Your Amazon Delivery Might Include Bed Bugs
I don't know about you, but I'm always pretty excited when my Amazon order arrives. I know that many retailers lament Amazon. I know that many local retailers and even some iconic national chain stores have gone under because of competition from Amazon.
I try to always support local businesses, but sometimes, the huge variety of items Amazon has in stock make them just way too attractive for consumers like me. Plus, Amazon is always having specials with huge discounts very few other retailers can match.
In fact, just yesterday, Amazon announced that they're doing their very first "Prime Early Access Sale" on many items coming up on October 11th and 12th.
I must admit, though, my excitement was just a little bit tempered when I heard the news that an Amazon facility in Amarillo is closing temporarily due to bed bugs. Bed bugs? Amarillo is in our neighborhood. It is not hard to imagine that many items ordered from Amazon arrive in our part of West Texas from that warehouse.
Bed bugs are almost impossible to get rid of. Often bed bug infestations require a total elimination of all clothing items, bedding and even furniture and carpeting in affected homes. Bed bug infestations can cause thousands of dollars worth of damage.
The idea that some of the items I've been ordering from Amazon could have come from an Amazon processing facility infested with bed bugs.
Experts on pests will readily tell you that bed bugs can survive in distribution centers and survive the trip through shipping to your home. We must all wonder how long this bedbug situation has been going on before Amazon decided to make this public.
Amazon is not alone. Family Dollar had to close a distribution center in West Memphis, Arkansas because of a rat infestation. If rats and bed bugs are common in the distribution centers where goods are shipped to our homes, it is definitely disturbing.
Do you feel a little itchy yet?