Kwik Trip bed bugs, Waukesha location dealing with pest problem

WAUKESHA, Wis. - A Waukesha Kwik Trip is dealing with bed bugs, a spokesperson said Thursday.

The spokesperson said Kwik Trip believes someone brought the bed bugs in, and there is not an infestation. Pest control has been in the Grandview Boulevard store over "the last few days" to assess the situation.

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The bed bugs are isolated to the public restrooms and back room, which the spokesperson said is not accessible to the public. Kwik Trip also said there is no food safety risk.

Kwik Trip on Grandview Boulevard, Waukesha; tarp in place due to remodeling

"When I went in, I seen the bathrooms are closed. I see they have port-a-potties outside," said Dominic Farina, who frequents the Kwik Trip. "That's not real appeasing."

Documents from the Waukesha County Department of Parks and Land Use show an inspector went to the store on Wednesday after a pair of reports about the bed bugs. The documents said bed bugs are a "public health nuisance" but have not been found to create a food safety risk through the spread of pathogens that cause foodborne illness.

"I think it's nasty, disgusting," Farina said. "I mean, they have a lot of food and stuff, so that's not healthy."

As a result of the pests, the restrooms are closed to the public and were treated again early Thursday morning. The spokesperson said portable toilets were being brought in for customers and staff in the meantime.

PJ Liesch is an extension entomologist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He cleared up some misconceptions about bed bugs.

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"Overall risk is going to be pretty low," Liesch said. "Again, bed bugs prefer to really spend most of their time in hiding, and they're not the type of insect that just hops onto people really quickly."

Editor's note: The tarp at the Grandview Boulevard Kwik Trip location is due to a remodeling project, not in response to the bed bugs.