Bedbugs Detected in Augusta after Ordinance Passed

Bedbugs have been detected at three Augusta buildings months after an infestation at a pair of boarding houses prompted city officials to adopt an emergency bedbug ordinance and later pass a permanent law.

The Kennebec Journal reports that in the most recent incident, the biting bug was found inside a DVD case at Lithgow Public Library. City community services director Leif Dahlin says a bedbug-detecting dog was brought into the library and found no others.

Dahlin says the library and other city properties are now checked monthly by the dog.

City council in August approved an ordinance that requires tenants to notify their landlords if they know or suspect an infestation in their rental units. It prohibits tenants from trying to treat the infestation themselves. — AUGUSTA, Maine (AP)