On October 25, 2019, a Spalding County Senior Center participant reported bug bites on
his skin to staff. Staff contacted Peachtree Pest Control, our contracted vendor, and
shared pictures of the bites. Peachtree Pest Control reviewed the pictures and stated, “it
does not look like bed bug bites.” Peachtree Pest Control recommended vacuuming the
floor and furniture daily and since there is no evidence of bugs in the furniture it is highly
unlikely there are bed bugs.
As a precautionary measure, staff removed the chair that the
participant utilized daily from the building. The chair was treated and left outdoors for
three days. Furnishings and carpet were vacuumed daily by inmate custodial crews.
On December 5th the same participant reported to staff bites to his skin after sitting in the
library. Staff informed Senior Management and Three Rivers Regional Commission who
provides Senior Transportation services and library access was closed at the Senior
Center. Staff was informed that Heavenly Cares Personal Care Home in Griffin had a bed
bug problem and two participants that resided there had stopped attending the Senior
Center.
Three Rivers AAA – Area Agency on Aging advised that the personal care home
should provide proof of treatment and bug eradication to Center staff prior to residents
being allowed to return to the Center. Staff contacted Peachtree Pest Control and
scheduled an inspection for the following week.
On December 6th the Senior Center Staff met with Senior County Management regarding
the situation. Senior County Management reached out to Philip Hensley, Spalding
County Extension Agent.
Senior Management and Mr. Hensley contacted Glass Termite
& Pest, Inc. who inspected the Senior Center that afternoon. Traces of possible activity
was found in the chair that had previously been removed and from a bench that had been
located in the hallway. All benches were removed and Glass Termite & Pest, Inc.
expressed this was a very early detection.
The library showed no other evidence of bugs but remained closed. On December 10th,
Senior Transportation busses were cleaned and treated and Senior Management
conferred with Dr. Dan Suiter, Professor of Entomology at UGA School of Agriculture and
Environmental Sciences UGA Griffin Campus and an inspection by a bed bug sniffing
K-9 was recommended and agreed upon.
On December 12th the Spalding County Motor coach was inspected by Red Coat Services
and there was no evidence of bed bugs. Red Coat Services utilizes specially trained K-9’s
to detect bed bugs. Red Coat Services, Glass Termite & Pest, Inc., Dr. Suiter and Spalding
County staff inspected the Senior Center on December 13th. Red Coat’s inspection
concluded “a small amount of feces was found on a hallway bench, that had been removed
from the Center a week before the inspection. No other evidence of bed bug activity was
found.”
After this inspection, a press release was issued regarding the Senior Center being
closed for Cleaning and Maintenance December 19th -20th and through the holidays,
reopening December 26th.
County Manager, William Wilson stated: “We are extremely proud of our Senior Center
and the services provided there. Our Seniors are a great asset to the community and to
set everyone’s mind at ease we are taking that extra step to clean and treat the facility.”
Although no evidence of bed bugs was found inside the Center during the inspection on
December 13th, in an abundance of caution, on December 19th a deep cleaning to the
Spalding County Senior Center took place followed by the treatment of the entire Center
on December 20th. Continued treatment will include inspections every 7-10 days for 7
weeks and quarterly inspections moving forward.
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