A Maryland woman was awarded $800K in the bed bug infestation lawsuit she filed against her former landlord.

Faika Shaaban said that she lost almost everything she owned after getting evicted from her apartment. This is in addition to the numerous bites and lesions she suffered from the bugs that lived inside the residence.

Shaaban moved into the residence in September of 2011. The 69-year-old woman began having trouble with bed bugs soon after. Although she attempted to alert the landlords to the situation, they ultimately ignored her complaints.

The woman’s attorney said other tenants in the building also had issues with the bed bug infestation. However, the landlord chose to ignore these complaints as well.

Faika Shaaban was later evicted from the apartment and her belongings shuffled to the curb. Since she had nowhere to stash her possessions, they were soon stolen off the street. Her lawyer explained that she lost almost everything she owned as a result of the landlord’s actions.

“All of these items went into the community infested,” she explained.

After listening to the case presented by her attorney, the jury returned after only 45 minutes of deliberation. Shaaban was awarded $800K in the bed bug infestation case. The woman received $150,000 in compensatory damages and $650,000 in punitive damages from her former landlord.

Alabama lawyer Tom Campbell believes bed bug cases like Shaaban’s are only going to become more frequent as the problem persists. Other landlords are no doubt paying attention to how this case played out in court.

“You are going to see a rapid growth of bedbug claims over the next decade. There are enough lawyers who are getting trained so that people will be able to find lawyers, so that people will find a way to get relief,” he explained.

What do you think about the $800K awarded in the recent bed bug infestation case in Maryland? Do you think landlords should be punished for ignoring complaints from tenants?

[Image via Shutterstock]

$800K Awarded In Bed Bug Infestation Case is a post from: The Inquisitr

The common bed bug, Cimex lectularius, is a parasitic insect that exclusively feeds on blood, our blood preferably. They’ve been around for thousands of years and will likely be around thousands more as they are extremely difficult to eradicate. In essence, the bed bug is nature’s adaptive little survivor.

The name is derived from the favored habitat bed bugs infest. They reside in or around the bedding areas of their meal. This can include pillows, sheets, quilts, mattresses, and even sofas within the houses and apartments in which we dwell.

Chances are high if you have a neighbor in the same apartment or duplex with an infestation that you are likely being feasted on as well as bed bugs will traverse through outlets and other opportunistic crevices to get to you.

These nocturnal hematophagous (bloodsucking) insects emerge and feed on the host (us), typically without being noticed. But the bite of a bed bug can cause skin rashes and other allergic symptoms. Over time, the injection site where they penetrate the flesh with a microscopic “beak” festers and a gradual, itchy welt can result. Favored exposed areas to drink from are the neck and jawline, though they will indiscriminately feed elsewhere.

Bed bugs are drawn to the carbon dioxide we exhale as well as the body heat we emit.

Interestingly, the DNA bed bugs ingest from humans can be drawn and forensically tested up to 90 days. Under cool conditions, adult bed bugs can live up to a year without feeding. In warmer climates they’ll dine five to ten times a day and survive up to five months without blood.

Newly hatched instars require an immediate source of blood or else expire within weeks. Bed bugs go through six points of life stages, each lasting about a week, and shed their skins at each stage, molting six times before becoming fertile adults. Females can generate upwards of 500 eggs in her lifetime.

The epidemic of bed bugs can drive the hosts to do extreme things in order to get rid of the persistent infestation. A woman so desperate to rid her home of the pests doused her couch in alcohol in hopes of smothering them out. Instead, she inadvertently set her Carlisle, Kentucky apartment ablaze and dislocated 30 other residence along with herself.

The idea of having teams of little bugs skitter along your skin and drink your blood is already unnerving, but even more so disturbing is it is growing ever more difficult to exterminate them. Recent research has determined bed bugs are able to alter the response in certain genes in their shells, allowing them the versatility to adapt or avoid the effects of insecticides.

In order to determine the resilience of the common bed bug, researchers led by Subba Palli of the University of Kentucky Department of Entomology in Lexington, Kentucky collected 21 specimens of bed bugs from four Midwest cities. Scientists examined the activity of genes that seemingly shrug off the effects of pyrethroid pesticides, a common household insecticide used to treat for similar infestations.

The genome-wide analysis of the insecticide resistance-associated genes of the insects revealed 14 molecular markers associated with pyrethroid resistance, particularly in the epidermal layer of their integument (outer covering/shell), thus preventing adequate penetration of the pesticide into the target nerve cells by detoxifying and nullifying the effects.

An additional pesticide resistance gene called kdr was also found to activate in the nerve cells, giving bedbugs multiple layers of protection. These attributes are especially unique as no other insect currently utilizes a genetically adaptive multilayer defense quite like this. Having a more thorough understanding of how the little blood suckers adjust and adapt may assist in the creation of more effective and targeted extermination tactics.

[Image via Shutterstock]

Bed Bugs: Adaptive Little Survivors is a post from: The Inquisitr

If you’re “itching” to go on vacation this summer, you might be interested in finding out which cities have the most bedbugs.

And the winner, if you call it that, is…Philadelphia, according to a study released by Terminix, the world’s largest pest exterminator.

New York City topped the list in 2010 and 2011.

The disturbing rankings come from data gathered from 300 Terminix branches across the country based on customer service calls and confirmed cases from service professionals.

Here is the complete list of the most bedbug cities:

1. Philadelphia
2. Cincinnati
3. New York City
4. Chicago
5. Detroit
6. Washington D.C.
7. Columbus (Ohio)
8. San Francisco
9. Denver
10. New Haven (Conn.)
11. Dallas
12. Houston
13. Indianapolis
14. Miami
15. Cleveland

A Terminix official cautions that the bedbug population isn’t just a problem restricted to urban areas:

Bedbugs continue to increase their presence across the U.S. While major metropolitan areas are most at risk, it is important to note that bedbugs have been spotted in cities and towns across the country.

These critters can do a lot of damage. Here’s what Time has to say about them:

Bed bugs (Cimex lectularius L.) are parasites that feed on human blood and prefer to live in beds or other household furniture. Victims are often attacked in their sleep, unaware that they are being bitten.

Symptoms of bed bug attacks include itchy red welts on the skin and, for some patients, allergic reactions triggered by the insects’ saliva. Because the bites remove some of the victim’s blood, prolonged exposure can in rare cases lead to anemic conditions.

When you’re traveling, Terminix recommends among other things checking hotel headboards, mattresses, and box springs for bedbugs and “dark blood spots.”

The Most Bedbug Infested City In America Is…. is a post from: The Inquisitr