CTA Red Line Train Removed For Cleaning After Rider Finds Bugs
CHICAGO (CBS) -- The Chicago Transit Authority has removed at least one Red Line "L" train to be cleaned after a rider reported a bed bug sighting on a southbound train, CBS 2's Audrina Bigos reports.
For so many, it's the easiest and fastest way to get around.
But now, there's something bugging riders. Bugging one rider enough to post about it, with a warning to take a closer look at your seat before sitting down.
"I'll probably stand more often than I sit," one rider says.
"Ew, I think I'll avoid sitting down now," another says.
On Reddit, a rider posted photos and reported that his seat was infested with bedbugs. More than 30 small, white bugs were crawling around a row of six seat.
Pest control experts say the creepy crawly hitchhikers don't have the body shape of bed bugs.
According to Thaddeus Mazuchowski of Nevernest Pest Control, "No it's not a bed bug. It's body lice."
Bugs that he says like to lay their eggs on fabric.
"The seats are made out of cloth, so I don't think I'm going to sit on the seat anymore. That's disgusting and that creeps me out," another rider said.
CTA rider Ganesh Rao says, "You're on the train for 15-20 minutes every day, maybe more, that's long enough time for anything to crawl into your clothes or bag."
Infestations of body are usually spread by close contact to people, typically found in crowded areas.
So, "I hope they would spray them or disinfect," rider Mike Bass says. "Be observant. You see a book or something there. Move it and make sure there's nothing behind it."
Bus and trains are cleaned daily, both before and after each trip, and at the end of each day, the CTA says. Vehicles also receive thorough deep cleanings on a regular basis.
