NEW YORK, 12:42 AM, MON JUL 7 | 7 POSTS IN THE LAST 24 HOURS | tips@consumerist.com | RSS
Posts Tagged “

Infestations

”
petco

U.S. Marshals Raid Rat-Infested PETCO Distribution Center

The FDA sent U.S. Marshals to seize "various animal food products" stored at a PETCO distribution center in Joliet, Illinois yesterday, because the storage conditions had been deemed unsanitary twice in a row:

During an FDA inspection of a PETCO distribution center in April, widespread and active rodent and bird infestation was found. The FDA inspected the facility again in May and found continuing and widespread infestation.

More »

4:21 PM on Fri Jun 20 2008
By Chris Walters
6,036 views, 66 comments

class actions

The Sleep Number Difference Is Mold

A recent class action claims that Select Comfort Sleep Number beds are nothing more than overactive allergen mills. According to the suit, the bed's faulty air chambers allow moisture to form under the mattress foam, providing a perfect breeding ground for mold spores. More »

9:45 AM on Sat May 17 2008
By Carey
19,947 views, 87 comments

Latest by n/a: We have had our Select Comfort bed since 2003 and have been very well pleased with it. Whenever I travel overnight away from my Select Comfort I am always reminded of what used to be a nightly occurrence of waking more »

used equipment

Time Warner Delivers Modem, Cockroaches

Maybe Time Warner needs to include a decontamination protocol when it transfers reusable equipment between customers. Natalie writes:
On Tuesday, April 15, 2008 a Time Warner representative came to our home to install the digital telephone modem which would also provide our internet service.
 
My husband observed an insect walking on the modem box and asked what it was and the employee seemed dazed and confused.

More »

10:15 PM on Mon Apr 21 2008
By Chris Walters
7,785 views, 51 comments

tragic

Hey, Thanks For The Bed Bugs!

Sarah is experiencing every traveler's worst nightmare. Bed bugs!
I just started reading The Consumerist. I did a search on bedbugs to see if you had any posts, and then thought I'd tell you my own story after reading about the people who found bedbugs in a Santa Monica hotel. In August of last year, I stayed at the Holiday Inn in Santa Monica.
More »

8:46 AM on Mon Apr 14 2008
By Meg Marco
11,152 views, 55 comments

rats

Rat-Infested KFC/Taco Bell Is Now A T-Mobile

Worried about consuming any type of food at the former location of the infamous rat-infested KFC/Taco Bell in New York City? We are too. That's why we're glad to hear that the new tenant is non other than our giant magenta friend, T-Mobile. More »

12:29 PM on Wed Dec 26 2007
By Meg Marco
1,906 views, 7 comments

tips

Vacuum Kills Fleas As Effectively As Poison, Say Researchers

If you end up with a bad case of Christmas Fleas next week—hey, we're not judging—save yourself the expense of buying flea poison. "Vacuum cleaners kill fleas just as well as any poison, surprised U.S. researchers said," noting that a "standard vacuum cleaner abuses the fleas so much it kills 96 percent of adult fleas and 100 percent of younger fleas." Of course, you won't be able to train them after that, but it's your decision. More »

4:25 PM on Wed Dec 19 2007
By Chris Walters
3,064 views, 41 comments

Latest by consumer_999: Not normal at all - your vet needs his teeth kicked in. A friend of mine had her cat go into seizures within half hour of an application. They didn't use the medicine again, and there's been more »

infestations

"$25,000 Dessert" Restaurant Closed Due To Cockroaches, Sewage, Mouse Droppings, Fly Infestations

New York's famous Serendipity 3 restaurant, home of the world's most expensive dessert (the $25,000 "Frrozen Haute Chocolate"), has been shut down by the New York City Health Department after the restaurant failed two health inspections in a month. More »

