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Indiana University says swift action by its staff may have prevented an infestation of bed bugs on the Bloomington campus.
IU environmental health and safety director Mike Jenson says an employee at the IU Wells Library found one bed bug on a library wall Monday. After that discovery, public health staff inspected the area and set out traps that caught a second bed bug.
Jenson says the area has now been treated with an insecticide and the insect traps remain in place. As of Wednesday, no additional bed bugs have been found.
He says the staff's awareness and quick actions may have prevented an infestation of the irritating small reddish-brown wingless insects, which are running rampant in the Northeast.
Reports of bedbugs have surged in recent years as they have become resistant to common pesticides.
Pest control workers say New York City is the epicenter for the outbreak. Bedbugs have been recently discovered there in a theater, office buildings, other stores, housing projects and posh apartments. Athletic clothing and shoe maker Nike Inc. said Sunday it was temporarily closing its Niketown store in New York City after it became the latest victim of the bloodsucking pests.
The "bites" of bed bugs can cause red, itchy welts that can become irritated if scratched.
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