A woman who recently stayed in a Newburgh motel says she was "eaten alive" by bedbugs.
Scherie Franklin recently stayed at the Super 8 off Route 300, and says the bugs were on the mattress, on the inside of the mattress and under the covers.
Franklin, who is visiting from North Carolina, says there were so many bugs that she and her son were covered in bites.
She says the motel staff knew the room was infested and just switched them to another room. Franklin says the second room had more bugs than the first.
“We stayed there for a good 20 minutes, turned the lights off, and got bit up all over again,” she says.
Franklin says she left the motel at 4 a.m. and slept in her car in a Walmart parking lot.
The Super 8 refunded Franklin her money Tuesday, but she says they never apologized.
A pest management expert confirmed with News 12 that the picture Franklin took is definitely a bedbug.
Super 8 staff were not willing to talk on camera, but the motel's management company say it is looking into the problem.
Experts say bedbugs can happen anywhere, no matter how nice the hotel or motel. And summer is the hot month for infestations.
Glenn Waldorf, of Bell Environmental Services, also says bedbugs aren't necessarily the hotel's fault - as long as the owners take each complaint seriously.
A spokesperson from the Orange County Health Department says they received a complaint about the Newburgh motel and plan to send an inspector to review the site.