[Michlib-l] Bed Bug Prevention

Tue Oct 31 11:09:42 EDT 2023

Most of our furniture is from the 1960s-1990s.  All of the fabric
upholstered chairs and cushions got hit in the inspections over and over
again, and were frankly a bear to keep clean.  We have our carpets cleaned
(trying to put off the replacement as long as we can) twice each year, and
had the chairs shampooed when they were here, but it was a losing battle.
All of our other chairs are wooden, or wood and 1970's pleather (?).  We've
had only one hit on any of them in the last five years.  I don't know if
it's related or not, but we clean them maybe once a year with Murphy's Oil
Soap?  Maybe they don't like that, but it's working for us with the
furniture we have.  The Orkin bedbug treatment techs have told us that they
see a lot of bedbugs in fabric upholstered chairs, loveseats, couches,
hotel headboards, etc.  We were happy to have them gone, though we'll have
to replace them with something easier to maintain later.

One good thing that comes out of all of this is that I now suspect every
surface in every theater, waiting room, and hotel room, and I know how to
check.  I will flip a hotel room and get out my flashlight before my
suitcase even comes in the door.  I will take the sheets off the edges of
the mattress and the headboard off the wall, if I need to, but I sleep
easier.  Knowledge is power, I guess.

Cynthia Stanczak, MLS (she/her)
Library Director
Albion District Library
501 S. Superior St.
Albion, MI  49224
(517) 629-3993

Albion District Library: Transforming Minds, Changing Lives.
Proudly serving our community since 1919.
Online at www.albionlibrary.org, or find us on Facebook!

*My working day may not be your working day. Please do not feel obligated
to reply to this email outside of your normal working hours.*

On Tue, Oct 31, 2023 at 10:46 AM Jean Fellows <progcoord at gladl.org> wrote:

