Bedbugs Invade Staten Island Precinct Lockup: Report

Bedbugs are going rogue.

The blood-sucking creepy crawlers recently made their way into the holding cells in Staten Island’s 120th precinct station, prompting the NYPD to quickly close the area and the city’s Department of Correction to investigate whether the noxious critters caught rides on any suspects to the Stapleton Criminal Court, according to a published report.

Prisoners have been shipped to holding cells in other stations while exterminators treat the holding cells in the station, reports the Staten Island Advance.

The bedbug problem was discovered after prisoners complained about the troublesome insects. And now some officers who work in the precinct reportedly fear they may become unwilling transports as well.

“We are aware of concerns in the Staten Island 120 Precinct regarding bedbugs,” Correction spokeswoman Sharman Stein wrote in an email to the Advance. “DOC will have an exterminator go out tomorrow [Friday] to inspect our Staten Island court facilities [holding pens]. If there is a problem, we will arrange to treat the pens with a combination of steam and chemicals when the pens are empty — over the weekend."

"At this time, we have no reports of staff or inmates complaining about bedbug bites,” the statement continued. 

Bedbugs have embedded themselves in a slew of high-profile places in recent years, including the Empire State Building, the United Nations, the Time Warner Center, the Brooklyn district attorney’s office and a Victoria’s Secret store.

Bedbugs are famously difficult to eradicate; they hide in many more places than beds and can go for a year without feeding. Once they establish themselves in homes or offices, it can cost thousands of dollars to get rid of them -- and even then, there's no guarantee they won't return.

Check out tips for keeping them out of your homes on the city’s website

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