Bed bugs can hitch rides into offices such as Truman Building

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Missouri Office of Administration's facilities division continued Tuesday to treat four second-floor office suites of the Harry S Truman State Office Building.

The state's Department of Health and Senior Services says even though there are no beds in a workplace, bed bugs can still be carried in from the outside.

"Bed bugs can be introduced into the workplace after hitchhiking on the belongings of a visitor or employee," DHSS posted on its website. "Because there are no sleeping sites in most workplace areas, it is not an ideal place for a bed bug."

The facilities division widened the extermination treatment area over the weekend, from two office suites to four; 230, 250, 270 and 280, all of which house OA’s Information Technology Services Division.

"Finding a single bug, or even a small number of bugs, does not mean there is an infestation in the workplace," said DHSS. "The most likely explanation is that single bugs were unknowingly brought into the area on more than one occasion."

The investigation was launched after nine bed bugs were found in a second-floor office, according to an OA spokesperson. Employees had the option to work from home until the problem was fixed.

"Bed bugs are not known to spread disease, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's website says. "Bed bugs can be an annoyance because their presence may cause itching and loss of sleep. Sometimes the itching can lead to excessive scratching that can sometimes increase the chance of a secondary skin infection."

Extermination experts will be utilizing dogs again Wednesday and staff were advised to work from home that day to avoid disturbing the work, according to OA spokesman Chris Moreland.

"We do not expect this to affect productivity," said Moreland. "Memos have been going out to keep all of our staff apprised of the situation."