MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WBTW) – A South Carolina attorney who specializes in bed bug cases said 90% of its cases come from hotels and resorts in Myrtle Beach.
Trevor Eddy, owner of Eddy Law Firm in Columbia, said his law firm has worked on at least 45 cases in the past few years with a total of more than 200 clients. Most of the cases are still in active legal proceedings.
With the tourism boom this summer and a labor shortage at some hotels, Eddy said he saw an increase in people turning to his company for help after bed bug bites. Eddy said most of the cases happen in the larger cities in Palmetto State, but added that Myrtle Beach stands out.
“Myrtle Beach is by far the largest epicenter of my cases in South Carolina,” Eddy said.
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Specializing in bed bug and biting insect cases in hotels and resorts across South Carolina is something Eddy said just happened. He took on a case and realized that people could only get help through the legal system.
“It was clearly something no one else wanted to work on, and it turned out to be a pervasive problem in South Carolina,” Eddy said.
Eddy said he wished the hotel and resort bed bug issue was addressed by the state government or industry so people don’t have to go through the process of hiring a lawyer. He added that even if his company is involved, hotel owners ignore them until lawsuits are filed. Then Eddy said, “You fight tooth and nail.”
“One wonders how many of these cases, how many of these events are not reported and not resolved,” said Eddy.
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Eddy said everyone should look out for small blood stains and clams in hotels, especially in the corners of the beds. He said these were tell-tale signs that bed bugs were present.
“These things are so easy to find,” said Eddy. “My customers keep finding bed bugs in their rooms and beds, and they’re not trained. You have no education. They are not professionals. If my customers can find these bugs in the beds, in the sheets, there is no reason why the staff in the hotels should not be able to. “
Monica Wilson is on vacation in Myrtle Beach with three friends and they have rented a condo. For $ 120, they hired their own outside cleaning crew to make sure the apartment was free of all pests.
“We’re going to ask them to look for bed bugs, and we’re going to have them triple screened because I don’t want to take any critters home with me,” said Wilson.
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Wilson said the benefits far outweighed the costs.
“I can drink $ 120 so I can certainly pay someone to calm me down to $ 120,” said Wilson.
