By Dave Stafford
The Herald Bulletin
ANDERSON, Ind. —
Anthony Wilcox and his girlfriend Britney Polisky planned to stay at a local hotel for only a couple of weeks until they could find more permanent housing.
But after they checked in Sunday to the H&K Motel on Broadway, they said they soon began to itch. And itch. They noticed rashes.
Wilcox went to the emergency room at Community Hospital on Monday. “Your rash is suspicious for bedbug bites,” his discharge papers read. He was given medication to try to control the itching.
“It’s one of the most disgusting experiences I’ve ever been through,” Wilcox said after saying he found the mattress in his hotel room contained the pests. He developed rashes of bites on his arms, feet and ankles.
“It feels like a million mosquito bites,” Polisky said.
The couple said the motel provided a new mattress after they complained, but refused to refund any of the two weeks’ rent they paid in advance.
H&K manager Tim Marlow said Wednesday afternoon that he’s lived at the motel for more than a year and has never seen bedbugs or been bitten.
“He could have brought them with him, I don’t know,” Marlow said of Wilcox. “He’s stayed at other hotels.”
Brandon Clidence, environmental supervisor for the Madison County Health Department, said health officials had spoken with Wilcox, but had not visited the motel. He said because bedbugs do not spread disease, the county has limited authority to take action in such cases.
“Generally what we do when we get a complaint like that ... is send notification to the property owner saying they need to take steps toward resolving the situation,” Clidence said.
He said such a notification either had been or would be sent to the motel.
“It’s certainly something no one wants to come into contact with,” Clidence said. “Treatment can be difficult, a lot of things go into it, and it’s one of those things you really have to stay on top of.”
Wilcox and Polisky said they are looking for another place to stay and dispute that they could have carried the bugs with them. “We would have had a rash a long time ago,” Wilcox said.
Asked about the couple’s complaint that the motel would not refund their money, Marlow pointed at the wall in the hotel office.
“We have our own sign that says ‘Sorry, no refunds,’” he said. “It’s here where everyone can see it.”
Contact Dave Stafford: 648-4250, dave.stafford@heraldbulletin.com.
