Bed bugs cleared from Belk department store at NC mall, company says. What we know

Bed bugs were cleared from a Belk department store at a North Carolina shopping mall, officials said.

“Upon learning of bed bugs in our Wilmington store, we partnered with a professional pest company to eliminate the issue,” the company told McClatchy News in an Aug. 28 email. “There is now no current pest activity.”

While Belk in its email didn’t give a specific location or timing, WECT and WWAY reported the bugs were seen at the chain’s Independence Mall store in Wilmington.

“The pest company will continue to help us monitor and do preventative treatment throughout the store,” Belk wrote. “We take the health of our customers and associates seriously.”

Belk on Aug. 28 didn’t immediately answer McClatchy News’ questions about how the bugs might have gotten into the store or share potential impacts on customers or workers.

What are bed bugs?

Bed bugs are described as “good hitchhikers” that can travel from place to place. People are urged to be cautious of the bugs in public, especially in storage areas and near upholstered furniture.

“It is very unlikely, though not impossible, that a bed bug infestation will develop in an office, classroom, or other non-residential environment, such as a department store,” the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency wrote on its website. “However, these sites can serve as transfer hubs for bed bugs to hitchhike a ride into your home.”

Valeria Kosh of Port City Pest told WECT bigger stores could get bed bugs if a worker carries an item like a purse or backpack from an infested home. Shoppers probably didn’t take the bugs with them from Belk unless they stayed in one part of the store for a long time or tried on clothes, Kosh said.

Bed bugs are small, with flat, oval-shaped bodies. They often leave behind reddish stains or tiny eggs near bedding. People who see signs of the bugs in public should notify workers so treatment plans can begin.

Man ‘eaten alive’ by bed bugs and insects dies in Georgia jail, family attorney says

Bug-infested facility prepared contaminated crabmeat that was sold across US, feds say