By JAMES BELL
Hays Post

Following a re-inspection Tuesday at the Super 8 Motel in Hays, one room remains closed after the Kansas Department of Agriculture found live bed bugs at the location.

The initial inspection had occurred following a complaint lodged with the department. That reported noted one room with a live infestation.

“Six live active and roaming bedbugs on the site of the bottom mattress and within the folds of the base (bottom) mattress skirt cover. This was Room 105, and both beds were found to have presence of live ones,” according to the original report.

After the investigation, the hotel took immediate action closing the infested room and others nearby.

“The establishment was proactive in closing that room, the side rooms next to affected room and that would be immediately above,” the report noted.

No other rooms nearby were found to have an infestation, but, according to Missy Jackson, travel support for the Super 8 chain, were treated as a precautionary measure.

Despite the public perception of cleanliness as a cause for infection, that is not the issue, Jackson said.

As travelers come through the hotel, a guest bringing them in is likely to be a cause for infestation.

The follow-up inspection Tuesday found the room still closed pending further treatment, and the hotel will contact the inspector when treatment is complete.

“We are waiting of replacement (furnishings for the room),” Jackson said, noting bed replacement is standard in these cases.

Bed begs have been a growing concern throughout the U.S., and websites like bedbugregistry.com have become popular on the web as infestation reports come in.

Bedbugpestcontrol.com, Bedbugreports.com and Bedbugregistry.com had no prior reports of an infestation, nor did prior state inspection reports.