Bed Bugs from outdoor ed

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Demand that you get advance written notification that the accommodations have been inspected for bed bugs. And the results.

Demand it.

Also tell them that you are from Bethesda and that they better get their ass in gear!

[Anonymous]

http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/schoolodex/schooloverview.aspx?s=03990
Laurie Jenkins is the supervisor. [e-mail]
The more voices the better!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Even if the mattresses are plastic, the bugs can live in the seams where the stitches are, and on the wood around the bed.

But how long can they live without a host/source of human blood.

It's not like there are kids there all the time. There is a gap between sessions.

If kids were being bitten every visit, we would have heard about it before now.

Bedbugs can live a year without feeding.

Seriously?? Ugh.

We have outdoor ed in a couple of weeks. I was reading about bed bugs over the weekend and it looked like winter definitely hurts their health. I was hoping we could just unload the stuff in our garage and "deal with it" over a few days. But now I'm worried they could come in the house.

Of course, assuming we have something to deal with...

PP again (who said, "Seriously?? Ugh.")

Here is one thing I found in http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/top-10-myths-about-bed-bugs/

Myth 3: Bedbugs can typically live a year without a meal
Scientists debate this point, but evidence suggests that at normal room temperature, about 23 degrees Celsius, bedbugs can only survive two to three months without a blood meal. But because they are cold-blooded, their metabolism will slow down in chillier climates, and the insects may live up to a year without feeding.

23C = 73F. So if the bugs are indoors and it is still "room temperature", I suppose the temp would be at least the upper 60s. So maybe or hopefully it's not entirely a year???

OMG, this is so disgusting.

[Anonymous]

this is terrible.

[Anonymous]

I work with the Outdoor Ed program, and I'd like to point out some facts that haven't been brought up on this forum yet. Keep in mind Skycroft is a privately owned conference center that has thousands of visitors every year, not just MCPS students.

-Skycroft has contracted with one of the best pest services around, and had a full inspection the FRIDAY before Westland showed up on Monday. NO traces of anything were found as of Friday 11/13/15. I have seen the printed report.

-NO STUDENTS or parents or teachers reported ANY traces of bites or bugs while they were at Skycroft Monday thru Wednesday.

-When the first Westland MS session was moving out Wednesday morning, the Skycroft housekeeping staff started their standard cleaning routine. They have training on recognizing the signs of any problems. They found evidence of bed bugs, and immediately told management. (BTW, the evidence they found was 1 (one) adult bed bug on one bunk. No eggs, no signs of droppings, no signs of ‘infestation’. One bug. Again, I've seen the report.)

-When Skycroft management heard from housekeeping, they immediately took action, closing off that lodge to anyone, and immediately brought in their pest management professional for treatment. The professional inspected and treated the whole lodge, again. And again found no signs of infestation. So far, the one bug was all that was found.
It had clearly been brought to Skycroft with the group that had recently arrived.

-Bed bugs are spread by people who go on trips, stay in hotels or conference centers, and do NOT know how to prevent the spread.

-As a courtesy, Westland families were told of the find, and given the information they needed (cautionary practices) they could take if they were concerned and wanted to limit the possible spread.

-Bed Bugs do NOT dwell in the ‘forest’ ‘wilderness’ or ‘filthy’ places. . . they live where people live. Skycroft (or any hotel or conference center) does not give bed bugs to people; people bring bed bugs to other people.

-if you do a little searching online, you’ll find bed bugs reported in Hyatts, Marriots, Radissons, Hiltons and ANY other hotel chain you can think of, regardless of their 5 star status.

-You can tell the difference between a quality establishment and a ‘not so’ quality establishment by asking a few questions: Did the housekeeping staff report the problem to management, or did a guest? Did management try to ignore or hide the situation, or did management take action to control the spread? Were other guests alerted of the situation as needed, or did management try to keep other impacted guests in the dark?

- Bed bugs do not transmit any diseases to humans.

I cannot tell you are how proud I am of how the Skycroft team handled the situation that week. They were professional, competent, and ultimately concerned about the health and well-being of their guests. Both those who were already leaving and those who had not yet arrived.

If anyone can come up with any other way Skycroft or MCPS should handle that situation, I’d really like to know their suggestions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It could happen anywhere. Skycroft takes it seriously and they treat the place regularly. Kids love it there.

It is not normal to have bed bug bites years apart. They clearly aren't taking it seriously enough. It may be fun, however shuttling hundreds of kids through when it's infested with bed bugs is irresponsible.

Why would that not be normal? People bring bed bugs to the conference center. Skycroft spends thousands of dollars eliminating them. Thousands of guests stay and enjoy their time there, then someone else brings bed bugs to the conference center again. Skycroft will again spend thousands eliminating them once more, as the poster above stated, they take it seriously and they are professionals.

