Apple's temporary Fifth Avenue store coping with bed bug infestation

Posted:
in General Discussion edited April 2019
Apple's Fifth Avenue temp store -- handling traffic during renovations at its iconic New York City cube -- has reportedly been dealing with a bed bug problem for weeks.

Temporary Fifth Avenue Apple store


Trouble started about 3 to 4 weeks ago, when overnight staff cordoned off a table on the second floor after discovering the first bug, the New York Post said. The New York Post speculated that the bug may have arrived with one of the homeless visitors the location regularly receives, but the city has a high rate of infestation across all social spectra.

Regardless, both workers and shoppers were allowed in the store and even around the table without any warnings, one source claimed.

Management later brought in an exterminator and said the situation was safe, only for another overnight worker to find a bed bug on their sweater. Video of that incident was circulated among hundreds of staff and led to a second round of spraying.

Last week the store closed for 6 hours one weekday night, allegedly because of a water leak. Some staff are said to have shown up without having been told their shift was canceled.

This past Friday a bug was spotted in a manager's office, creating "mayhem" among workers, one person said. People were ordered to double-bag possessions in plastic, and a sniffing beagle was brought in, which ultimately detected bugs in two lockers.

Store management is said to have called employees over the weekend insisting that the danger was "isolated" and resolved.

Bed bugs don't carry infectious diseases and rarely cause anything worse than a rash or fever when they bite. They are however notoriously difficult to get rid of, often requiring multiple washings and pesticide treatments to end an infestation. It can sometimes be simpler to destroy clothing and linen rather than clean it properly.
«1

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 34
    zoetmbzoetmb Posts: 2,654member
    I'm a little surprised because bed bugs normally like soft surfaces and I don't think that store has any with the possible exception of some small couches in the section for kids (although I don't quite remember if that location includes that).    There's no carpeting, no soft wall treatments, all the tables are hard wood, etc.

    Some NYC movie theaters had problems with bed bugs for awhile.

    And I wonder why the "real" store next door is taking so long to rebuild.   It feels like it's already several years.  Entire office buildings get built in that time.  
    ronn
  • Reply 2 of 34
    Obviously, this is where the Beddit R&D moves to. 
    leftoverbaconAppleExposed
  • Reply 3 of 34
    djs71adjs71a Posts: 10member
    I thought I was reading a piece from The Onion at first...
    IreneWpscooter63toysandmegenovelleSpamSandwichmacxpressAppleExposed
  • Reply 4 of 34
    haydn!haydn! Posts: 16member
    Love the assumption it’s being caused by the homeless when the cleanliness of a person and their home has zero to do with whether or not they could be infested with bed bugs. It’s just as likely to be a staff member, if not more likely!
    hammeroftruthMisterKittokyojimucornchipflyingdpleftoverbaconmac_dogdysamoriaredgeminipa
  • Reply 5 of 34
    spice-boyspice-boy Posts: 1,450member
    New Yorkers must place discarded mattresses in large plastic bags when putting them out for pickup. It's proven to stop the spread of bed bugs now if science only had a way to deal with measles? 
    tokyojimusphericMplsPwlymforgot usernamelostkiwi
  • Reply 6 of 34
    Welcome to NYC. I feel that commuters seats on some buses ran by some companies here have also this problem, but nobody dares to talk about it. Hard plastic seats on subway are sure solution... except I wonder if anyone cleans A/C filters on trains, cause some bacterial and viral infections with people are really suspicious. Not just Apple seems to have those issues and i bet it does not come from the firm, but from general hygene issues in NYC.
  • Reply 7 of 34
    Apple has it’s share of bugs. 😂

    Seriously though, bedbugs are having a resurgence due to the banning of DDT. 

    Most big cities have chronic issues with bedbug infestations. New York is one of the many hotspots. Offices, Businesses, and Hotels have all had bedbug outbreaks that are difficult to eliminate due to the bedbugs being able to recede into the structure of the building or the furniture and fixtures, and hibernate until they are lured to our carbon dioxide emissions. 

    Heat kills them and there are many cedar based non toxic treatments that can eliminate them over a short period of time.  The problem is getting all of them without having to partially demolish the dwelling they reside in. Plus, they can “hitch” a ride on you by getting on your clothes and causing a re-infestation. 

    It has gotten so bad that hotels panic if you mention you have seen a bedbug in your room. 

