Infestation: How is the Days Inn near airport dealing with bed bugs?

OAK CREEK (WITI) -- There is a continued quest to try to get rid of some unwanted guests that have taken up residence at a popular hotel near Milwaukee's airport!

The Days Inn near General Mitchell International Airport is dealing with an infestation of bed bugs.

On Tuesday, May 13th, a few employees walked off the job in protest of the problem --and city leaders are talking about what can be done to solve it.

"It's Tuesday and we still haven't seen anybody coming out here to take care of these rooms since Friday," Jason Haberman said.

Haberman is a maintenance technician at the hotel that has about a dozen rooms with bed bugs.

Haberman says he had hoped other employees would join him for a walkout on Tuesday morning in protest of how the situation is being handled, but there were few takers.

"A lot of them are scared of losing their jobs, which is understandable because they have families to support," Haberman said.

Dennis Hargrove is a guest at the hotel. He says he was one of the people who called the Milwaukee Health Department about the problem.

"I've had to throw away a lot of clothes because of this," Hargrove said.

Oak Creek's City Administrator says on May 8th, a pest control service treated 21 rooms at the hotel.

"Part of our investigation identified that there were 10 rooms that had some sign of bed bugs. In this case we've had good cooperation on the part of the hotel to address the issues that have been raised," City Administrator Gerald Peterson said.

Oak Creek's sanitarian is requiring the hotel to contract a professionally-trained bed bugs dog to check all 109 rooms in the complex this Friday.

"They're believed to be 90% effective in detecting the presence of bed bugs," City Sanitarian Dave Cammilleri said.

"There is a re-inspection that's required before the rooms can be occupied. That re-inspection can occur as early as Friday and as late as next Tuesday. That's the range that we've gotten from hotel management," Peterson said.

Once the hotel is given the all-clear, maybe Haberman will feel better about going to work.

"I'm actually kind of frightened going into work," Haberman said.

Bed bugs are a problem nationwide -- affecting low and high-quality hotels.

What you can do if you're going to a hotel is keep your luggage on the luggage rack, and keep your clothes in a bag.

Also -- check your mattress for bed bug droppings, which will be dark red to black spots.

The bed bugs themselves are about the size of a tick.