LaSalle and Tecumseh’s library branches were the latest to undergo treatment as part of a bedbug scare across the Essex County Library system — but library officials assure that there’s no problem now.
A specially trained sniffer dog detected the presence of bed bugs at the two branches during inspections on Thursday.
Robin Greenall, head librarian, said both branches were immediately attended and treated by Orkin pest control services, and will resume normal business hours on Friday — as will all other branches in the system.
“(Bedbugs) are in lots of public spaces. We were just trying to assess how far the problem was,” Greenall said. “This is not an infestation.”
Mack, a trained bed bug detection dog, sniffs for the presence of the dreaded pests at the LaSalle branch of the Essex County Library on June 16, 2016.
Gregory Stasiak and his specialized dog Mack search for bedbugs at the LaSalle Branch of the Essex County Library on Thursday, June 16, 2016.
Concerns were raised last week when a staff member at the Leamington branch found a bedbug. Signs of bedbugs were subsequently found at the Lakeshore and Kingsville branches, as well as the administrative office in Essex.
The discoveries led to all 14 branches in the system being closed on Tuesday as a precaution. Following treatment and further inspections, seven branches were re-opened on Wednesday.
Greg Stasiak, whose beagle Mack has undergone intensive training to become a certified detection dog, said Mack’s tracking of bedbugs by scent is more efficient and effective than visual inspection. “When he is making an alert, I trust him,” Stasiak said.
Greenall said there were indications of bedbugs in two “small, localized areas” at the LaSalle branch, and one spot — a chair — at the Tecumseh branch.
Despite the closures, Greenall feels there’s no reason for the public to be afraid of visiting their local library. “We closed the libraries as a proactive measure,” she said.
She encouraged concerned library patrons to do some research about bedbugs — either by contacting public health authorities or coming to the library for information.
“Libraries are not the space where bedbugs like to live,” Greenall pointed out. “They want to be where people live.”
“We do have people at the library, but it’s mainly full of books and DVDs and information resources. Those are surfaces that bed bugs don’t really want to be in or around. Bedbugs want to be with humans.”
The past week’s episode is the first time the Essex County Library has dealt with bedbugs. Greenall said it’s been a learning experience.
