QUESTION: A friend told me bedbugs can be spread through books. Is this true? Are bedbugs a problem for libraries? If so, how so how do libraries sanitize books to prevent bugs and even viruses?
ANSWER: Yes, bedbugs are known to hitch a ride on books, and I didn’t know that before you asked. I’m eyeing the books in my house with suspicion now.
I asked our Longview Public Library director, Jennifer Eldridge, about this, and I think we can all be thankful to learn that the library fumigates for all bugs, including bedbugs, once a quarter and as needed. She said bedbugs especially get into book bindings.
“We actually just sprayed last month on Aug. 23rd. We do not have an issue with bed bugs because staff are knowledgeable on how to look for bed bugs (as well as all other bugs) when checking books in,” she said. “If they were to see any bugs at all, they would remove the items from the library building immediately, and then we would fumigate that exact day as a precaution. The city of Longview does have a contract with an exterminator and we do utilize on-call services as necessary.
“Since bed bugs can burrow into books, we do not want to risk them spreading. Therefore, books are thrown away immediately and we do not recirculate them once they have been found infested. Our book sanitizers do kill all bacteria and germs, but unfortunately they do not kill bugs. The high pressure used in the sanitizers could knock bugs out of the books, but since our sanitizers are not designed for killing bugs, we do not rely on them for that purpose.”
She said staff are trained to look for bedbugs and any other kinds of bugs at check-in. (I found stories from other newspapers that show this is a common issue libraries deal with.)
“If we do find books with them inside, we contact the patron who has the books on their account, to let them know they must provide documentation that their residence on file has been fumigated before they can check out again,” Eldridge said. “We will also spray that day at the library as a precaution. Items found with bugs, either alive or dead in our books, will be treated as if the book is damaged and will need to be replaced since we won’t circulate those books again.”
Library patrons who return books covered in bugs will have to replace the items because they have to be thrown away.
“If patrons find that they have bedbugs, or any kind of bugs, before returning to the library, it is recommended that they seal the books inside a Ziplock bag for a minimum of four days. Patrons can also use heat or cold to speed up this process. However, heat is far more damaging to a book than cold. Using a freezer to place the ziplocked books inside, will likely kill the bugs within just a day or two,” she said. “Moreover, we have all book donations brought to our back loading due to the risk of bugs as well. We’ve had well intended people try to donate books that were likely in storage and can sometimes be infested. As we inspect the books outside, if we see any books with bugs, they are immediately thrown away in the outside dumpster.”
Q: My husband heard from a reliable source that the city is no longer recycling and that all of the recyclables the city of Longview collects go to the landfill.
A: The city began phasing in curbside recycling in 1995, and it was fully implemented in 1998. It seems like it wasn’t long after that this rumor started occasionally popping up.
These days, Longview’s recycling is handled by Rivers Recycling between Longview and Kilgore.
“Our operating procedures are to deliver all recyclables collected in the blue recycling cart to Rivers Recycling for processing,” said Public Works Director Dwayne Archer. “However, if (Rivers Recycling) must shut down for maintenance or additional processing, residents may see recyclables collected by landfill trucks.” (That did actually happen recently, by the way.)
“We currently pay $65 per ton for processing recyclables at Rivers and $25.10 per ton for disposal at Pine Hill landfill. While the cost of recyclables is higher, we must consider the cost savings related to the extended life of the landfill and other environmental impacts.”
Also, Justin Skinner, general manager for Rivers Recycling, said the business typically sees five to six trucks from Longview delivering recyclables to the facility Monday through Thursday (the city doesn’t collect recyclables on Friday).
“Longview is actually one of our biggest customers next to Republic Services,” Skinner said, accounting for about 413 tons each month of the 1,200 tons a month that the recycling facility processes.