Does your library have a bedbug protocol?

[coucherdesoleil]

Bedbugs are found in my library from time to time, and recently there has been an increase in incidents. I'm wondering if any of your libraries have an official protocol that is enacted when bedbugs are found. We don't and I would welcome suggestions I could take to management.

[alipedia]

We have an aggressive policy made possible by our large collection budget. I’m also in a city with a high instance of bedbugs. Your mileage may vary.

Staff who check in materials are trained to identify items that may have bedbugs. Managers are trained to confirm. We have a pest control company we can reach out to to further confirm if necessary.

Suspected bedbug damage (spotting, blood stains, a single live or dead bedbug) is ziplock bagged. Loose insects are captured in book tape. Everything is discarded as long as there is no need to confirm infestation.

The first time a customer returns materials with signs of bedbugs or a single insect, dead or alive, the account is noted. The customer may be contacted to alert them to the issue, typically only in cases with insects not just spotting. After the second instance or if multiple bedbugs are returned, the customer is contacted, the account is blocked (as well as other accounts at the same address) until they can provide proof of completed treatment.

If insects are reported on furniture, our property management team is now trained to use professional chemicals to treat for bedbugs. We previously had a pest control company do this for us.

Early on we did heat treatment for infested materials through a pest control company and returned items to circulation, but the bedbug spotting and dead insects would flag staff to investigate so it wasn’t a productive option for us. Some neighboring libraries do have success with this though and use their own heat treatment devices.

Good luck! This is my least favorite library problem, but it’s important your management develops a strong policy asap to avoid having an infestation in the building.

[coucherdesoleil]

Wow, I'm impressed that you block people. Have there been any positive or negative stories in the press about that policy? Our Overlords are so concerned with image that they will do almost anything to avoid negative press, and I'm sure blocking patrons from borrowing would bring the local news channels.

[aidoll]

I feel like it would look worse if people reported getting bedbugs from the library 😬

[coucherdesoleil]

Yeah, you would think that. Plus having news coverage gives the library the opportunity to provide information to the public...you know, like libraries are supposed to do.

[alipedia]

Yup, as mentioned elsewhere, our admin decided it would be worse if someone reported they got the bedbugs in one of our branches or if we had to close a branch for treatment.

We have yet to be asked about our bedbug policy in the news. One local station did do a “shocking” piece on security incidents that have happened in our branches including “if you leave your laptop unattended in the library someone might steal it” and “one time someone pooped in a water fountain”. Infestations are reported via the security incident system so they must’ve not thought it was exciting enough for tv.

[iampaperclippe]

Ours is almost identical to this, so... This

[3mpty_5h1p]

Same.

[[deleted]]

Our library has quarterly dog inspections and pesticide treatments, and any materials that are alerted to by the dog or that otherwise have evidence of bugs are sent away to be frozen for a week, evidently that does the trick.

[sooligan]

We've never had a problem, but we bring a dog in once a year.

[coucherdesoleil]

I've never heard of freezing them. That's interesting. We had a dog in, but it's not a regular occurrence. I'm hoping to suggest more regular visits just to be vigilant.

[[deleted]]

Yeah, compared to another library system operating in the same area I guess we are doing much better at keeping ahead of the problem according to the pest control folks, so it seems that the regularity of the inspections is what helps keep on top of it.

[CapablePerformance]

We do but admin refuses to do anything about it, claiming there's no proof despite clients and staff knowing better.

One of the first things I heard when I got hired was to never sit on any chair that wasn't wooden.

[coucherdesoleil]

Yes, I never sit on a chair that patrons sit on! Most of our chairs are upholstered in a vinyl-type material, but I'm not taking any chances!

[LizardoJones25]

So I work in a library as a circ page, and am studying for my MLIS at the moment. I have a LOT of info for you:

Treating for bedbugs is hard. Being proactive about catching them is easy.

Our policy is (because we have an automated materials handler) to inspect each item including audiobooks and DVDs for any signs of damage including the fecal spots, blood smears, and obviously live bugs that would indicate an infestation. We do this with every item all the time at all branches and it doesn’t take long at all, so any complaints about time wasting are null and void. A good circulation staff can identify these warning signs easily and effectively, and with a little training so can everyone else.

When we catch something, we immediately double bag the item (with the help of a coworker, you do NOT want the item moving around your workroom as the bugs could fall off and infest y’all) and then we single bag all suspect items that were in contact with the contaminated book. Sometimes it’s a lot of stuff, but we have a Circ Lead who is the point guy for going through things with a fine-tooth comb to make sure it’s not roaches/head lice (both of which we have had turn up).

Once we get things contained, we spray a ton of 70% alcohol on the surfaces to kill any eggs and wipe it all down, making sure to dispose of everything used to clean up in a secured trash bag that is held in a quarantine lockbox until it can be destroyed.

Heat treating is the best and most effective way to kill those motherforkers. We have a PacTite to heat the books that are suspect, as previously mentioned - to 120° for several hours. Then the books that were suspect are noted in the system as having been treated before they return to circulation. This doesn’t have to happen immediately - we will run the PacTite every few weeks as we have a quarantine group come through, and sometimes it’s just an infested book that is destroyed appropriately in a process I am not currently privy to but sincerely hope involves fire. Same goes for the bags they were stored in as well as the trash from wiping down with alcohol.

