AMC treats theatre for bed bug issue
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – AMC Showplace Traders Point 12 Movie Theatre reports they had bed bugs inside one of their theaters on 86th Street. Now some people are second guessing if they should head into a show.
The reports for some people are skin crawling. Robbie Gilbert was heading into the AMC movie theatre with her granddaughter Wednesday afternoon.
“That can cause serious issues you take them back to your house, they get in your clothes, they get in your bed, they bite you and they leave welts on you, so that’s bad,” Gilbert said.
Clint Garmen, a local Orkin service manager, says the reason they are hard to control is they can live for a long time and can be transferred easily.
“There are fears, anxiety’s related to them. It is a pest that can be controlled but it’s a pest that can be hard to completely control,” said Garment. “The bed bugs are transferred either in an object a person is carrying or on themselves.”
AMC employees say the problem here is taken care of and they are monitoring the situation and it doesn’t seem like it will stop people from catching a flick.
“I would still go to the movie theater,” said Hemingway. “It’s not their fault whoever brought them in probably didn’t know they did it.”
One bed bug only needs to eat once and it can live for up to a year.
AMC released a statement about the issue:
“As we’ve seen the last few years, bed bugs are an issue for several businesses throughout the country. Among all of our theatres in the Indianapolis market, there was a single theatre auditorium with a bed bug issue. At AMC, we take aggressive, proactive steps, including regular, routine inspections and inspections any time a bed bug is suspected. If any inspection comes back positive for bed bugs, the affected area is immediately treated by a third-party expert pest control company. Out of an abundance of caution and to assure the public of its safety, the auditorium in question is closed, is being retreated and will re-open after additional third-party expert inspections indicate there is no detectable pest presence.”
The Health and Hospital Corporation of Marion County says it is working with the business to see that the theater is following best practice to deal with the issue.