[ooyala code=”ZheWloajo2CmeoYek8iSUBPcwmieIPBS” player_id=”6c21d43b06ee4460a29e40d9542c86ae”]CHESTERFIELD, Va. (WTVR)–It’s a small pesky problem that’s turning into a huge headache for one Chesterfield man. He says his home is now being invaded by bedbugs and thinks he knows exactly why.
The man, who opted not to give his name says his nightmare started back in mid-December when he purchased a living room sofa set from Rent A Center on Jefferson Davis Highway in Chester.
He says the delivery guys dropped it off at his newly purchased home and left the sofa in an empty living room.
“They saw that it was an empty home and they were the ones that put the furniture in here. To have the bedbugs only appear once they moved the furniture items like the pillow, they flipped over the couch and we saw more bugs, they knew it came from the store,” the customer explained.
He says he first noticed the problem when a bug crawled on his mother and then on him within a day of the furniture being delivered to his home.
The customer told CBS 6 News he contacted the store and the delivery guys came back out.
“They came to inspect the furniture and went through the crevices. They found remnants of bed bugs and then they threw the furniture out the door and we saw more bugs on the carpet. The workers continued to apologize,” the man said.
He adds the company later sent someone out to spray chemicals but he claims he has seen more bugs since then.
By phone, Rent A Center spokesman Xavier Dominicis told CBS 6 the store in question has no history of bedbugs and they routinely use professionals to inspect all of their stores.
That was done a few days before the customer purchased his sofa set, according to Dominicis. He added they use sanitizing products on all of the items that come in and out of their stores.
Even though the company says there’s no way to prove the bugs came from their store, as a customer service gesture, they are doing all they can to work with the upset customer, even offering to send an exterminator to his home.
The customer says that’s not enough. He believes Rent A Center should pay for a complete home treatment and follow up visits.
“The crawly feeling you have, I mean, these are parasites and I see these big red marks on my body, that’s the effect I’m having right now” the man added.
CBS 6 News checked in with bedbug experts at Loyal Termite and Pest Control. Bryan Vaughan tells us people should consider the risks when they buy used furniture items from yard sales, second hand and thrift stores.
He says inspect everything thoroughly before taking it anywhere near your home.
“Look for small dark black marks along the edges of mattresses and along the seams of the sofas. They look like someone took a black felt tip pin and made lots of little dots. If you see that, the bugs usually aren’t far away,” Vaughan explained.
He says it could take a few treatments to get rid of the bugs. Vaughan says the good news is that so far it hasn’t been proven that bed bugs carry disease.
“That’s the good part, but that doesn’t do anything for the mental anguish,” Vaughan said.