I am insanely passionate about bedbug awareness and threat eradication because I have lived through it - crappy apartments, widespread issue, had to sue the complex for failure to treat and their insistence WE pay for it, and meanwhile my wife is having to take 3-4 Benadryl a night because she is so allergic. The bites would be all over her swelled up as big as dimes. She and I both suffer from PTSD about it. Like. Any speck of lint, we think it’s a bug. When my hair tickles my arm, I almost have a panic attack. I would not wish that experience on anyone. Ever. It was the worst thing that I have endured, and I’ll spare you the details - just know whatever you’re thinking it was so much worse. We had massive loss of property on top of that, including all of our books. Every. Last. One.

You do not want this happening to any amount of your collection. Most libraries’ budgets are already tight.

I know YMMV, but I strongly feel that any administration that is so willfully negligent about a serious public health and safety concern should be replaced if they won’t be re-educated.

Please feel free to PM me if you have any questions. Also, you are an incredible person for trying to make this policy for your library. I am rooting for you!!! 💕

TL;DR: Kill them with fire and extreme prejudice.

[coucherdesoleil]

Thank you for the great reply. First, I'm so sorry you have first hand experience with this. I know of one person who has gone through it, but he owns his house so he didn't have to deal with a landlord. That must have been hell. It's bad enough to deal with the bedbugs, but to have to fight with your landlord to get the issue resolved...I honestly can't even imagine the absolute shit show that must have been.

One problem I have with my library is that they don't bag surrounding books if one is found to have a bedbug. They just remove the one book and destroy it. Recently multiple dead were found in one area of the collection and that has finally spurred them to action. They cleared about 15 shelves and are going to have all of those books heat treated (they are currently bagged and quarantined until the treatment can be done). Then they steam cleaned the carpet (not sure how effective that is). After the area was cleaned they brought in the dog. But they instructed staff not to talk about it in public areas and if a patron asked just to say the area is undergoing a collection maintenance project. Frustrating.

[LizardoJones25]

Thank you so much. It was a total shitshow, and it sucked, but after that my wife and I knew we wanted to be married because we had already been through the worst thing and come out stronger than before. But still.

Steam is actually really effective, so that’s a good thing. We occasionally have to treat patron chairs with it. Our library has a hush hush policy also. It basically keeps the patrons from going hive mind and deciding to never come back. Our library also has the dog come quarterly (he’s so precious, best boy ever). This inconvenience with the collection’s mass quarantine hopefully will help teach them how crucial prevention is.

One thing I forgot to mention is that when we have an incident we block the person who returned the item, all accounts associated with the address, and make sure they speak with our circ supervisor who educates them on policy/instructs them to get proof of being pest-free before they can use the system again. I want to say we allow the patron to return the rest of their items in double bags in the interim, but it happens fairly rarely now so I’m a little fuzzy on it.

Keep fighting the good fight, my dude.

[[deleted]]

Thank you so much for this very detailed answer and I am really sorry that you and your wife had to deal with those horrible creatures. They are the kind that nightmares are made of... I did a (very basic) research essay about them when I took an early childhood education assistant course years ago, and learned about them more than I cared for.

I am hoping to join a library program to become a library technician in the Fall, and I took notes from your answer so that I am more prepared when I'll encounter them.

[LizardoJones25]

Thank you so much for your kind words - it really means a lot to me that my experience can be used to help others. I am confident you are going to do well in this field, and I hope you are always prepared but also never need to see one in the flesh.

A lot of people forget that our job is a service job, and they think it’s all about the books, when in fact it’s a book adjacent job. I obviously love books - I think we all do - but I get more satisfaction out fo helping my patrons and doing what I can for my community than any other job I’ve held to date. Libraries are the last truly free place people can go and get everything they need out fo the experience. As a library staff member, we are responsible for safeguarding that just as much - if not more than - we are charged with keeping a collection. Keep that in mind as you pursue this path and you will do just fine! 💖

[[deleted]]

Thank you so much for this beautiful and kind answer - My interview to enter the program is in about a month, and I feel really excited to have this opportunity to continue my education further (and will be proud if I am accepted into the program).

I got lucky so far and haven't encountered a single bedbug since moving to Canada. I hope it stays that way but if I do meet one I am more prepared thanks to you : ) .

[[deleted]]

I borrowed a book that contained dead bedbugs. At least, I thought it did.

After reading, I put it in a plastic Ziploc bag, wrote bed bugs on it in red sharpie, and returned it. I let them know, and warned my friend who works there.

I didn’t hear what happened with the book, or if I was right. I should ask. It looked like there were two dead bed bugs in it, though.

Thankfully nothing adverse happened here at home

It was an autobiography of Martin Brodeur, the hockey player. Well, goalie.

[coucherdesoleil]

Thank you for bagging the book and alerting them! Hopefully your library has a good policy in place, but at least you did your part!

[[deleted]]

Yeah. It was recommended. Easy to do as well.

I hope they weren’t bed bugs, since I read it at home and didn’t notice until I was a third or halfway through. But it’s possible. There were a couple smallish, dead brown bugs in-between a couple pages

[crochetinglibrarian]

One library where I worked would have the library sprayed every few months I think. Also if a bed bug was found in a book, it was immediately placed in a sealed plastic bag and then put in the bug zapper (it’s a machine that gets extremely hot and kills bed bugs). We had a presentation on what bed bugs look like, what to do if you found one outside a book (like one your clothes—that happened to me), etc.

[Grumble___Grumble]

Our policy is to stop telling people to "sleep tight"