‘It was just mayhem’: The flagship Apple Store on Fifth Avenue reportedly has a bed bug problem (AAPL)

Richard Drew/AP

The Apple Store on Fifth Avenue reportedly has a bed bug problem, according to a report from the New York Post.
The issue is said to have persisted in the store for nearly a month.
Employees were recently told the issue is over and that it was an isolated incident.
Visit BusinessInsider.com for more stories.

Apple’s 24-hour flagship retail location on Fifth Avenue in New York City reportedly has a bed bug issue that’s existed for nearly a month, according to a report from the New York Post.

The issue is believed to have started during the store’s overnight hours about three or four weeks ago, said an employee who spoke to the Post. A bed bug is believed to have come from a homeless visitor and was reportedly found on a table on the second floor, which was then sectioned off. An exterminator was brought in and employees were told not to worry, until about a week and a half later when an overnight worker reportedly found a bed bug crawling on their sweater.

Management recently told Apple Store employees told that the "threat was over" and that it was an "isolated" incident, according to the Post.

Apple has not immediately responded to Business Insider’s request for comment on the report.

Management took action after one of the critters was found in the manager’s office on Friday, according to the Post. One employee who spoke to the newspaper said "it was just mayhem" while another said workers felt "anxious, used and unimportant, like we were just another number."

A "bed bug sniffing beagle" came to the store and was "activated" by two staff lockers, the report says. If a retail store does have a bed bug issue, employee locker rooms are one of areas where they’re most likely to be found, according to the University of Minnesota’s College of Food, Agricultural, and Natural Resource Sciences. The Fifth Avenue Apple Store closed for six hours last week to address a water leak, an employee told the Post.

Bed bugs feed on human blood and are often found within close proximity to beds. They’re infamous for hitching a ride on clothing and luggage and are nutritiously hard to get rid of. Finding bed bugs can be difficult because their flat bodies allow them to hide in nooks and crannies of furnishings. New York City has more than 4,000 beg bug reports, according to The Bed Bug Registry, a free public database of bed bug sightings in the United States and Canada with reports dating back to 2006.

NOW WATCH: What’s going on with Jeff Bezos and Amazon

Source: Business Insider – leadicicco@businessinsider.com (Lisa Eadicicco)