All parents want their kids to feel warm and safe at night, and if that means taking a beloved stuffed animal to bed, so be it. But one Oregon mom discovered something inside her daughter's stuffed animal that would give any child or parent nightmares. The aromatherapy animal was infested with bugs!
Described as a "soothing, microwavable aromatherapy product," the animals are filled with wheat and lavender. Once you pop them in the microwave, they emit a lovely fragrance and retain their heat. Sounds perfect for bedtime, right? Well, not so fast. That wheat filling was doing a whole lot more than advertised — it was attracting bugs, namely grain weevils, according to the Oregon Department of Agriculture.
Mom Kamren Weiler explains what she saw when she attempted to repair a simple rip in her daughter's toy, made by company Cozy Hugs:
I looked over at it on the counter and there were bugs all over it, just crawling. My first reaction was, this is really gross. And then my second reaction was, I tore my daughter's whole room apart. Where could those bugs have gone. In her shirt, in her clothes?
Gross! Don't you feel itchy just reading that? Well, unfortunately, Weiler's situation is no one-off. Other parents have had similar issues with the Cozy Hugs toy and many have filed complaints with the Better Business Bureau.
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Among the online complaints was this disturbing review of the toy:
DO NOT BUY THIS FOR YOUR KIDS! They become infested with bugs! I spent days trying to figured out why my daughter's bed was full of bugs. BINGO! I opened the little bear! There are grains inside and full of bugs in it! The company refuses to admit it is their fault!
If you think your child has this toy — or one like it — and you discover it has the same issue, the Food and Drug Administration is advising customers to file a complaint or call 800-332-1088.
Does your child own any Cozy Hug toys?
Image via Bed Bath & Beyond
