Bedbugs Discovered In Metro Headquarters

Metro Battles Pesky Blood Suckers
FILE - In this Wednesday, March 30, 2011 file photo, a bed bug is displayed at the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History in Washington. A government study counted one death and 80 illnesses linked to bedbug-targeting insecticides used from 2008 through 2010. Many were do-it-yourselfers who misused the chemicals or used the wrong product. Most of the cases were in New York City, the apparent epicenter of a recent U.S. bedbug comeback. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)
FILE - In this Wednesday, March 30, 2011 file photo, a bed bug is displayed at the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History in Washington. A government study counted one death and 80 illnesses linked to bedbug-targeting insecticides used from 2008 through 2010. Many were do-it-yourselfers who misused the chemicals or used the wrong product. Most of the cases were in New York City, the apparent epicenter of a recent U.S. bedbug comeback. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)

WASHINGTON -- The news that the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority has been battling bedbugs in a section of its downtown headquarters is a disconcerting revelation to anyone fearful of the blood-sucking critters.

But could bedbugs find their way onto Metro's trains and buses as well?

As the Examiner reports, Metro has been mum on whether bedbug have been found in the transit system itself. But in all likelihood, bedbugs will find their way there, too -- if they aren't there already:

Dini Miller, an urban entomologist at Virginia Tech, said people should not be surprised to find bed bugs on a bus or a train, or anywhere else. She called the Washington region "bed bug central" because it's a large urban area with people from all over. Yet, she says, throwing a fit won't get rid of them.

"Keep calm because this is going to be with us the rest of our lives," she said. "We need to learn how we can deal with this thing."

In New York City's subway system, bedbugs have been discovered lurking on wooden benches among other places.

Keep calm and carry on?

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