The Christmas Holiday is quickly approaching, but three full weeks remain for those who have yet to complete their Christmas shopping. Most people will be gravitating toward the nearest mall in order to enjoy convenient access to all of the clothes, electronics, and sporting good products available. However, you may want to keep the threat of bed bugs in mind while examining clothing items, as one American Eagle Outfitters location in Florida has recently been outed for having bed bugs.
Representatives of American Eagle Outfitters have announced that they are investigating claims concerning bed bugs found within a store located at a Florida mall. The reports did not come from just one person, as several individuals have reported spotting bed bugs within the store. Some of these people are quite aggravated, as they only learned of the bed bug presence after having purchased infested clothing from the store.
One woman recently posted pictures of the bed bug bites that her boyfriend had sustained after coming into contact with an infested sweater that she had purchased at the store. Another woman claimed that she found bed bugs within a pair of jeans that she had purchased from the store during the black Friday sale. Both of these women purchased their infested clothes from the American Eagle location at the Port Charlotte mall.
In response to these potentially damaging accusations, a spokesperson for the company claimed that these complaints are being taken seriously and an investigation is underway. NBC reported that it is not known for sure if the bugs were acquired within an American Eagle location, or if they were picked up by the victims at another location. However, another Facebook user claimed to have spotted bed bugs on a piece of clothing within the Rue21 store that is also located within the Port Charlotte mall.
Have you ever transported bed bugs into your home?