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Another bedbug sighting in Forest Hills results in third subway tower fumigation this month: MTA

bedbugs-insect-close-up
Photo courtesy of pxfuel

Bug woes persist in the subways of Forest Hills.

Five days after a bedbug scare disrupted service in the the Forest Hills-71st Ave. station, a new sighting ended up in another round of fumigation.

The MTA said an employee discovered another bedbug on Monday inside the subway tower that controls the turnaround for M and R trains, as the Daily News first reported.

The MTA reported that the bug was secured and deceased, and this time the critter’s appearance didn’t affect train service. The tower was fumigated for a third time this month early Tuesday morning.

This is the third instance of a bedbug sighting in the station’s tower — a part of the station that is not open to the public. The first sighting was on Jan. 8, when the MTA received a report of a bedbug seen on one of the tower’s chairs. 

In that first instance, nobody secured the bug. When the manager arrived, the bug was nowhere to be found. A bedbug-sniffing dog was brought in and reacted positively to that chair, so a fumigation treatment was ordered, according to the MTA.

The nuisance returned during the fateful rush hour stretch of Jan. 22, which stopped crews from being able to direct traffic while the tower was being fumigated. The lapse reportedly caused 236 trains to be delayed and 117 to be canceled.

Transit workers at the facility told the Daily News that they had complained for weeks about bedbugs, but claimed they were brushed off by leadership. 

On Monday, four chairs, which employees were concerned might be harboring more pests, were removed and replaced by smooth-surfaced chairs.