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Bedbugs found at Iowa fire station

Concerns started after a medical call at a home that had a heavy infestation of bedbugs

The Associated Press

DES MOINES, Iowa — Firefighters at a Des Moines firehouse are battling bedbugs that may have hitched rides from an infested home.

Des Moines television station KCCI reports that the problem appeared after a Fire Station No. 4 ambulance was used for a call. The ambulance was taken out of service for cleaning, but bedbugs were later found at the station.

Bedbug bites can cause itchiness and skin welts, but the pests don’t carry diseases.

Chemicals have been used on the firehouse and the fire vehicles, and firefighters are peering into cracks and other dark or tight spaces at the station where the bugs may be hiding. In addition, firefighters are being reminded to put their clothes in a dryer to kill the bugs, lest they hitch a ride to the firefighters’ homes.

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