    Please educate yourselves on this problem before it ends up following you home. You don’t want to have the throw out your belongings in order to rid yourself of these nasty pests. 
    tokyojimucornchipflyingdp
  • Reply 8 of 34
    spice-boy said:
    New Yorkers must place discarded mattresses in large plastic bags when putting them out for pickup. It's proven to stop the spread of bed bugs now if science only had a way to deal with measles? 
    That does not solve any problem... just like putting out rat poison while you still have rats running between tracks in subway here (NYC). I call it "NYC wildlife". The probem comes from general hygene and denial that anything should be done to improve it. Everybody needs to run expensive business to make living and pay all city dues so, average New Yorker attitude "whatever" is in place of actions to improve. Anyway tourists do not spend enough time to notice this and legends about NYC greatness are born and spread. Living in it or communting to it daily for years changes perspective.... especially if it is not the only place someone lived in this world for years and has valid comparison references.
    cornchiptyler82forgot username
  • Reply 9 of 34
    ronnronn Posts: 653member
    "It's speculated that the bug may have arrived with one of the homeless visitors the location regularly receives."

    I hope there's no dying dogs around the writer. They're likely to be kicked. :#
  • Reply 10 of 34
    jcs2305jcs2305 Posts: 1,336member
    haydn! said:
    Love the assumption it’s being caused by the homeless when the cleanliness of a person and their home has zero to do with whether or not they could be infested with bed bugs. It’s just as likely to be a staff member, if not more likely!
    I thought the same?  ANYONE can carry a bed bug on their clothing. I would say that employees are in the store way more than a random homeless person.
    stanhopeflyingdpmac_doghaydn!dysamoria
  • Reply 11 of 34
    MplsPMplsP Posts: 3,911member
    spice-boy said:
    New Yorkers must place discarded mattresses in large plastic bags when putting them out for pickup. It's proven to stop the spread of bed bugs now if science only had a way to deal with measles? 
    Yeah, that would be awesome. I’m going to go pray for that.
  • Reply 12 of 34
    22july201322july2013 Posts: 3,564member
    Please, let's put this topic to bed now. After watching this insect joke video: 
    lostkiwi
  • Reply 13 of 34
    FolioFolio Posts: 698member
    zoetmb said:
    I'm a little surprised because bed bugs normally like soft surfaces ....   There's no carpeting, no soft wall treatments, all the tables are hard wood, etc.

    Just loads of soft ware. Ugh, normally resistant to bugs.

    Forget NYC squads of exterminators. Bring on bug-proof iOS 13
  • Reply 14 of 34
    retrogustoretrogusto Posts: 1,109member
    haydn! said:
    Love the assumption it’s being caused by the homeless when the cleanliness of a person and their home has zero to do with whether or not they could be infested with bed bugs. It’s just as likely to be a staff member, if not more likely!
    If everyone is in the same places they have an equal chance of initially picking them up, but if you sleep in your own immaculate home and work in an immaculate office, you’re less likely to pick them up and more likely to notice the bugs if you do, and if you have money you’re more likely to deal with them pretty quickly when necessary. If you sleep in subway stations and homeless shelters, you’re probably not in a position to immediately have the place fumigated and have all of your clothes cleaned and dried at high temperature. Not to say that it couldn’t be a staff member, but some people are more at risk for these things. 

    A few years ago I was sitting next to a somewhat disheveled guy on a New a York subway, and when he got up I glanced down and saw a big swollen bedbug on the bench seat crawling toward me. I jumped up, squished it with my shoe, and the blood squirted out. And of course, since it was New York, none of the many people around me seemed to notice anything at all. 


  • Reply 15 of 34
    FolioFolio Posts: 698member
    Is Tim Cook thinking of possible pilot episode, Seinfeld Redux? 
  • Reply 16 of 34
    As others have said, bed bugs don’t care about cleanliness or food or anything except blood. They love blood and I still have an occasional nightmare from having them. 

    The only thing that I tried that worked was have the exterminator heat the apartment to 122 degrees for an extended period and it has to cover everywhere. 

    Anything that  might be damaged by heat must be removed including most technology. I would then use dogs to inspect the space to help insure they’re dead. Later, they may want to follow up with a chemical spray. 

    They might not cause disease, but they are a huge headache. I wish Apple well. 
    dysamoria
  • Reply 17 of 34
    "It's speculated that the bug may have arrived with one of the homeless visitors the location regularly receives."

    Delete this. This is a classist and ignorant statement.

    EsquireCatsdysamoriaApplefanboyOMGarlor
  • Reply 18 of 34
    eightzeroeightzero Posts: 3,056member
    Zed, we have a bug....
  • Reply 19 of 34
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member
    haydn! said:
    Love the assumption it’s being caused by the homeless when the cleanliness of a person and their home has zero to do with whether or not they could be infested with bed bugs. It’s just as likely to be a staff member, if not more likely!
    New York is infested with rats, bedbugs and now there is a major measles outbreak there... Sounds like a heckuva place!
    dysamoria
  • Reply 20 of 34
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member
    eightzero said:
    Zed, we have a bug....
    “Zed’s dead, baby. Zed’s dead.” 

    (Cue “Miserlou”...)
    edited April 2019
Sign In or Register to comment.