Got Bed Bugs? Call the Health Department

Most of us pay taxes. Most of us rarely call the Health Department. When bed bugs come into the picture at a hotel or apartment building, it is a good time to see your tax dollars in action. Call the Health Department and make a report of bed bugs. The Health Department is required to investigate complaints of bed bugs, and they will often send an investigator to make an unannounced inspection at the infested hotel or apartment.

Why call the Health Department for bed bugs, especially if you have seen the bugs yourself? One of the pillars of evidence in a bed bug case is proof that the bed bugs were present. A report from a Health Department inspector not only provides proof of the bed bugs, but also creates a public record and requires the manager of the infested property to treat the infestation.

 More than once I have heard from a client that both they and an employee of the hotel where they stayed and were bitten, saw bed bugs in the hotel room of a client. Then, when a claim is made, all of a sudden the hotel employee denies they saw anything.   If there is no Inspection Report created, and no photographic or video evidence of the bed bugs in the room, the employee’s false statement becomes a problem.  The report from the Health Department avoids the problem of false statements by employees and strengthens the claim.