Bedbugs discovered in cabin at Carroll nature center

Hashawha infestation isolated, officials say

An isolated group of bedbugs was found at Hashawha Environmental Center in Carroll County, officials said yesterday.

The bugs were discovered in a cabin at the county-owned facility outside Westminster on Monday, when counselors who had spent the night there spotted them on a sheet, according to a news release. There were no reports of bites, according to the release, and no children have slept in the cabin since the bugs were found.

An exterminator treated the area Wednesday and said the bugs appeared to be contained to a section of a single bunk room, the release stated. A couple of follow-up visits are planned, said Jeff Degitz, Carroll's director of recreation and parks.

The cabin will remain closed until July 6, he said.

The affected mattresses - about eight - have been removed, Degitz said.

The Carroll County Health Department, which inspected the cabin two weeks ago and found no bedbugs at that time, was notified of the insects' presence, according to the news release.

Parents of anyone who slept in one of the center's five cabins since June 1 were to be notified as well.

Campers were advised to wash all bedclothes, including sleeping bags, in hot, soapy water, and dry them in a hot dryer for at least 20 minutes, according to the news release. Temperatures of at least 140 degrees kill the bugs.