Tarrant County

Tarrant County Courthouse Being Treated for Bed Bugs

Pests found in grand jury room after employee bitten

Bed bugs were discovered recently in the Tarrant County courthouse after an employee of the district attorney's office was bitten, officials say.

The county has hired a pest control company to get rid of the pests, and an inspection on Monday turned up no evidence that any remain.

"We're not sure exactly when they got here," said Tarrant County facilities director David Phillips. "It takes quite a few bed bugs where you start to notice them."

Phillips said the bugs were discovered a few weeks ago in a second-floor grand jury room of the Tim Curry Justice Center.

Bed bugs are tiny parasites that feed off people's blood, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

They're not considered dangerous and don't spread disease, but they can cause severe itching and allergic reactions.

Phillips said this is the first problem with bed bugs he has seen in his 26 years with the county.

Tarrant County manages more than five million square feet of space in 63 different buildings, he said.

"Once we found the bed bugs we went tactical on them," Phillips said.

The grand jury room and surrounding rooms were treated, as were areas on the floors above and below, he said.

Officials threw away several chairs that were infested and got rid of some table aprons, too.

A Burleson company, Pest Proof, is doing daily inspections and plans more treatments.

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