Libraries not letting bed bugs bite
It is welcome news for people who frequent the two libraries in Kamloops.
After testing all 13 libraries in the Thompson-Nicola Regional District, no bed bugs have been found in books or facilities.
“We just got the clean bill of health,” said Kevin Kierans, director of libraries for the TNRD.
The TNRD decided to see if the blood-suckers had invaded the library system after several libraries in the Lower Mainland reported infestations in their books.
The bugs were first detected in October at two libraries in Burnaby — in books in the thriller-mystery section — and then at libraries in New Westminster and Vancouver.
Kierans isn’t surprised by the results in the region, but he is relieved.
The TNRD hired a pest-control company to set traps in all the libraries, and in the bookmobile, but they turned up empty.
The testing was done by Bugs-Gon Pest Control.
The traps will remain in place, while the TNRD noted library branches have installed monitoring systems to pick up any signs of the bugs if they do appear.
If a patron finds a book with bugs at home, TNRD officials are asking the book be placed in a bag and returned to the library.
Kierans said the book will be passed on to the experts.
“Often, what people think of as bed bugs aren’t, and we would rather have it confirmed,” he said.
Kierans noted it cost about $80 to test each library.
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