Libraries cleared after bed bugs found

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HAMDEN, Conn., Aug. 23 (UPI) -- A Connecticut exterminator said all three of a town's library branches have been given the all-clear after bed bugs were discovered in recently returned books.

Charlie Mastroberti of Quest Pest Control in Avon said the bugs were in books recently returned to the Hamden Public Library's central branch. He used a beagle named Ellie to track down and take care of the pests, WCBS-AM, New York, reported Thursday.

"The dogs are an excellent tool for locating bed bugs. I mean, we could go into a library and spend hours, if not days, there trying to search for bed bugs and may not come up with anything," he said.

Mastroberti said the bugs likely crawled into the books when the readers went to bed.

"They're opportunistic hitchhikers. They'll get into almost anything once the infestation reaches a certain level," he said.