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Denver Public Library Book Return infested with bed bugs

nobugsonme — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 03:46:14 +0000

The Denver Public Library’s book return drop box was infested with bed bugs, apparently by a single heavy user of the library’s services. CBS4 in Denver reported that

Library workers handling the books left in the drop box noticed the bugs first.

“When we were returning those materials back in to get them off of his card, some of the bugs fell out,” said Celeste Jackson.

The books were not your typical popular fiction. They are described as volumes of rare classic literature. The books are not the property of the Denver Public Library. They’re part of the inter-library loan system. Those books have been fumigated and the library quarantined.

The library said the customer was aware of the problem.

“We said, sir we think you may have a problem and we’re trying to keep this from becoming … something that really is throughout the library system,” Jackson said.

Jackson said after the man was informed he returned more books with bedbugs.

[Emphasis mine.]

He knew he had bed bugs, he knew he was transmitting them to the library, and he continued doing so.

The infested books could have been rendered bed bug-free, but their pages were stained so heavily by bed bug droppings that they had to be destroyed. He’s now been banned from the library and fined the $12,000 for the 31 ruined rare books.

I love that this story hit the news, because it is important for people to see that bed bugs can spread by all kinds of conduits — including ones so seemingly innocent as a library book.

Has the infestation been smaller — if bed bugs had not fallen out of books which were being checked back into the library — it may not have been noticed, and the books may have been reshelved.

If this had occurred, depending how rarely these tomes get pulled off the shelf, the bed bugs may have set off to bite others, perhaps in the library itself.

(We can only hope that items the man returned previously to the discovery did not contain bed bugs, perhaps to a less noticeable degree.)

It’s important to note also that there are others, like this man, who know they have bed bugs and — for whatever reason — appear to not be getting help.

Moreover, this man was not concerned about inflicting the problem on others.

What should happen when strangers find out someone is living with this problem — such a severe problem that they are easily transmitting it around town?

Should social services be called out?

The police?

Whatever department in Denver inspects housing for inhabitability?

What do you think?

Check out the rest of the article and video: Unwanted Visitors Found In Library Book Return – cbs4denver.com.

Update (9/24):

And now ABC7 in Denver reports the identity of the man who returned the books to the library.

The infected books came from 69-year-old Denver resident Roger Goffeney. He checks out historic books, some 200 years old, and helps archive them online in an effort called the Gutenberg Project.

When he brought a few of the rare books back, bed bugs from his downtown apartment hitched a ride. Goffeney said the landlord is to blame. Goffeney lives at Cathedral Plaza, which is owned by the Catholic Archdiocese of Denver.

“We’ve always had some kind of insect infestation, but it’s never been to this degree,” Goffeney said of the building where he lives.

Still, Goffeney said he didn’t think it was a big deal.

“I thought that they could easily be cleaned if they had discovered that to be the problem,” Goffeney said.

Cathedral Plaza is one of the Denver senior housing properties listed on the Archdiocesan Housing website.

ABC7 in Denver notes that Goffeney is considering filing a lawsuit to get his library privileges back.

Project Gutenberg is an effort to get books out of copyright online, so everyone with access to the internet can read them for free. Project Gutenberg volunteers work to preserve literature.

Susan Greene wrote in the Denver Post that

Goffeney takes no responsibility for the blight, nor for fines he says should be paid by his lousy landlord. He sees little irony in the fact that his efforts to save world literature have resulted in book burning.

“Huh . . .,” he says. “I guess I’ve never thought of it like that.”

Even where landlords are responsible for treatment for bed bugs, tenants must participate both by disclosing the problem in their unit, by preparing for treatment, and by following up afterwards. It’s unclear at this time whether Goffeney has received bed bug treatment, or if the landlord knows about and is attempting to fix the problem.

I guess now we’re waiting until the press hears from the Catholic Archdiocese of Denver?Similar Posts:

Towels under the door: when cities abandon tenants with bed bugs

nobugsonme — Thu, 21 May 2009 18:10:55 +0000

This is what happens when local authorities cannot help low-income tenants get help and treatment for bed bugs.

