The famed Apple store on 5th Avenue isnt just crawling with thousands of tourists its also been crawling with bed bugs for nearly a month, The Post has learned.<\/p>\n
This past Friday, after weeks of bed bug sightings, a critter was spotted in the managers office, sending desperate employees into a frenzy, terrified theyd bring the pest home with them.<\/p>\n
It was just mayhem, an employee told The Post.<\/p>\n
There was a mass exodus employees were freaking out they felt really unsafe and management kept giving them the runaround.<\/p>\n
Staff were ordered to double bag their belongings in plastic while a bed bug sniffing beagle came to the store where it was activated by two lockers in a staff area.<\/p>\n
I shouldnt have to go to work feeling unsafe and unprotected, one worker told The Post.<\/p>\n
We felt very anxious, used and unimportant, like we were just another number.<\/p>\n
One worker said the issue has been going on for nearly a month and Friday was the first day they acknowledged they found something.<\/p>\n
The employee said the issue started about three to four weeks ago during the overnight hours at the 24-hour store, which frequently has homeless visitors, when a table on the second floor was cordoned off because a bed bug was found, believed to have come from one of the homeless visitors.<\/p>\n
The table was left cordoned off while employees and customers were allowed in the store and around the table with no warning of the bed bug threat, an employee said.<\/p>\n
No one could go to that table but it was still on the floor, if a customer leaned on it and they didnt know a bug couldve crawled on them, the worker said.<\/p>\n
While bed bugs cant jump, they move from host to host by crawling, according to the pest management service Orkin.<\/p>\n
Management brought an exterminator in and told employees there was no cause for concern until about a week and a half later, an overnight employee found a bed bug crawling on their sweater and took a video of it.<\/p>\n
That video circulated across hundreds of staff members and once again, management brought in an exterminator who did some preventative spraying, employees said.<\/p>\n
They remained in the dark until last week when the store, which is open 365 days a year and rarely shuts its doors, mysteriously closed for six hours during the overnight hours on a weekday for a water leak, an employee said.<\/p>\n
People came to work and didnt even know the store was closed, there was no notice, the worker said.<\/p>\n
Since Fridays incident, staff said they received calls from management over the weekend saying the threat was over and had been isolated.<\/p>\n
Apple didnt immediately return a request for comment.<\/p>\n
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