Library Closed Today

Saw this in TAP into South Orange

https://www.tapinto.net/towns/soma/categories/press-releases/articles/south-orange-library-closed-due-to-bug-infestatio

In 25 years of pest control experience I never encountered a confirmed case of bed bugs.  But times have changed and easy travel both domestic and international make the little guys great and easy travelers.

In the 1940's my boss used to dismantle beds and rub denatured rubbing alcohol along all the metal slats.   It was a job and a half.  Today much more modern and effective methods are used

Thanks Author. I came hOme and put ALL my clothes in the dryer for a 1/2 hour and took a real hot shower. Any chance I bought the little bug(gers)into my house?  I'm itchy just thinking about it

librarylady, we had them twice in NYC (two different apartments)). And then, the college where I work had them in virtually every building. Un-fun times. Worry about your bags more than your clothes. The infestation is usually significant by the time it gets discovered.

librarylady said:

Thanks Author. I came hOme and put ALL my clothes in the dryer for a 1/2 hour and took a real hot shower. Any chance I bought the little bug(gers)into my house?  I'm itchy just thinking about it

As I said they are great travelers.  The female takes a blood meal from your body and leaves a significant welt which can be seen easily  They were far more prevalent years ago when sanitation

standards were more lax. They are called bed bugs for obvious reasons.  The upholstered chair and couch areas are especially vulnerable.  You might want to consider replacing them with wooden chairs and couch like seating areas

Someone carried them in to the library.  I would worry about that same person re infesting the place in the future.  I have no answer for that.

Thanks Author  we have several patrons who occupy the seats where the bugs were discovered who come every day and spend the entire day sleeping in said chairs  I too worry about reinvestation

I am assuming the chairs must be disposed of and replaced with non-fabric alternatives  I washed and dried everything of mine including my purse and shoes  Still  itchy though so it   must be psychosomatic 

librarylady said:

Thanks Author  we have several patrons who occupy the seats where the bugs were discovered who come every day and spend the entire day sleeping in said chairs  I too worry about reinvestation




I am assuming the chairs must be disposed of and replaced with non-fabric alternatives  I washed and dried everything of mine including my purse and shoes  Still  itchy though so it   must be psychosomatic 

Most likely is...........Greatest likelihood is that you did not carry any home.   If you did you would know

soon enough.  Good luck and trust your pest control guy.  I assume the library hired someone

skilled in dealing with this problem

Probably all the people moving from the city as bedbugs have become more common in the past 10 years or so. I ended up having them in one of my Manhattan apartments. Generally if you've been bitten by bedbugs you're not going to spend a whole lot of time wondering about it. They are pretty noticeable bites, usually much more pronounced than a mosquito. Often you'll notice them in pairs because they tend to sit for a bit when feeding and if they get jostled they'll move a bit and reattach. I'd say the bites lasted a lot longer than mosquito bites. What you get when you Google 'bedbug bites' I think looks a lot worse than what our reality was (as is normally the case).

We didn't have any major issues getting rid of them. Pretty much washed the sheets and did a little cleaning and they seemed to be gone. That unfortunately doesn't seem to be the norm.

No, that doesn't seem to be the norm. You were lucky that they weren't in your floorboards or baseboards, which is where ours were hiding. It cost us a few thousand to treat and toss/replace items that couldn't be made safe.

Also...not everyone reacts to the bites. My husband never had a single mark in him, but then he also doesn't react to mosquito bites (even when I see them biting him).

qrysdonnell said:

Probably all the people moving from the city as bedbugs have become more common in the past 10 years or so. I ended up having them in one of my Manhattan apartments. Generally if you've been bitten by bedbugs you're not going to spend a whole lot of time wondering about it. They are pretty noticeable bites, usually much more pronounced than a mosquito. Often you'll notice them in pairs because they tend to sit for a bit when feeding and if they get jostled they'll move a bit and reattach. I'd say the bites lasted a lot longer than mosquito bites. What you get when you Google 'bedbug bites' I think looks a lot worse than what our reality was (as is normally the case).

We didn't have any major issues getting rid of them. Pretty much washed the sheets and did a little cleaning and they seemed to be gone. That unfortunately doesn't seem to be the norm.

Well, the good news (I guess) is that that other people haven't been using those chairs much?!?

librarylady said:

Thanks Author  we have several patrons who occupy the seats where the bugs were discovered who come every day and spend the entire day sleeping in said chairs  I too worry about reinvestation




I am assuming the chairs must be disposed of and replaced with non-fabric alternatives  I washed and dried everything of mine including my purse and shoes  Still  itchy though so it   must be psychosomatic 

Ugh!  Now I'm itchy from just renewing some books over the phone yesterday and speaking with the lovely LL. 

