Bed bugs

William Minter <wminter [at] pennswoods__net> writes

>I had a query from one of my library clients:
>
>   "We haven't had trouble with bedbugs in books yet, but expect we
>    may eventually. We are wondering what the word is for treating
>    them. ...

I haven't had experience with bed bugs in a library setting, but a
few other business owners I know have had problems and shared this
information with me (along with just knowing stuff about them since
I lived in Boston for two years):

Bed bugs and their eggs can remain dormant for up to a year so any
treatment must be done for that whole year in order to kill off both
the bugs as well as their eggs.  I haven't heard of any freezing or
anoxia treatments, but I do know that objects are cleaned and sealed
in plastic bags when stored on shelves for a year.  Also, the
disposal of all wood objects in and around the books is important as
the bugs live mostly in wooden furniture/shelving.  It is really
important to throw wooden furniture, or any porous furniture, away
at the very first sign of bed bugs as the difficulty of getting rid
of them rises substantially with the amount of time they are there.

I wish I knew more--especially concerning anoxic environments--but
this may help a bit.

Katie Smith


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 24:23
                 Distributed: Friday, October 29, 2010
                       Message Id: cdl-24-23-003
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