PSA: Check your library books for bed bugs!
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Anonymous
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It seems likely that op could be dealing with some other kind of bug, since the bugs themselves look too small to identify.
BUT libraries all over the country are indeed experiencing bedbug issues. Really, anything that goes from one home (and books get brought into bedrooms and sofas all the time) to another can carry bedbugs. I also worry because a lot of homeless people spend their days at our local library. So many of DC's shelters and hotels used to shelter are notorious for bedbug problems. I know it's a public place and an otherwise completely appropriate hangout, but I think their presence could be raising the risk of bedbug transmission quite a bit. Honestly, I flip through the books, too, but we shouldn't have illusions about the effectiveness of such "inspections". There are heating devices that, if used carefully, could kill bugs and eggs in potentially infested items, so if you have a PacTite and a couple of hours to monitor it, there's your solution. Otherwise, yes, there's a risk. I believe libraries are slowly trying to get their heads around the issue, but "policies" are likely to be reactive rather than proactive at this point!! |
Anonymous
I've had bed bugs. I do not think you had them in your library books. |
Anonymous
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23:10 here. Truth is, it's very for non-entomologists to identify larval forms of many bugs, since they can be so small and look nothing like their adult forms.
I guess they could be booklice or silverfish, possibly other things. A lot of insects seek crevices. Bedbugs are probably fairly likely to be found in library books in general, though. I think the Library *should* contact an entomologist to identify them, but who knows if they will. |
Anonymous
| That's "very difficult for non-entomologists to identify..." |
Anonymous
| Oh- they also could be likely be dermestid beetle (like carpet beetles) larva. Those are somewhat distinctive looking-- google some pictures. |
Anonymous
| Op here -- good to hear they could be something else. Never thought I'd be praying for carpet beetles (a major yarn pest; I'm a knitter.) At any rate, I did everything I could think of to make sure they won't spread to our house, so we'll see. |
Anonymous
Think again, Toots - http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2012/08/23/bed-bugs-found-in-books-at-hamden-library/ |
Anonymous
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Could have been book lice, too (gross name, I know, but at least they're not bedbugs!)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psocoptera |
Anonymous
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Bugs have been living in books forever! Ever hear of the term bookworm??? It's related.
Booklice and silverfish are commonly found in books - they like to feed on the pages and the paste in bookbindings. I have, too, read that bedbugs are finding their way into library books, but don't freak out just yet. |
Anonymous
Just because a library in NY has bedbugs does not mean that the larvae OP found in her book are bedbugs. Before she goes announcing it on DCUM, I suggest she make a better attempt of identifying what she has. I'd put money on the odds that what she found are book lice or something other than bedbugs. |
Anonymous
| Well, I double bagged it and returned it to the library. I wanted to be rid of it more than I wanted to figure out what they were. I'll let the library do that if they want. I'll let you know if I hear from them. |
Anonymous
It's not in the library's best interest to identify them as bedbugs. Besides why would they even be able to do that? Their area is books, not bugs. You should have sent it somewhere that actually handles bug identification. |
Anonymous
| oh man, we get tons of books from the hold system from all over Fairfax and I never thought to check for bugs. Seriously grossed out now. |
Anonymous
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No!!!! Do not ruin my love affair with the library!! NO NO NO!!!!
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Anonymous
Yes and no. It's not only New York, there have been several library cases all over North America with frequency of reports rising. It's a logical possibility, and one that libraries should really begin addressing. (As an aside, I work in a university library, and one where the nearby dorms have had occasional bedbug outbreaks, no less, and I don't believe there's been much discussion about checking library furniture and dealing with books returned from undergrads in infested dorms-- but there should be!!.) So even though there haven't been any acknowledged cases in our area (that I know of), it's kind of a problem waiting to happen. Sadly, OP's assumption is quite plausible. On the other hand, there certainly are other kinds of insects she may have found. I hope the library is taking this seriously. They certainly must have pest identification resources available to them through their county affiliations and ought to be sending these specimens out right away. But yeah, the sense of security we've all had is probably misplaced-- because all it takes is one infested household returning a book. |