PSA: Check your library books for bed bugs!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just LOOK at the books before you cozy up with them. Bedbugs are obvious. So are the little guys, and they're not really a problem.

Bedbugs are not obvious. They're really good at squeezing into crevices, their immature stages are tiny and may not have much color, and their eggs (laid in barely accessible crevices) are actually quite hard to spot. Also, books can have hundreds of pages. How carefully will you inspect each one?!!

OP here. I think some kids' books would be easy to check -- especially the paperback ones and those without many pages. There aren't likely to be eggs with no more mature larvae/bugs around, and the larvae and bugs are pretty easily visible to the naked eye if you're looking for them. Grown-up books with jackets, etc., are another matter. The offending book I checked out was of the latter variety.

I probably will be staying away from libraries for a while at least, and may eventually go back for kids' books (and maybe audio books) but look very carefully.

Still praying I managed to avoid infestation. I guess time will tell. I'm thinking I should invest in a clothes steamer and use that all around. I've heard those can be effective.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I put library books in the freezer for 1-2 weeks before I read them, for this exact reason. If you have a clothes dryer that has a shelf (so books won't tumble around) you could also do that (high heat, 30-40 mins).

I'm intrigued by the dryer idea and bet it would indeed kill bugs, but isn't that a fire risk?

I believe studies have shown that home freezers don't reach low enough temperatures to kill all life stages of bedbugs.

OP here -- I put one of my daughter's books in the dryer in her backpack, and it was somewhat damaged by the heat. So I don't know if dryers are really great for books. But I am intrigued by the possibilities of a low-heat oven.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I put library books in the freezer for 1-2 weeks before I read them, for this exact reason. If you have a clothes dryer that has a shelf (so books won't tumble around) you could also do that (high heat, 30-40 mins).

I'm intrigued by the dryer idea and bet it would indeed kill bugs, but isn't that a fire risk?

I believe studies have shown that home freezers don't reach low enough temperatures to kill all life stages of bedbugs.

OP here -- I put one of my daughter's books in the dryer in her backpack, and it was somewhat damaged by the heat. So I don't know if dryers are really great for books. But I am intrigued by the possibilities of a low-heat oven.

Ooooooh. I'm the most bedbug-phobic person you'll ever meet (having had the pleasure a few years ago), but THAT sounds like a fire risk to me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I put library books in the freezer for 1-2 weeks before I read them, for this exact reason. If you have a clothes dryer that has a shelf (so books won't tumble around) you could also do that (high heat, 30-40 mins).

I'm intrigued by the dryer idea and bet it would indeed kill bugs, but isn't that a fire risk?

I believe studies have shown that home freezers don't reach low enough temperatures to kill all life stages of bedbugs.

OP here -- I put one of my daughter's books in the dryer in her backpack, and it was somewhat damaged by the heat. So I don't know if dryers are really great for books. But I am intrigued by the possibilities of a low-heat oven.

Ooooooh. I'm the most bedbug-phobic person you'll ever meet (having had the pleasure a few years ago), but THAT sounds like a fire risk to me.

I'm thinking below 200 degrees. I'm pretty sure it's safe. I know people who do this often with yarn to kill off moth/carpet beetle larvae.

[Anonymous]

I love the library and rely on it often. This is such a bummer.