INDEPENDENCE, Mo. -- AMC said a recent complaint of bed bugs inside its Independence, Missouri, theatre is unfounded. A third-party inspector found no evidence of bed bugs, according to a statement from AMC.
Angela King contacted the theatre's management on Sept. 7.
She told 41 Action News halfway through a movie, she felt a bite on the back of her neck. When the movie ended, she said she had several bite bumps.
"[They] got much bigger overnight and the next day," she said.
41 Action News has reported on other complaints of bed bugs at this theater, including one in October 2017 and another in August 2018.
In a statement, AMC said the theatre's most recent inspection was conducted on Sept. 10 after King's complaint.
"The third-party pest control expert investigated the area based on the guest's claim and found no evidence of bed bugs. Among those 28 inspections at the theatre throughout the entire year, just two bed bugs have been located. With that many inspections, to find just two bed bugs and no infestations all year means the actions we’ve taken to address this issue at the theatre are working."
41 Action News contacted both the City of Independence and an independent pest control company to learn more about bed bugs and an inspection process.
Darryl Franke with SOS Pest Control has never inspected or treated the AMC theatre in Independence. However, he treats commercial properties for bed bugs on an almost daily basis.
According to Franke, it's impossible for public places, such as movie theaters, to prevent bed bugs. Several reasons include the theater's size and constant rotation of people in and out of its doors.
"It's not the building or the infrastructure itself that's the issue. They have hundreds of thousands of people coming in days or a week," said Franke.
A spokesperson for the City of Independence said the city classifies bed bugs as nuisances since they do not carry or transmit diseases.
There are no city ordinances or policies that would add additional scrutiny to places, like theaters, even if there are multiple complaints.
