Wednesday, July 23, 2014

Who knew that many libraries have issues with bed bugs in their books?

I certainly never knew that libraries are battling bloodsucking bed bugs!! I recently read an article in the Ledger-Enquirer titled Libraries battle bed bugs in books by Bethany Barnes. The article is very enlightening on the subject. In the article, Barnes writes:
Hotels and apartments are better known hosts of bed bug battles, but the pests also are a problem for public spaces — like libraries — as the creatures are excellent hitchhikers. 
Libraries have had to close because of infestations, and some places have protocol that requires destroying books that come into contact with the bugs.
Knowing heat destroys bed bugs, the students decided to see if they could craft an inexpensive solution using solar power.
The result was an insulated wooden black box with a Plexiglas top that barbecues the bugs.
The cooking comparison isn't hype — returned books land on an actual grill, a cautionary measure for the unlikely scenario in which a bug tries to escape.
If a bed bug tries to crawl out of a book, it will fall through the grill into a powdery abrasive earth mixture, which will stick to the bug and slice up its exoskeleton, ensuring its demise, Ramos said.

Click on the above link to read the entire story online.

Read more here: http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/2014/07/18/3205862/libraries-battle-bed-bugs-in-books.html#storylink=cpy

2 comments:

  1. This is kinda scary, although I'm glad to see someone came up with a solution- good for them! You hear so much about bed bugs now it's gotten to the point where we're almost afraid to stay in hotels now- it's sad you have to go through all this rigmarole just to check in somewhere and make sure it's clean. Now libraries too... interesting article.

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    1. I found reading the article kind of alarming myself as well. Yes, there has been so much discussion on the news regarding hotels having bed bugs, that you do wonder whether the hotel room you'll be staying has them or not. It's creepy really. At least (from what I've read online) bed bugs do not transmit disease, if that's any consolation.

      I would never have guessed that libraries had bed bug infestation until reading the above article. I'm glad to hear that some college engineering students created a solution to rid books of bed bugs.

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