Following bedbug scares in New Westminster, Burnaby and Vancouver, no evidence of bedbugs has been found on the shelves of Delta’s three libraries, nor any of Surrey’s.
“We have had no sightings yet – and I say yet because I hope we never do,” said Fraser Valley Regional Library (FVRL) CEO Rob O’Brennan, whose organization runs 25 libraries from Delta to Boston Bar.
Surrey staff were schooled in all things bedbug by a pest control firm this week.
They were told little can be done to stop them from coming in to the library, but staff were told how to spot them. If they are found, the book containing them should be bagged and isolated. Then a controlled spraying may begin.
The heightened awareness comes after staff in area libraries were informed of the temporary closure of the New Westminster Public Library after bedbugs were found in several books in a small area of the library’s collection.
One live bedbug and several dead ones were found in the fiction section, said City of New Westminster spokesman Blair Fryer.
O’Brennan says that the finding in New Westminster is disturbing, and Delta staff are actively watching for the problem and asking customers to remain vigilant, as well as informing them of procedures to properly bag, seal and return books if bedbugs are found.
While a large area around New Westminster’s collection was treated with high-heat steam as a precaution, Delta would take a different route should bedbugs be found in the library.
O’Brennan says 30 minutes in the freezer will kill the parasitic pests.
Earlier this last, bedbugs were found in a book borrowed from the Mount Pleasant branch of the Vancouver Public Library. The pests have also been discovered at two library branches in Burnaby.
- with files from Kevin Diakiw