Mental health facility fights bed bug infestation

PINELLAS PARK -- A residential mental health facility was temporarily closed last week after a bed bug infestation was found.

State and local agencies are continuing to monitor Personal Enrichment for Mental Health Services, 11254 58th St. N, to make sure the bugs have been wiped out. 

The bed bug infestation came to light last week after the Pinellas County Health Department received an anonymous call about the problem.

Unlike roaches, which can be spotted easily, bed bugs hide, so "we don't even bother looking for them," said Charles Minor, a supervisor with the Health Department's environmental division. "If we get a complaint, we assume that they're there. We focus on getting rid of them."

PEMHS stopped taking new patients, moved those in the facility elsewhere and tented the building for fumigation, said Erin Gillespie, a spokeswoman for the Department of Children and Families, which oversees PEMHS. The building remained closed until Monday, when employees and residents began moving back in.

PEMHS also tossed out a couch and some mattresses and sprayed some furniture, Minor said. The Health Department is continuing to monitor the situation to make sure the bugs are gone.

Gillespie said DCF is also monitoring the situation to make sure the bed bugs, which can be hard to eliminate, are gone.

"We're not going to have people working in a (contaminated) facility," she said.

- Anne Lindberg, Times Staff Writer

Photo: An adult bed bug feeding (Courtesy University of Florida)