[Anonymous]

Thank you, 22:45, for your detailed comments. My DC will be at Skycroft in the next couple of weeks. It gives me hope.

[Anonymous]

Time to find an alternative to Skycroft.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I work with the Outdoor Ed program, and I'd like to point out some facts that haven't been brought up on this forum yet. Keep in mind Skycroft is a privately owned conference center that has thousands of visitors every year, not just MCPS students.

-Skycroft has contracted with one of the best pest services around, and had a full inspection the FRIDAY before Westland showed up on Monday. NO traces of anything were found as of Friday 11/13/15. I have seen the printed report.

-NO STUDENTS or parents or teachers reported ANY traces of bites or bugs while they were at Skycroft Monday thru Wednesday.

-When the first Westland MS session was moving out Wednesday morning, the Skycroft housekeeping staff started their standard cleaning routine. They have training on recognizing the signs of any problems. They found evidence of bed bugs, and immediately told management. (BTW, the evidence they found was 1 (one) adult bed bug on one bunk. No eggs, no signs of droppings, no signs of ‘infestation’. One bug. Again, I've seen the report.)

-When Skycroft management heard from housekeeping, they immediately took action, closing off that lodge to anyone, and immediately brought in their pest management professional for treatment. The professional inspected and treated the whole lodge, again. And again found no signs of infestation. So far, the one bug was all that was found.
It had clearly been brought to Skycroft with the group that had recently arrived.

-Bed bugs are spread by people who go on trips, stay in hotels or conference centers, and do NOT know how to prevent the spread.

-As a courtesy, Westland families were told of the find, and given the information they needed (cautionary practices) they could take if they were concerned and wanted to limit the possible spread.

-Bed Bugs do NOT dwell in the ‘forest’ ‘wilderness’ or ‘filthy’ places. . . they live where people live. Skycroft (or any hotel or conference center) does not give bed bugs to people; people bring bed bugs to other people.

-if you do a little searching online, you’ll find bed bugs reported in Hyatts, Marriots, Radissons, Hiltons and ANY other hotel chain you can think of, regardless of their 5 star status.

-You can tell the difference between a quality establishment and a ‘not so’ quality establishment by asking a few questions: Did the housekeeping staff report the problem to management, or did a guest? Did management try to ignore or hide the situation, or did management take action to control the spread? Were other guests alerted of the situation as needed, or did management try to keep other impacted guests in the dark?

- Bed bugs do not transmit any diseases to humans.

I cannot tell you are how proud I am of how the Skycroft team handled the situation that week. They were professional, competent, and ultimately concerned about the health and well-being of their guests. Both those who were already leaving and those who had not yet arrived.

If anyone can come up with any other way Skycroft or MCPS should handle that situation, I’d really like to know their suggestions.

How does the pest control company detect the bugs? Human inspection or with a trained dog? A dog is far more effective and can detect a single egg. People can only detect what is visible to the human eye. Bugs also crawl around and away from light. It would be easy to miss the presence of bed bugs early in an infestation.

What kind of treatment does the pest control company use? Anyone who has had their home treated with chemicals knows that it takes repeated treatments to completely eradicate an infestation. Heat treatment is almost 100% effective in one treatment, but it costs more. Frankly, I can't imagine that a single non-heat treatment between groups of visitors would protect the second group.

It's true that bed bugs don't carry disease, but many people are allergic to the bites and will have bigger, itchier welts.

[Anonymous]

Frankly, I can't imagine that a single non-heat treatment between groups of visitors would protect the second group.




Second group was not allowed access to the lodge in question, nor any other group until management and their pest control professionals were confident that it was safe to do so.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I work with the Outdoor Ed program, and I'd like to point out some facts that haven't been brought up on this forum yet. Keep in mind Skycroft is a privately owned conference center that has thousands of visitors every year, not just MCPS students.

-Skycroft has contracted with one of the best pest services around, and had a full inspection the FRIDAY before Westland showed up on Monday. NO traces of anything were found as of Friday 11/13/15. I have seen the printed report.

-NO STUDENTS or parents or teachers reported ANY traces of bites or bugs while they were at Skycroft Monday thru Wednesday.

-When the first Westland MS session was moving out Wednesday morning, the Skycroft housekeeping staff started their standard cleaning routine. They have training on recognizing the signs of any problems. They found evidence of bed bugs, and immediately told management. (BTW, the evidence they found was 1 (one) adult bed bug on one bunk. No eggs, no signs of droppings, no signs of ‘infestation’. One bug. Again, I've seen the report.)

-When Skycroft management heard from housekeeping, they immediately took action, closing off that lodge to anyone, and immediately brought in their pest management professional for treatment. The professional inspected and treated the whole lodge, again. And again found no signs of infestation. So far, the one bug was all that was found.
It had clearly been brought to Skycroft with the group that had recently arrived.

-Bed bugs are spread by people who go on trips, stay in hotels or conference centers, and do NOT know how to prevent the spread.

