--- title: "Google Locks Down Manhattan Campus Due to Bed Bug Infestation" description: "This officially marks the second time Google had to shutter this particular office due to a bed bug invasion." date: "2025-10-23" modified: "2025-10-23" authors: - name: "Joe Wilkins" job_title: "Correspondent" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jwilkins" url: "https://futurism.com/health-medicine/google-manhattan-bed-bugs" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" - "Biology" - "Google" - "Health & Medicine" - "Science & Energy" --- # Google Locks Down Manhattan Campus Due to Bed Bug Infestation ![This officially marks the second time Google had to shutter this particular office due to a bed bug invasion.]() *Illustration by Tag Hartman-Simkins / Futurism. Source: Spencer Platt / Getty Images* We've heard of software bugs, but this is ridiculous. Over the weekend, a campus-wide email went out to Google employees working in New York, advising them to steer clear of its office in Chelsea due to a bed bug invasion, [*Wired* reports](). The notice was sent out Sunday after exterminators using a [bed bug-sniffing K9]() found "credible evidence of their presence," at Google's Chelsea campus. The office reopened on Monday, and the company's other three Manhattan offices are also being investigated, according to *Wired*. Scent dogs have long been used by exterminators and even [New York authorities]() to suss out infestations, though their reliability has been [called into question](). One study found they have a mean detection rate of just [44 percent,]() meaning false-positives could definitely factor in here. While unconfirmed, *Wired* also shared rumors that the bed bug outbreak was linked to a large stuffed animal population which calls the Chelsea office home. Google declined to comment on the stuffed animal situation, but it did tell its New York employees to report any cases of "bed bug exposure" or sightings at the Manhattan offices. Astonishingly, this marks the second time Google has shuttered this particular workplace due to a bed bug invasion — in 2010, the company was forced to close the Chelsea location after an employee exposed the embarrassing find in a [quickly-deleted tweet](). Soon after, a Google spokesperson [told the ]()*[Wall Street Journal]()* that bed bugs had been confirmed in a "small area" of the campus. Still, that was amidst a [broader infestation]() which was plaguing Manhattan at the time — an excuse which [no longer flies](). **More on Google:** **[Google Sends Out Bizarre Email Saying AI Will Now Control Your Phone’s Apps]()** ## Author At Futurism, I focus on the intersection of technology and power — examining the economics, history, and politics behind today’s dystopian headlines. As a writer, I’m interested in topics ranging from AI’s impact on labor to startups nobody asked for. My prior work includes bylines in Jacobin, Verso, and Blue Labyrinths. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Forbes, The Guardian, MIT Technology Review, Time, The Nation, Mother Jones, The Verge, and Wired. I grew up in Michigan, attending Central Michigan University as well as Ball State University, where I earned a master of music. I now live in Brooklyn with my girlfriend and our cat Ziti. On weekends, you can find me hunched over a cold pint arguing geopolitics with the other transplants. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()