Hotels Continue to Battle Bedbug Outbreak

By Terry Green
Oct 24 2010

From high style to hard scrabble, hotels from around the US continue to battle bedbugs. The recent outbreak of the small mites has caused serious problems for many hotels who are still desperately seeking a solution to the problem.

Bedbugs were largely wiped out following WWII when international travel came to a standstill. However, in the 1990’s they started to reemerge hitting the hotel industry hard. The heavy use of pesticides caused their retreat before the turn of the century.

These days health concerns over pesticide use have created a problem for the hotel industry. Without a weapon to fight bedbugs many hotels around the country have simply decided to live with the problem for the time being.

Experts have said that international travel is the most likely cause of bedbugs. The pests are well-known to travel using humans and their clothing as passage to new areas where food will be plentiful.

New York currently tops the list of cities that have been hit the hardest by this recent outbreak of bedbugs. Chicago made the top five as well as Detroit and Cincinnati. All of the cities are well-known hot spots for international travelers.

Some have suggested that organic pesticides are the answer. Organic pesticides are safe for humans, made up of natural ingredients that are deadly to the pests. Some hotels have started using these methods with mixed results.

Travelers have been encouraged to practice good hygiene while using hotels in the large US cities, an effort to prevent the spread of bedbugs.