First Posted: 8/17/2013
West Pittston Library closed and was sprayed for fleas on Wednesday after one bug was spotted, a library official said.
“We closed for a day to have a treatment done on the carpets,” said Anne Bramlett Barr, the library director. “A patron thought they saw a bug so we called an exterminator just in case.”
Barr said local town libraries have seen a significant increase in traffic since the Pittston Library was closed for three weeks because of a flea infestation.
She said the patron saw a bug in the same place where Pittston had its problem, near the public computers.
“We’ve been cleaning and vacuuming and haven’t seen anything else,” Barr said.
The Pittston Memorial Library closed earlier this month when they noticed fleas around the public computer terminals. Seitz Brothers Exterminators of Pittston were brought in and have been treating the problem, said Pittston Memorial Library Board President Barbara Quinn.
County and state Department of Heath officials have urged that library to close until the problem is eradicated.
They were told the bugs have a 21-day incubation period, so to be safe they closed for the entire 21 days.
One reason for the Pittston Memorial Library closure is the danger of fleas spreading in books through the county’s inter-library loan program. Fleas could possibly be transferred to other libraries.
The Pittston Memorial Library will reopen at 9 a.m. Friday, Aug. 23.
