John Medeiros contacted 17 News claiming that enormous welts on his back and arms came from a local motel room that was infested with bed bugs. The Kern County Environmental Health Department is taking this complaint very seriously, because once the bed bugs bite, the likelihood they will travel other places is very high.
Medeiros says the large welts appeared all over his arms and back after he stayed at a local motel last week. He says a doctor told him he was bitten by bed bugs and Medeiros says there is no doubt in his mind it came from the motel bed.
"I thought it was like a flea or fly or something like that," Medeiros said. "I swatted it and a couple minutes later the same thing, and this time I pressed on it and it was a reddish-brownish bug."
The room Medeiros stayed in last week was occupied so 17 News couldn't inspect it for bed bugs. However, just three doors down, we inspected the seams of a different motel mattress and looked under the bed for any signs of bed bugs. Bed bugs also like to hide behind the headboard which in this case didn't move because it was screwed into the wall. None of the tiny bugs were found in that room, but Environmental Health Director Matt Constantine says that doesn't mean the motel is in the clear.
"It's sometimes difficult to find them and depending on where they're hiding or living, that could present a challenge to identifying if they are present," Constantine said.
There were reports of bed bugs at this motel in 2008, but because of the possible adverse effect it would have on his business, 17 News is not naming the motel until Constantine confirms that there were in fact bed bugs in that room. The environmental health team will inspect the motel tomorrow and search Mediero's room for any signs of the critters.
Mediero says he has hired an attorney and is seeking reimbursement for medical expenses and all of his personal belongings which he said he was forced to throw away because they were infested with bed bugs. We will let you know what the health department's inspection reveals.