1:59 PM on Thu Nov 15 2007
By Meg Marco
8,627 views, 44 comments

health

Watch Out For Bedbugs When Traveling

The next time you're in a hotel, whether it's a cheap day-rate one for your sad little affair or a luxurious business suite that the company has unwittingly paid for, check to see whether the mattress has an "allergy free" cover on it—it's a codeword for "bedbug-proof." Also, if you see trained beagles roaming the hotel sniffing out mold, there's a good chance the "mold" is another codeword for "bedbug." Hotels are quietly doing their best to locate and exterminate the insects to protect themselves from particularly vengeful lawsuits—but since an infestation can occur anywhere (it has nothing to do with "cleanliness" or sanitation), it's a tough battle to win. More »

6:07 PM on Tue Nov 13 2007
By Chris Walters
3,063 views, 21 comments

Latest by n/a: @FLConsumer: It's actually even simpler than that. Bedbugs had been eradicated from N. America in the 50s. With DDT bans, they're slowly making their way back in. The nature of the beast is that of exponential growth, more »

infestations

Pinkberry Yogurt Shop Is Vermin Infested

Oh, great. Here we go again: ABC7 New York has video of several mice running happily around the inside of trendier-than-thou frozen yogurt spot Pinkberry, located on the Upper East Side. The footage is gross, gross enough that it would dissuade us from eating there, but the Pinkberry faithful just didn't seem to care when ABC7 showed them the footage and asked for comment:
We alerted customers about the mice. But today's discovery didn't affect the line that did continue to snake out the door.
More »

5:29 PM on Mon Jun 18 2007
By Meg Marco
3,938 views, 17 comments

Latest by Trackback: Since you know LAist is crazy about bacon, how about this burger made of ground bacon? [Serious Eats] In the meat-eating corner: Ted Nugent! In the meat-free corner: Paul McCartney! more »

my that's delicious

Pizza Hut Worker Fired For Reporting Mice To Health Department

A Pizza Hut worker says she was fired after reporting finding 6 live mice stuck to glue traps at a North Carolina Pizza Hut where she was employed, according to WFMY News:
Health inspectors closed a Pizza Hut restaurant in east Raleigh after a worker found live mice inside it. The employee who notified the health department about the mice says she was fired for reporting the problem.
In an initial inspection, a heath department inspector found mouse droppings behind an ice machine, but gave the restaurant a passing grade because she didn't find any live animals. A contractor put out glue traps, and when the worker in question arrived at the restaurant the next morning, she found 6 live mice stuck to the traps. More »

4:29 PM on Mon Jun 11 2007
By Meg Marco
4,755 views, 38 comments

Latest by n/a: Surprised they fired her specifically for calling the health department. Most employers would wait 4 days and fire her on some other BS excuse. more »

infestations

Rat Infested KFC/Taco Bell Closed Forever And Ever

Yum! Brands just issued a press release apologizing once again for that rat infested KFC/Taco Bell in NYC. Further, they confirmed that the rat infested restaurant had served its last customer.
Since the incident, this KFC-Taco Bell restaurant has been closed for business, and it will not reopen.
Done! No more KFC/Taco Bell. It's gone forever and ever. It's been abandoned to the rats who claimed it as their own. More »

3:09 PM on Thu May 3 2007
By Meg Marco
4,216 views, 16 comments

rats

New York City Health Department Takes Blame For Rat Fiasco

New York City's Health Department has taken the blame for the KFC/Taco Bell rat infestation that made national news. (If, though some miracle you haven't seen the footage yet, i.e. you've just come out of a coma or recently regained lost eye-sight, do give it a look. It's worth it.) Anyhow, the inspector who gave a pass to the KFC/Taco Bell has resigned and the Health Department is, like, really sorry and stuff. More »

6:59 PM on Tue Apr 10 2007
By Meg Marco
2,426 views, 14 comments

Latest by Trackback: One of the several things I like about Consumerist is they follow up with stories most people forgot about long ago. Remember the story about the KFC/Taco Bell restaurant in New York City infested by rats? more »

walmart

Warning: Rats In The Walmart!

