Bed bugs found in Clifton City Hall

CLIFTON Bed bugs were discovered in three separate areas of City Hall earlier this month.

City Manager Dominick Villano said the wingless, reddish brown parasitic insects were identified by Clifton Health Department inspectors on Nov. 12 after a City Hall employee observed an adult bed bug fall on his desk, landing on its back.

"We identified [bed bugs] in three departments, one of which being the courtroom," Villano said. "We did a whole sweep of the entire City Hall and went into every office in the building."

The bed bug nests were found on chairs with cloth material backs as well as underneath the wooden benches inside council chambers, Villano said.

Officials could not say for sure how the bugs made it into City Hall, but sources said it is likely they were carried in via a person's coat or clothing. Bed bugs are attracted to cloth items and, due to the winter weather, visitors to City Hall are wearing jackets and layered clothing.

The municipality hired an extermination company which utilized a dog to sniff out the location of live bed bugs and bed bug eggs on Nov. 13, officials said. The following day, the company sprayed nitrogen sulfur which freezes and kills bed bugs.

Villano said the spray treatment has been "very efficient", particularly compared to chemical sprays which were used in the past. A follow-up screening of Clifton's governmental offices by the company's canine did not reveal any existing bed bugs, he said.

Villano said the City plans to conduct a second spray treatment on Dec. 12.

The bed bugs feed entirely on blood and prefer that of humans. Although they are not nocturnal, the insects are most active at night when their hosts are most likely sleeping or still. When bed bugs bite they inject an anesthetic that prevents a person from feeling the bite as well as an anticoagulant that thins the blood, City health officials said.

Health experts generally believe bed bugs do not carry diseases. City health officials said itchy bites, skin rashes and allergic symptoms are typical health effects related to bed bugs. The bites, similar to that of a mosquito's or flea's, typically heal within a few days.

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Bed bugs found in Clifton City Hall