Overview
- Library staff first spotted a single bedbug in a main-floor bathroom on Saturday, and routine monthly inspectors found additional bugs on Tuesday in lounge chairs and the computer lab prompting an immediate closure.
- All workers were sent home when inspectors confirmed the finds and a remediation team began treating furniture and preparing the building to reopen on Wednesday.
- Director Sandy Irwin said officials believe the pests were brought in on a person or personal items and the library will restrict how many bags patrons may bring once it reopens to reduce future introductions.
- Staff posted step-by-step guidance for patrons worried about borrowed items, advising sealing books or media and exposing them to high heat for hours or freezing for 72 hours and linking to Michigan’s bedbug resources.
- The closure follows a 2024 incident with insects in returned DVDs that led the library to start monthly inspections, a practice officials say is now central to preventing recurring hitchhiking pest problems.