Rats! In the Walmart! New York City may have more than its share of rodents, but one pest we don't have is Walmart...which is why for this rat infestation report we'll be traveling all the way to sunny Phoenix! From KTAR:
A health inspector said he found mouse droppings at a Valley Wal-Mart on Monday after shoppers reported seeing rodents in a bakery case.
More »

10:44 PM on Tue Mar 20 2007
By Meg Marco
5,161 views, 49 comments

rats

NYC Health Commissioner: Rats Are Not A Health Risk

NYC Deputy Health Commissioner Jessica Leighton says rats are not a health risk. From NY1:
The city spends $8 million a year on rodent control and has a team of more than 100 inspectors who close about 500 restaurants each year.
More »

5:48 PM on Fri Mar 9 2007
By Meg Marco
1,197 views, 14 comments

rats

More Fast Food Rats In Tomorrow's New York Post?

Is there a rat infestation at the Au Bon Pain at 38th & 3rd in New York City? Will tomorrow's New York Post have the headline "French Rats Invade!"?
A tipster writes in:
I was just at Au Bon Pain on 38th & 3rd, and when I stepped outside with my coffee, a NYPost reporter and photographer stopped me to talk about the recent spate of rat sightings in that particular ABP, and their poor grades on recent health inspections. He said a story will run in tomorrow's Post (headline: French Rats Invade! (?)). We stood on the corner and chatted about the recent KFC thing, and he agreed that if he could get them on video, it could be another front-page 'scandal'. I had previously seen a little mouse in the ABP on 39th & Madison, (which they said they'd check out) but these guys said large rats were spotted this time. He asked me if I was still going to drink the coffee, and I shrugged and said 'I went to Manhattan College, so rats in the eating area isn't a huge deal to me.' He smiled and said look in tomorrow's News section.
Well, we'll say one thing for the New York Post, they're certainly more proactive than the NYC Health Department. Have any of you people seen rats at the Au Bon Pain? —MEGHANN MARCO More »

3:51 PM on Wed Feb 28 2007
By Meg Marco
915 views, 7 comments

Latest by Amy Alkon: Good guess on the headline, Pee Wee. I'm betting you're right. more »

kfc

Health Inspector That Passed The Rat Infested KFC Suspended

Good news for humans, bad news for rats: The health inspector that gave a clean bill of health to the now-infamous rat infested KFC/Taco Bell in the West Village has been suspended according to the New York Post:
The health inspector - whose name was not released - was "removed from restaurant inspection duty," while the city's health department reviews other inspections the staffer performed since being put on the job in June 2006, officials said.
More »

7:17 PM on Tue Feb 27 2007
By Meg Marco
945 views, 5 comments

Latest by Stepehn Colbert: d0X, I think you misunderstood. The rat meat IS what is being used as the grade E meat. The worm-meal that MC Donalds uses in their burgers is too pricey to be used as more »

health

KFC/Taco Bell Rat Apologist Comments On Vincent Ferrari's Blog

KFC/Taco Bell left a note over on Vincent Ferrari's blog on a post about the profusion of rats at a western Manhattan KFC. We really liked this part (emphasis added): More »

1:23 PM on Tue Feb 27 2007
By Ben Popken
1,446 views, 12 comments

kfc

Rat Infested KFC Passed Health Inspection The Day Before

The day before news cameras caught 30-50 rats scampering playfully through a combo KFC/Taco Bell in the West Village, the restaurant passed a NYC Health inspection. From WCBS:
"It doesn't look like the inspection that was done Thursday met our standards," said Geoffrey Cowley, a health department spokesman. "I don't want to prejudge that. We're concerned and we're going to carefully reevaluate that inspection."
The so-called inspection was performed in response to complaints about rats in the restaurant, and yet the inspector couldn't find any. How mysterious. —MEGHANN MARCO More »

11:46 AM on Mon Feb 26 2007
By Meg Marco
2,488 views, 18 comments

Latest by Elaine Chow: Oh my god, this strikes dear to my heart because I used to live right down the street, and I've eaten there multiple times. I guess I'm lucky I never got food poisoning. more »

next »