Inevitable if libraries are used as shelters. And a great deterrent to anyone who would want to use them as, um, libraries. Guess I'll stick to the internet.

cramer said:

Ugh!  Now I'm itchy from just renewing some books over the phone yesterday and speaking with the lovely LL. 

nytimes.com:  Bedbugs Hitch a Ride on Library Books
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/06/garden/bedbugs-hitch-a-ride-on-library-books.html

Hi librarylady!

Sorry about all this and I wish you luck with the extermination. 

Do you know where in the library the infestation was discovered? My daughter and her grandmother were in the children's section yesterday and we're wondering if we need to set fire to her bedroom now.

Based on what you said above it doesn't seem like that's where the problem was discovered.

It made WABC-TV news at noon.

mumstheword said:

It made WABC-TV news at noon.

My LL and I are sitting outside at Falafelly Yours and we just saw the news truck rise by preceding by an exterminating truck  Ha!

The area in question is the blue upholstered chairs in the adult room  to the right of the circ desk facing it  No worries, Mr Incredible!!

Call before you come if you are planning to visit tomorrow  Make sure we have reopened !!

librarylady said:

mumstheword said:

It made WABC-TV news at noon.

My LL and I are sitting outside at Falafelly Yours and we just saw the news truck rise by preceding by an exterminating truck  Ha!




The area in question is the blue upholstered chairs in the adult room  to the right of the circ desk facing it  No worries, Mr Incredible!!

Call before you come if you are planning to visit tomorrow  Make sure we have reopened !!

Those were my home away from home when I lost power after Sandy.  Not everybody who sits there is a deadbeat!  LOL!

the SOPL was a major lifeline after hurricane sandy. It kept people warm, connected and feeling sane. This is a blip that they will take care of asap. 

Is it possible to change the thread title? Families who use the library but who didn't open the thread may not realize that they could potentially have brought home guests. I didn't learn about it until I read it on FB and came here to double check to see why there weren't any threads. 

@author : I was there last Thursday for a meeting, and again on Monday to return my book, and of course I am concerned, but haven't noticed anything unusual. Would I know by now? Thanks!

Story about to air on ABC News.  Trailer just announced.

A relative used to work at an office that had repeated bed bug infestations. They quickly figured out who the carrier was since the same area was infested over and over again. The exterminators explained that it didn't matter how many times they came if the woman was bringing them in on her clothing and belongings. Management informed the woman that she was not allowed to return until her home was properly treated. 

Obviously people can't be banned from a public library without cause, so other measures will need to be taken. Furniture without upholstery to deter the bugs from setting up camp, or at least to make them easier to spot. 

meggie said:

@author : I was there last Thursday for a meeting, and again on Monday to return my book, and of course I am concerned, but haven't noticed anything unusual. Would I know by now? Thanks!

In all likelihood.  Everything about these little guys stands out .  Their bites are noticeable and visible.

Think of them as indoor ticks.  They used to be so rare that those of us who worked routes

did not carry the material to take care of them.   I had a false alarm at  Fairlieigh Dickenson one time

and someone from my office had to bring the proper pesticide to me.  We treated the area

though we thought the student had an overly active imagination.  

Author:  The NYT article cited above reports that bed bugs have been found in the bindings of hardcover books.  How realistic is this?

I would have thought the infestation would have been bookworms. 

mrincredible said:

I would have thought the infestation would have been bookworms. 

*groan*

librarylady said:

mrincredible said:

I would have thought the infestation would have been bookworms. 

*groan*

Consider the source ...

No public place should have upholstered furniture for this very reason. This is why I stick to movie theaters that have vinyl seats. I had to stop going to the Maplewood theater because the seats are fabric.

shoshannah said:

No public place should have upholstered furniture for this very reason. This is why I stick to movie theaters that have vinyl seats. I had to stop going to the Maplewood theater because the seats are fabric.

Netflix and Amazon Prime for me. 

http://www.bedbugsbites.net/movie-theater-bed-bugs-how-to-avoid-bed-bugs-in-movie-theater-seats/

joan_crystal said:

Author:  The NYT article cited above reports that bed bugs have been found in the bindings of hardcover books.  How realistic is this?

It is realistic but improbably.  The greatest insect menace of our time has been the German Roach.  I have found them in the most inc readable places.  Till about 20 years ago we were sure we would never win the war of the Roach.  Then American Cyan amid came out with the most inc readable product.  It was absolutely effective.  American Cyan-amid sold the patent to Clorox and you know it as Combat.

Roaches lost their leadership  position and the Carpenter Ant is now the number 1 problem.

Bed Bugs have not been in the picture but are now making a run for the money

Today the industry has dogs trained to smell out Bed Bugs.  Rooms can be super heated to kill 

all stages or conversely super cooled.  Technology exists that was just a dream when I came off the

road to assume a new responsibility at a food warehouse

They can be eradicated on a spot basis but the customer must be more diligent than with most pests