Experiencing a bed bug infestation within one’s own home can be a traumatizing experience. People who become victimized by invading bed bugs rarely forget the frustration and overall terror of their experience. It could be said that anyone who has suffered a bed bug infestation would never wish the same on anyone else, except maybe for prison inmates. Perhaps not surprisingly, bed bugs are becoming an issue in many prisons and jails, just as they are becoming problematic in all other areas of the world that see high amounts of human traffic. One particular prison has allegedly become a haven for bed bugs. In fact, a prison inmate, after unsuccessfully lobbying prison officials to eradicate the bed bug pests, sent bed bugs into a nearby local news station. The inmate sent the bed bugs to the news station as a clever way of spreading information concerning the prison’s bed bug infestation.

In the state of Tennessee two prison inmates being held at the South Central Correctional Center, a private prison in Clifton, have recently sent an envelope containing bed bugs to a local news station. The bed bugs were taped down to a letter that was sent to the News Channel Four station. Reporters with the news channel did not waste any time jumping on this story, as they immediately had the insects sent to Belmont University professor and entomologist Dr. Steven Murphree in order to have the bugs identified. According to Dr. Murphree, the insects are definitely bed bugs, but he has never seen specimens as large as the ones sent by the prison inmates.

The correctional facility that is holding the two inmates is owned by a company named CoreCivic. According to the inmate’s letter, the two prisoners complained to CoreCivic staff about the bed bug infestation in the facility, but they were told that the facility lacked proper pest control officials to handle the infestation. The two prisoners notified the local news about the infestation, which led to the correctional facility being cleared of all its bed bug inhabitants within a twenty four hour period after the news team received the letter.

Do you think that correctional facilities should undergo regular insect pest inspections as recommended by a professional?