Following a report of a bedbug infestation at the Brooklyn Children's Museum by the New York Daily News last night, the museum released a statement saying that the bedbugs are gone and that it's safe for people to visit. <\/p>\n
Patch consulted three bedbug experts who said that while it's not necessarily a sure thing yet that the bugs are gone, it is certainly safe to visit. <\/p>\n
An exterminator was brought in on August 16 after a bedbug was found in a mezzanine office. Bedbugs were also found near a reading chair in Totally Tots, a section for children under 4. The museum was treated and re-opened the next day, according to the Daily News. <\/p>\n
A second visit from the exterminator on Aug. 20, unearthed bedbugs in two more locations at the museum. <\/p>\n
But museum officials said the building now \"has no bedbugs\" in a statment released today: <\/p>\n
The Brooklyn Children's Museum is committed to the safety of our visitors and our staff. In response to this incident we have had a certified extermination firm inspect our facility on several occasionsover the past two weeks. We have followed their recommendations, aswell as those outlined by the City's Health Department. These includeimmediate treatment of infested areas, which were primarily inaccessibleto the public. All treatments occurred during evening hours, took effect2-3 hours after application, and used EPA-approved materials that arenot harmful to children. <\/p>\n
As part of our response we disposed of items that are susceptible toinfestation, as a supplement to our daily and evening cleaning andsanitization routine. We will be adding more frequent bed buginspections to our building-wide maintenance routine. <\/p>\n
The building will be closed to the public from September 10- 21, 2012for our yearly fall cleaning. While we refresh our exhibits we will alsofumigate the building. This additional step will serve as an extraprecaution. <\/p>\n
We affirm that the museum does not have bed bugs and is safe forvisitors - and we will be open this weekend for all scheduled events. <\/p>\n
The Daily News reports that many workers at the museum were uncomfortable with how the museum handled the infestation. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n