn't investigate bed bug cases because the bugs don't carry disease.
Billy Shirtz from AAA Exterminators, the Critter Ridders, says the bugs are a growing problem.
His company doesn't work at McCarthy Manor, but he says he sees how difficult it can be for the building to get rid of the bugs.
"You get a lot of overturn and new people coming in, and they can be bring them in also, so it's just never going to end," says Shirtz.
Shirtz says he thinks bed bugs are becoming a bigger problem because of an increase in travel. People can pick them up at hotel rooms and bring them to new locations.
The property manager for McCarthy Manor, Dana Natale, sent us the following statement.
"The Management of McCarthy Manor takes this issue extremely seriously and has instituted a comprehensive set of protocols to eradicate bedbugs from the premises.
These protocols include:
**Contracting with a local exterminator who is available multiple days a week onsite for when bed bugs are detected
**Inspection by the exterminator of all vacant apartments prior to moving in
**Regular inspections of the common areas and the entire building
**Requiring that all moving trucks are exterminated prior to moving in
**Tracking of all trends and sources to proactively identify residents who may have unreported issues to ensure they are treated
**Conducting resident meetings with staff and experts to ensure residents are educated on the detection, prevention and treatment of bed bugs
**Connecting residents with our on-staff Service Coordinator to see that they have all the help they need to cooperate with the exterminator
"All of this is free of charge to the residents."
Click on these related stories: New York City goes after bed bugs and Bed bugs increase across the country
Update 3:50pm:The Onondaga County Health Department does not investigate cases of bed bugs because the bugs do not carry disease. The Division of Environmental Health does distribute a fact sheet on bed bugs to help people deal with the problem.
A spokeswoman for McCarthy Manor contacted us today and released their protocols for dealing with bed bugs. They include:
"Contracting with a local exterminator who is available multiple days a week onsite for when bed bugs are detected Inspection by the exterminator of all vacant apartments prior to moving in Regular inspections of the common areas and the entire building Requiring that all moving trucks are exterminated prior to moving in Tracking of all trends and sources to proactively identify residents who may have unreported issues to ensure they are treated Conducting resident meetings with staff and experts to ensure residents are educated on the detection, prevention and treatment of bed bugs Connecting residents with our on-staff Service Coordinator to see that they have all the help they need to cooperate with the exterminator.."
11:00am:
A tenant at McCarthy Manor in Syracuse says she's been dealing with a bed bug problem for more than a year.
Robin Standish says exterminators have worked on her apartment several times, but the problem just keeps coming back. She says the bugs are all over her furniture. She's even had to throw some away.
Standish says other tenants have told her they have similar problems.
