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Bedbug problem in numerous Utah County hotels

Posted at 6:11 PM, Oct 30, 2017
and last updated 2017-10-30 20:11:57-04

UTAH COUNTY, Utah - In the last year there have been more than 15 complaints made to the Utah County Health Department about unsanitary conditions and bed bugs at area motels.

“In some cases it’s been very simple. I pull back the covers during the inspection, you can see bed bugs running," said health scientist Brian Nielson.

Nielson said the Executive Inn and Suites at 250 S University Avenue in Provo, and the Travelers in at 70 East 300 South, just across the street, are the two he keeps getting called back to. The Executive Inn has had the most complaints.

“Dirtiness –general dirtiness – cigarette burns, bed bugs, cockroaches," Nielson listed.

Each time, records show the business handles the situation by spraying, using heat treatments and cleaning the rooms. In some cases, remodels have been done. Still, bed bugs keep coming back.

“Bed bugs are difficult to treat," Nielson explained. "They’re very small. They lay very tiny eggs that are about the size of a pin head.”

So it is not necessarily negligence on the businesses' parts. Nielson said sometimes people may have think they killed all of the bugs, but it just takes a couple eggs hiding to hatch and create yet another problem six months later.

Inspectors have also been called to the L&L Motel at 963 South State Street in Orem and the Best Western Mountain View Inn at 1455 North 1750 West in Springville, but most cases are in Provo.

Complaints have been filed about the Amenity Motor Inn at 40 West 300 South and the Passport Inn at 150 West and 300 South. These two plus the Executive Inn and Travelers in are all on the same road, 300 South.

"Those cases have been increasing over the last several years. The frequency just depends on the time of year or cycle. Sometimes we don’t have reports at all and other times we have many reports, and we’ve been experiencing a case of that lately," Nielson said.

He recommend anyone who come in contact with bed bugs or unsanitary conditions at a hotel to report it to the manager, as well as the health department so inspectors may investigate.