Bedbugs were cleared for landing in Hawaii last week.
SFGate reported that Honolulu’s Daniel K. Inouye International Airport needed to close down and sanitize three gates after a swarm of bedbugs were spotted inside Terminal 2 — home to airlines akin to Delta, United, American and Southwest.
Soon after the initial report on May 29, the Hawaii Department of Transportation ordered staff to “remove items they thought had attracted the bugs.”
A Southwest Airlines manager spotted more bugs — and even captured one — the next day, prompting one other cleansing of the terminal.
This time, gates E5 through E7 were shuttered as carpets were cleaned at high temperatures and a nontoxic spray was used to place the bedbugs to sleep for good.
Sections of carpet were also yanked from the ground, WITN reported.
HDOT will proceed closing the gates — they’re currently open — infrequently over the following few weeks to ascertain for possible infestations, in response to the outlet.
“Bedbugs are transmitted from place to position as people travel,” in response to Hawaii’s Disease Outbreak Control Division.
“They will be within the seams and folds of bags, overnight bags, folded clothes, bedding, furniture or anywhere else they discover a place to cover.”
The Environmental Protection Agency also warns that a post-COVID travel surge could also be causing more frequent infestations of bedbugs across the nation — akin to on the Oahu airport, which sees 73,000 inbound passengers per day, SFGate reported.
“Experts consider the recent increase in bedbugs in america could also be on account of more travel, lack of know-how about stopping infestations, increased resistance of bedbugs to pesticides and ineffective pest control practices,” in response to the EPA.