-As a courtesy, Westland families were told of the find, and given the information they needed (cautionary practices) they could take if they were concerned and wanted to limit the possible spread.

-Bed Bugs do NOT dwell in the ‘forest’ ‘wilderness’ or ‘filthy’ places. . . they live where people live. Skycroft (or any hotel or conference center) does not give bed bugs to people; people bring bed bugs to other people.

-if you do a little searching online, you’ll find bed bugs reported in Hyatts, Marriots, Radissons, Hiltons and ANY other hotel chain you can think of, regardless of their 5 star status.

-You can tell the difference between a quality establishment and a ‘not so’ quality establishment by asking a few questions: Did the housekeeping staff report the problem to management, or did a guest? Did management try to ignore or hide the situation, or did management take action to control the spread? Were other guests alerted of the situation as needed, or did management try to keep other impacted guests in the dark?

- Bed bugs do not transmit any diseases to humans.

I cannot tell you are how proud I am of how the Skycroft team handled the situation that week. They were professional, competent, and ultimately concerned about the health and well-being of their guests. Both those who were already leaving and those who had not yet arrived.

If anyone can come up with any other way Skycroft or MCPS should handle that situation, I’d really like to know their suggestions.

are you from sky croft or mcps? It is always about the money, so are you trying to save your job or save your contract? Which is it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I work with the Outdoor Ed program, and I'd like to point out some facts that haven't been brought up on this forum yet. Keep in mind Skycroft is a privately owned conference center that has thousands of visitors every year, not just MCPS students.

-Skycroft has contracted with one of the best pest services around, and had a full inspection the FRIDAY before Westland showed up on Monday. NO traces of anything were found as of Friday 11/13/15. I have seen the printed report.

-NO STUDENTS or parents or teachers reported ANY traces of bites or bugs while they were at Skycroft Monday thru Wednesday.

-When the first Westland MS session was moving out Wednesday morning, the Skycroft housekeeping staff started their standard cleaning routine. They have training on recognizing the signs of any problems. They found evidence of bed bugs, and immediately told management. (BTW, the evidence they found was 1 (one) adult bed bug on one bunk. No eggs, no signs of droppings, no signs of ‘infestation’. One bug. Again, I've seen the report.)

-When Skycroft management heard from housekeeping, they immediately took action, closing off that lodge to anyone, and immediately brought in their pest management professional for treatment. The professional inspected and treated the whole lodge, again. And again found no signs of infestation. So far, the one bug was all that was found.
It had clearly been brought to Skycroft with the group that had recently arrived.

-Bed bugs are spread by people who go on trips, stay in hotels or conference centers, and do NOT know how to prevent the spread.

-As a courtesy, Westland families were told of the find, and given the information they needed (cautionary practices) they could take if they were concerned and wanted to limit the possible spread.

-Bed Bugs do NOT dwell in the ‘forest’ ‘wilderness’ or ‘filthy’ places. . . they live where people live. Skycroft (or any hotel or conference center) does not give bed bugs to people; people bring bed bugs to other people.

-if you do a little searching online, you’ll find bed bugs reported in Hyatts, Marriots, Radissons, Hiltons and ANY other hotel chain you can think of, regardless of their 5 star status.

-You can tell the difference between a quality establishment and a ‘not so’ quality establishment by asking a few questions: Did the housekeeping staff report the problem to management, or did a guest? Did management try to ignore or hide the situation, or did management take action to control the spread? Were other guests alerted of the situation as needed, or did management try to keep other impacted guests in the dark?

- Bed bugs do not transmit any diseases to humans.

I cannot tell you are how proud I am of how the Skycroft team handled the situation that week. They were professional, competent, and ultimately concerned about the health and well-being of their guests. Both those who were already leaving and those who had not yet arrived.

If anyone can come up with any other way Skycroft or MCPS should handle that situation, I’d really like to know their suggestions.

I am a parent who communicated with Skycroft and my experience with Skycroft was the same as yours : extremely professional. I would have no problem sending my child there again.

[Anonymous]

am I the only one more worried about my kid sleeping in a room/bed that has been treated multiple times for bedbugs than I am about the bugs themselves?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:am I the only one more worried about my kid sleeping in a room/bed that has been treated multiple times for bedbugs than I am about the bugs themselves?

That's a valid concern, which is why I questioned the poster above about the method you use for detection and treatment. I wouldn't want my child sleeping somewhere that had just been sprayed with chemicals and/or sprayed many times.

[Anonymous]

Skycroft has a chronic bed bug problem and I have heard that there were children with bites from the recent Westland trip. Whether they took the time to report them is another story. Stop defending Skycroft and let's look at the best interest of children and families here. I also was wondering the same thing to the poster who defended Skycroft - who do you work for and what is your "interest" in this? This wasn't a one time incident but one that seems to keep coming up over and over again.