WLWT in Cincinnati reports that the Hillrise Apartments for Seniors in College Hill still has a serious bed bug problem. Cincinnati, you’ll remember, did not fund its Health Department’s bed bug inspection program in their last budget, and ceased doing bed bug inspections in January 2009.

The Cincinnati Health Department had to cease inspecting for bed bugs even though requests for assistance had gone from 70 requests in 2007 to 750 in 2008.

The residents at Hillrise Apartments appear to be living without proper bed bug treatment, claiming they’ve had bed bugs for years. In fact, we ran a story on Bedbugger about bed bugs in the Hillrise Apartments back in October 2007, when they were already said by tenants to have “spread from one end of the building to the other.” And that was over nineteen months ago!

The video linked below shows senior citizens attempting to ward off bed bug bites with 91% isopropyl alcohol (a contact killer if sprayed directly on a bed bug, this won’t prevent bed bugs from biting) or attempting keep them out of apartments with a towel stuck under the door. The video shows bed bugs crawling and fecal traces in the corners of a room that must have had bed bugs for a very long time.

WLWT notes that many residents have sought medical help for the bed bug bites and

The problem is so bad that local hospitals have actually called the Health Department looking for help for Hillrise residents.

The Cincinnati Health Department says landlords are responsible for treating to get rid of bed bugs, but as as we noted above, the Health Department no longer sends inspectors to identify the problem and educate residents about treatment options:

The Health Department said it did have a program that would check for bed bugs and then educate residents on their options, but that program was cut months ago when the city slashed its budget.

Please go to Seniors Battle Bed Bugs At Infested Apartment Complex – WLWT Cincinnati to read the full story and watch the depressing video.

And think long and hard about what happens when local public officials have good ideas about fighting bed bugs, but no funding to implement them.

And before anyone asks, yes: I get that the economy stinks. However, it’s more expensive to treat bed bugs when an infestation is allowed to get very bad. And obviously, the longer it goes on, the more citizens will get bed bugs (increasing treatment costs exponentially).

We’re talking about a city in which a recent study found one in six people had had bed bugs. One in six, according to the Spring 2008 Greater Cincinnati Health Survey conducted by the University of Cincinnati Institute for Policy Research.

And that was in Spring 2008; I do expect that number to grow.

If infestations are allowed to go on for years, with insufficient or no bed bug treatment, not only do the residents suffer, but bed bugs also continue to spread to others and infest more people’s homes, causing more suffering, costing more money.

I wonder how many more people in Cincinnati and the surrounding area have bed bugs as a result of this particular infestation being allowed to go on for years. Similar Posts:

More bed bug treatments in Lexington’s Ballard Griffith senior apartments

nobugsonme — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 21:57:39 +0000

More on the Ballard Griffith senior complex in Lexington, Kentucky, where the 55-and-older residents have been suffering from bed bug bites for 2 years now.

Two years!

According to this news report from Lex18, 86 of over 300 units are infested. Today, two pest control firms are going door to door spraying in the complex. A second news report from WTVQ clarifies that every unit in the 317 unit complex, as well as offices, laundry rooms, and other common areas, will be sprayed. A follow-up treatment will occur in mid-December. They hope that clears the problem.

WTVQ also notes that the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Housing Authority, the Health Department and the Lexington Mayor’s office all had to get involved to make this happen. The Health Dept. has inspected the building a few times since 2007, most recently a search of every unit which found evidence in those 86 units (27% of the apartments).

The treatment is being done by All Rite Pest Control and Truly Nolen Pest Control.

I note that PCOs often tell us that a follow-up in two weeks is necessary. This second treatment sounds like it is around 5 weeks away. With so many infested units, it is hard to eliminate a problem. I really do hope the problem is solved because the tenants are suffering physically, financially, and (one guesses) psychologically, as so many do with bed bugs. And the fact that some tenants have had them for two years is shameful.

