Chappaqua Library Takes Bed Bug Precaution With Weekend Event
The thought of encountering a bed bug anywhere is enough to make one’s skin crawl but few would expect to encounter the parasitic insect at a local library book fair.
On June 10, two bed bugs were discovered on the grounds of the Chappaqua Public Library, one day after the Friends of the Chappaqua Library concluded its annual five-day sale in the facility’s theater and gallery.
One bug was found outside with the discarded books that had been placed in the trash and another on the auditorium curtain, said Library Director Pamela Thornton. The two bugs were detected during a routine inspection that is done two or three times a year at the library by JP McHale Pest Management’s specially trained canine, she said.
Thornton stressed that no bugs were found inside the library but that it was important to make residents feel secure.
As a result, the library and the Town of New Castle scheduled a special event on Saturday in the parking lot at town hall. JP McHale Pest Management set up a “bed bug elimination station” where residents who bought books at the June 5-9 sale were able to have them inspected by Trixie, a five-year-old Beagle trained to detect for the presence of bed bugs.
“The thing is if it’s books you take them and read them in bed so you want to make sure that there’s nothing in them,” Thornton said.
Jim McHale, president of the extermination company, said Saturday’s effort was to put residents’ fears to rest about the possibility of a significant problem at the library or with books they had bought. If there was a bug found in a book or if the dog picked up a faint scent of a bug, which may signal that one of the insects touched the book at one time, it would be treated in a special truck.
“There was no infestation,” McHale said. “We found one in the auditorium and that is now bed bug free as well.”
During the past week, the library posted information on its website about the incident and Saturday’s event, which was free of charge to residents. About 90 minutes into the two-hour drop-off period, there were more than 50 residents who had brought their books in boxes or bags to be checked.
Trixie’s handler, Bob Outhouse, said the dog picked up a bed bug scent with a few residents’ bundles.
“There’s so many places in a book, in the binding, and in every book that somebody has,” Outhouse said. “If the dog reacts it’s going over (to the thermal pest unit).”
Personnel in the unit, a large vehicle that was parked in the lot, treated the books using glycol, a derivative of vegetable oil, to generate the highest levels of heat needed to eliminate bed bugs, McHale said. The unit is heated to 120 degrees, the temperature needed to kill all forms of the bed bug life cycle, he said.
Despite the good turnout for Saturday’s inspection, there were thousands more books that had been sold at the fair but weren’t accounted for, Thornton said. There were an estimated 32,000 books sold netting close to $17,000 for the library.
“I don’t know how many people threw their stuff out, or did it themselves or had some other exterminator come and check,” Thornton said. “I don’t know, (but) it’s been a steady stream of people, which is wonderful.”
McHale said if any Chappaqua resident would like a canine-assisted bed bug examination of their home, they would receive a $75 credit toward the bill if they sign up within 30 days.
Martin has more than 30 years experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, including a frequent focus on zoning and planning issues. He has been editor-in-chief of The Examiner since its inception in 2007. Read more from Martin’s editor-author bio here. Read Martin’s archived work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/martin-wilbur2007/
