Bedbugs Close Hamden's Miller Memorial Library (Danbury Tossed Bedbug-Infested Chairs)

Hamden officials confirmed that the Miller Memorial Library is closed Friday and Saturday in order to be treated for bedbugs.

"The library got a call this week from an anonymous patron saying there were bedbugs found in a book they had taken out," Chief Administrative Officer Curt Balzano Leng said. "So the town called a professional company to come in and assess the condition of the library as a precautionary measure and the dogs used to locate bedbugs found a location that needed treatment.

Danbury had bedbugs in Danbury Public Library about eight months ago, said Public Building Superintendent Rick Palanzo and Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton. The library threw away chairs that may have been a home for the bedbugs.

Chick Volpe, the Danbury Purchasing agent, said Danbury has a contract with a Wolcott extermination agency to check and exterminate vermin when it is found. All city buildings are checked twice a year or more frequently, as needed, according to the contract. Danbury High School is checked more frequently, and the contract calls for immediate visits, if required.

"The treatment used is an intense heat treatment," said Leng in Hamden. "We had the company and the dogs review the ret of the library and several areas were found to have a problem. We closed the library today so that the treatments can be conducted today and over the weekend to attempt to rid the library of this problem.

"The Middletown library had a bedbug problem earlier this week," he said. "The town is working with the Quinnipiac Health Department and licensed professionals to address the problem swiftly and completely."

Anyone who has taken books out of the library recently is asked to return them in a zip-lock bag without opening them, Leng said. But it's not yet clear when the library will reopen.

"The town and the library staff are working hard to attack this problem head-on so the library can reopen as soon as possible with this issue addressed in a comprehensive manner," Leng said.