> Thank you for all the great information Cynthia-- you really have it
> covered! Love calling the zapper "The Bakery".
>
> I  toured the Advanced Learning Library in Witcha, Kansas during the ARSL
> convention. They have 14'x20'-ish *room* devoted to bedbug treatment--
> including an oven/kiln that looks like a bank vault. They didn't share as
> much helpful information as you did though-- mostly "here's our stuff and
> where we cook materials and ick".
>
> I never thought about our upholstered furniture as harboring bedbugs. Just
> cloth, or vinyl too?
>
> On Tue, Oct 31, 2023 at 10:01 AM Cynthia Stanczak via Michlib-l <
> michlib-l at mcls.org> wrote:
>
>> Hello, all!
>>
>> Bedbugs suck, and this has been a bad year for them.  I shared our
>> procedures and equipment lists back in 2020, but they haven't changed much
>> and still work really well for us. There's no true prevention, because
>> bedbugs are hardy and well-adapted to their biological niche, but there's
>> also an amazing sense of relief and empowerment that comes from knowing
>> you've been inspected and knowing how to address it for the safety of your
>> staff and patrons.  Bedbugs are a public health concern and must be
>> addressed as such.  They are also potentially a PR nightmare for a
>> library.  I don't know about your community, but gossip and old stories
>> rule in our small town and get shared for years, and no institution needs
>> that.
>>
>> Our canine inspection company is K9 Bedbug Hunters. The dogs are eager
>> and well-trained and managed. You can tell that they really enjoy their
>> work. Owner's name is Sara Rodeheaver. The business phone is 269-317-4970.
>> You can also reach her at k9bedbughunter at gmail.com.  They currently have
>> 4 trained dogs and usually bring two to a job, so that they can confirm
>> hits or switch out the dogs for fresh noses when inspecting large spaces.
>> We found them through Orkin, and have 6 canine inspections per year, with
>> chemical treatments by Orkin, if necessary.  However, we haven't needed to
>> have chemical treatment since we got rid of the last of our fabric
>> upholstered furniture.
>>
>> Any materials that are on a shelf with an inspection hit, as well as the
>> shelves above (because bedbug scent falls), are removed and baked in our
>> heat treatment unit (we use ZappBug).  The metal shelves are wiped down in
>> 90-91% rubbing alcohol and allowed to dry.  When the heat cycle is done and
>> the items have cooled, each is inspected for signs of bugs or blood stains,
>> and, if clear, marked discreetly on the inside cover with the treatment
>> date, and returned to circulation.  We note which areas were hits, and any
>> items returned by patrons in the following 6 weeks that would be shelved in
>> that area are checked for that discreet mark and date.  If missing, those
>> items are sent directly to "the bakery" ('cause no one wants to start
>> itching when we say 'bedbug') for treatment, inspection, and then
>> reshelving.  We also check every item when going out and every item coming
>> back, including from MelCat. Anything suspicious is sent to the bakery.  It
>> also works for fleas and lice, if those are concerns.
>>
>> My bedbug procedures, and quarantine and treatment equipment lists are
>> available to anyone who might want them (attached).  We funded our
>> equipment purchase through a grant from our library co-op.  The whole topic
>> makes me and my staff itch, and it's always a weird moment in training for
>> new people, when they learn that bedbugs and bookworms are real.  That
>> said, we're more comfortable with confirmed hits that can be immediately
>> addressed and resolved, than a general uneasiness of not knowing what we
>> might be taking home.  If you have any questions, I'm happy to answer and
>> you can reach me by phone or email.  We've been inspected 6 times/yr for
>> the last 5 years, and while we have something hit almost every time, the
>> scale of the hits have steadily decreased and are usually easily addressed
>> in a single day.
>>
>> Cynthia Stanczak, MLS (she/her)
>> Library Director
>> Albion District Library
>> 501 S. Superior St.
>> Albion, MI  49224
>> (517) 629-3993
>>
>> Albion District Library: Transforming Minds, Changing Lives.
>> Proudly serving our community since 1919.
>> Online at www.albionlibrary.org, or find us on Facebook!
>>
>> *My working day may not be your working day. Please do not feel obligated
>> to reply to this email outside of your normal working hours.*
>>
>>
>> On Fri, Oct 27, 2023 at 2:19 PM Kimberly Feltner via Michlib-l <
>> michlib-l at mcls.org> wrote:
>>
>>> What is your library doing, if anything, for the prevention of Bed Bugs?
>>>
>>> After talking to several pest companies today and being told different
>>> things from each, I would like to know if anyone in library land has a
>>> solid action plan for the* prevention* of Bed Bugs.
>>>
>>> Thank you!
>>> Kimberly
>>>
>>> --
>>> Kimberly Feltner
>>> Assistant Director
>>> Branch District Library
>>> 10 E. Chicago St.
>>> Coldwater, MI 49036
>>> Phone: (517) 278-2341 ext. 123
>>> Fax: (517) 278-2342
>>> http://www.BranchDistrictLibrary.org
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> Michlib-l mailing list
>>> Michlib-l at mcls.org
>>> https://mail3.mcls.org/mailman/listinfo/michlib-l
>>>
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>
>
> --
> Jean Fellows
> (she/hers)
> Programming Coordinator
> Grand Ledge Area District Library
> 131 E. Jefferson St.,
> Grand Ledge, MI 48837
> 517-627-7014
>
> *The Grand Ledge Area District Library is situated on ancestral,
> traditional and contemporary lands of the Anishinaabeg – Three Fires
> Confederacy of Ojibwe, Odawa and Potawatomi peoples-- land ceded in the
> 1819 Treaty of Saginaw. For more information, see the article from Central
> Michigan University
> Library:https://blogs.cmich.edu/library/2019/11/26/the-1819-treaty-of-saginaw/#:~:text=In%20the%201819%20treaty%2C%20the,living%20on%20the%20ceded%20territory.
> <https://blogs.cmich.edu/library/2019/11/26/the-1819-treaty-of-saginaw/#:~:text=In%20the%201819%20treaty%2C%20the,living%20on%20the%20ceded%20territory.>*
>
>
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