Google Chelsea campus in Manhattan bed bug scare, staff stay home

Google employees at the Chelsea campus in Manhattan were asked to stay home on Sunday after an internal environmental, health and safety email said exterminators, assisted by a sniffer dog, had found "credible evidence" of a possible bed bug infestation. The company said initial treatment of affected floors was completed overnight and employees were allowed to return to the building on Monday morning while additional inspections continue at other New York sites.

The email, circulated to staff in the city, instructed workers to avoid the Chelsea campus until treatment was finished and advised anyone who believed they had been bitten to file a report. It also asked employees to notify facilities if they saw a bed bug onsite and to contact professional exterminators if they discovered bed bugs in their homes. Company officials said inspections were being expanded to include other buildings, including locations at the Hudson Square campus, as a precaution.

Sources contacted by reporters suggested the infestation may be linked to a number of large stuffed animals kept in office common areas, though that detail has not been confirmed by the company. The internal communication said the...