Iowa Hotel Launches Bed Bug Battle

SHENANDOAH, Iowa - KETV.com

The owners of a Shenandoah hotel infested with bed bugs are taking action to get rid of the pests.

Management at the Days Inn had hoped to reopen on Thursday, but now say it will take longer than that.

The bug problem came to light when employees spotted evidence of the insects.

“We were seeing spots of blood on the sheets, and I’m like where is all this coming from,” said former employee Christy Studey.

State inspectors said they have been receiving complaints about the hotel for months. When they saw similar blood spots on a pillow, along with multiple live bugs and larvae, they closed the property last Thursday.

The hotel’s manager said all the management and the staff have been changed in the past week. He admitted the problem had not been dealt with properly in the past.

“I’m here to tell you it wasn’t,” said current manager Paul Hughes. “Obviously, if it was, we wouldn’t have the problem today that we have.”

Exterminator Aaron Johnson has been hired to clear the hotel of the pests. His workers are steam cleaning all the carpet and furniture, throwing out anything that they think they can’t save and treating all 55 rooms with pesticides.

The hotel must be certified pest-free before reopening.

“It requires me to have two post inspections of each and every single room come back completely clean before I sign off and get these folks back in business,” said Johnson.

Hughes said customers who were forced to leave when the hotel was shut down were reimbursed and placed in other hotels.

Meanwhile, former employees of the hotel are hoping for the best.

“I think once Paul gets everything situated and back on schedule, I think the hotel is going to be great,” said Studey.

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