Bedbugs found at four Edmonton libraries

The Edmonton Public Library is advising that bedbugs have been found inside four of their branches, but are reassuring the public that not enough bugs were found to be considered an outbreak.

According to Kevin Kramers, Director of Facility and Operations Division with the Edmonton Public Library, the pests were found at the Stanley Milner and Sprucewood branches in late 2010, and at the Londonderry and Woodcroft branches in January.

Kramers said in at least three of the cases, only a single bug was found, and likely came in on a book returned to the library.

According to Edmonton Public Library policy, if a bedbug is found on an item in the library's collection, it must be bagged and disposed of and marked as lost or damaged.

EPL also went so far as to fumigate the Sprucewood branch, and bring a bedbug sniffing dog in to examine the Sprucewood and Stanley Milner branches. In the case of the other two branches, only a single bug was found, and the items were disposed of as per library policy.

There has not been any more evidence of the bugs at the library.

While Kramers says it's almost impossible to prevent bugs from entering the library, he says staff are always on the lookout for problems.

"We try and be as proactive as possible in teaching staff what to look for, and what to do if you find one."

The EPL policy on bedbugs was developed in conjunction with Alberta Health Services.