The discovery of bed bugs in a public facility can cause chaos and panic. It’s understandable that the general public does not want to take the pests home with them, nor do any of the employees.
The Cook County Juvenile Courthouse is quite abuzz with activity this week. Not from a big criminal trial however. It appears that bed bugs have been found creeping around near the clerk’s file room. To minimize risk to employees, only managers were allowed access to the file room while exterminators went on attack against the bloodsuckers. Hopefully no bed bugs hitched a ride on any managers as they left the room.
CBS Chicago reported on October 25, 2012 that a court reporter claimed that the bed bug infestation is not limited to the clerk’s office however. She said that employees have seen the bugs in other areas of the building. There are “DO NOT ENTER” signs posted on the outside of conference room doors and the courthouse smells of insecticide.
Despite the little vampire’s presence, the courthouse has remained open for business, although the clerk’s office for the Neglect Division is closed. One lawyer was reportedly spotted sporting a can of Raid Bed Bug Killing Spray being placed in her briefcase. Although deemed ineffective when used on bed bug infestations, if a creepy crawler does happen to come crawling towards her leg, the spray will likely kill the pest…but then again, so would the bottom of her shoe!
It may be difficult to close down a courthouse for bed bug eradication, but given the fact that bed bugs are hitchhikers and masters at hiding in all types of locations, it’s probably a good idea to treat the entire building at one time instead of chasing the bugs down from room to room over an extended period of time.