Here’s an earlier story from September on the Ballard Griffith situation, and one from last week on how the complex was used as a local polling place.

And remember, citizens of Lexington-Fayette County: last year, the local health department told the media it wanted residents of apartment buildings who had bed bugs to call them. Here’s the number again, in case that’s you:

If you live in an apartment complex and suspect there are bed bugs. You are urged to call the Lexington-Fayette County Health Department at (859) 231-9791

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Bed bugs in a senior apartment building in San Diego

nobugsonme — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 03:51:37 +0000

NBC reports that there are bed bugs in a senior apartment building in San Diego:

It’s happening at the Westminster Manor, which is home to low-income seniors. Resident Rose Chapin, 76, told NBC 7/39 she first noticed the problem in June.

“I saw little black spots on my bedspread,” Chapin said.

Soon after, she noticed bloodstains, bites on her chest and legs, plus larvae found in the couch. Chapin said that about 50 of the 150 apartments in the high-rise wound up with them and are being sprayed for bedbugs.

“They’ve sprayed two times in my place already, but I still have to keep all of my clothes in bags out on the balcony for the rest of the month. And I have to do about 50 loads of laundry when that’s done, just to make sure they’re gone,” Chapin said.

Fifty out of 150 units are being treated. This is a serious infestation. I would not be surprised if other units as well as common areas (and maybe even walls / pipe areas) were also infested.

The management says they treat units when complaints are made:

“The residents spread them when they visit each other. There’s no way to prevent it, so we treat the apartment as soon as we discover a problem,” said Bill Keys, the buildings superintendent said. “At any time, we could be dealing with four or five rooms.”

Treating units like this individually, a few at a time, when 1/3 or more of the building is infested and are being treated at different times, may not be the best way to eliminate the problem.

Would coordinating treatment so that it occurs all at once not be a more efficient and promising plan?

Perhaps some of our professionals could enlighten me on that.

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Bed bugs in Danbury, Connecticut senior housing

nobugsonme — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 16:17:53 +0000

According to The News-Times, Danbury Housing Authority is fighting bed bugs in Ives Manor, a 98-unit elderly housing complex on Main Street in Danbury, CT.

Carolyn Sistrunk, executive director of the Danbury Housing Authority, said Monday the complex had a problem with the bugs in 2007 and spent about $17,000 to get rid of them.

“They were here in the fall,” Alex Sixbey, one of the tenants at Ives Manor said Monday. “It took a lot of work — by the exterminators and by me — to get rid of them.”

But Sistrunk said the bedbugs returned. While last year’s outbreak was confined to Ives Manor’s fourth floor, they may have popped up elsewhere in the building.

“We’re going to treat the entire building,” she said.

It does not sound like the bed bugs were necessarily completely gone. While it’s possible they were and the building was reinfested, it is also possible that some units had bed bugs and the tenants were unaware and/or not reporting them.

Many times, visual inspections will turn up nothing, especially if there is a small infestation. In time, however, it would explain bed bugs springing back.

Carolyn Cutler, who has lived in city housing for about 20 years, moved to Ives Manor more than four years ago and lives on the fourth floor. Last fall, she said, the pests showed up in her apartment.

In recent weeks “I found one on my sheets,” she said. “I’m changing my sheets twice a day. I’ve never seen them before. I don’t want to put up with this.”

Sistrunk said Ives Manor hired Amtech, a local exterminating company that is getting increasing experience in fighting bedbugs, to do the work. The company has even purchased a beagle trained to sniff out bedbugs to help its staff find the vermin.

The initial contract for the work is about $9,000, Sistrunk said.

And with a sense of great foreboding, but no great sense of surprise, I present this PCO soundbite:

Richard Monastero, Amtech’s president, said Monday for the foreseeable future people should consider bedbugs an ongoing problem, not a one-time thing.

Ugh.Similar Posts:

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