Bed bugs began spreading across the United States within the past several years. Bed bugs exist in all 50 states, including Texas. Our office represents victims of bed bug bites throughout the country on a pre-litigation basis.
Bed bugs cause needless suffering when a person sustains bed bug bites or lives with potential emotional suffering possibly caused by bed bugs. Loss of personal property, lost wages and other issues likely makes having bed bugs a devastating situation for some Texas residents and travelers.
Learn more about bed bugs and get a free consultation with the Texas bed bug attorney to discuss your Texas bed bug case pre-suit representation.
How do I know if I have bed bugs?
Bed bugs are about the size of an apple seed. However, that is not always the case. The life cycle stage and time of the last blood meal determines the size, shape and color of individual bed bugs.
The Environmental Health Services Division of the Austin/Travis County Health and Human Services Department points out that a newly hatched bed bug is about the size of a poppy seed and “Semi-transparent.” Adult bed bugs take on the reddish-brown coloring typically associated with bed bugs and the size of an apple seed.
Where are bed bugs found?
Do not simply look for bed bugs on your mattress. Look on the box springs and seams of all bedding. Check dresser drawers, along cracks, crevices and joints of all furniture. Some Texas residents or travelers may not initially realize that their apartment or hotel room has bed bugs because bed bugs even hide along and behind switch plates and electrical outlets. Check along baseboards and behind pictures hanging on your wall. You may find both bed bugs and their shed exoskeletons.
Bed bugs get transported to your residence after you stay in a Texas hotel, when you receive delivery of your new furniture or even from your Texas workplace. All cities in Texas can experience bed bug infestations, including Houston, San Antonio, Dallas, Austin, Fort Worth, El Paso, and Arlington, and we can represent clients anywhere in the state.
Some of the other cities we can provide representation in are:
- Corpus Christi
- Amarillo
- Plano
- Galveston
- Lubbock
- Waco
How do I know if my bites are from bed bugs?
Bed bug bites are quite distinctive. Unlike some bugs that bite once or twice, bed bugs often bite multiple times.
Mayo Clinic describes bed bug bites as “Arranged in a rough line or in a cluster.” It can be several days before you notice the red, itchy bites.
Are there complications from contact with bed bugs?
Some sources indicate that bed bugs do not cause disease. However, they actually can make you quite ill. Some people suffer complications such as allergic reactions or infections related to scratching bed bug bites.
As pathogen carrying vectors, bed bugs potentially carry and transmit disease. While some people consider bed bugs as pathogen carrying vectors a relatively new discovery, evidence existed several years ago.
In 1977, The Lancet Journal reported research results from the “Hepatitis-B Virus in Bedbugs (CimexHemipterus) From Senegal.” Researchers collected bed bugs on four different occasions from huts of villagers living in Senegal, West Africa. Lancet reveals, “Hepatitis-B surface antigen (HBsAg) was detected in unengorged nymph and adult bedbugs in each of the first three collections.”
Researchers conducted additional experimentation on the fourth sample of bed bugs. They kept the bed bugs alive for 30 days without a blood meal. After testing revealed that three of the 89 samples tested positive for Hepatitis B, it was then determined “The bedbug must be considered a potential vector of hepatitis-B virus.”
More recently, researchers at Penn Medicine Center for Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics discovered that bed bugs, “Can transmit Trypanosoma cruzi, the parasite that causes Chagas disease, one of the most prevalent and deadly diseases in the Americas.”
The Penn Medicine News Release quoted Renzo Salazar, biologist at Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia and co-author of the study, who stated, “I’ve never seen so many parasites in an insect.”
Early diagnosis of Chagas disease can prove difficult. However, in later stages an individual can suffer sudden heart failure or even sudden death due to complications from Chagas disease.
Can I sue a hotel in Texas for bed bug bite infestations?
Hotels can be popular infestation locations for bed bugs, which is why if you or a loved one has experienced bed bug bites in these facilities, you may be able to receive compensation with the help of a Texas bed bug bite attorneys.
Consider hiring a bed bug attorney in Texas
When you suffer a bed bug infestation at your Texas home or hotel room, discover bed bugs on your new furniture and suffer the resulting consequences, you can learn about your rights from the Texas bed bug attorneys.
Get your free consultation to discuss your Texas bed bug case pre-litigation representation.