Police are looking for individuals responsible for releasing bed bugs in a Washington Township Walmart store.
A Walmart manager had found a small pill bottle filled with live bed bugs inside a boy’s jacket in a changing room, police say, WENY reported.
The discovery was made at the store on Jan. 2, located at 108 Washington Towne Boulevard, around 90 miles away from Cleveland.
Ecolab, a provider of water, energy, and hygiene services confirmed they were bed bugs after being contacted by the store.
An Ecolab employee also witnessed the bugs crawling around the dressing room, Pennlive reported.
Another small pill bottle with bugs was found in a different department of the store, but the bugs inside the bottle were dead.
“We take this seriously and are looking into this. We are fully cooperating with law enforcement on their investigation,” Walmart spokesperson said, WENY reported.
Bed bugs are “small, flat, parasitic insects” that feed on the blood of humans and animals while asleep, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Although bed bugs feed on blood, they are not known for spreading disease but can cause itchiness and lead to excessive scratching that increases the chance of an infection.
They are also not considered to be dangerous to a human or animal’s health unless they are allergic to them.
If bitten, the CDC recommends not scratching the area that is affected and apply antiseptic creams or lotions and taking an antihistamine.
In bed bug-related news, a bed bug problem caused a 13-year-old to accidentally burn a house down in 2017, NTD News reported.
According to officials, the teenager had been trying to kill the bedbug with alcohol and a match.
Soon, the boy’s mattress caught on fire, and flames spread to the attic of the 4000 block of Hawaiian Terrace.
One apartment was destroyed and two were very damaged, while a further two have smoke and water damage, according to ABC affiliate WCPO-TV.
As a result, he caused $300,000 worth of damage and displaced eight people.
NTD reporter Jane Werrell contributed to this report.
