Some city workers say they’re battling bed bugs on the job and want the city to do something about it.
Several city workers told NBC 5 about finding bedbugs in their work trucks and spoke anonymously out of fear they could lose their jobs.
The Department of Water Management said in a statement that its fleet of 692 vehicles is maintained, cleaned and kept in good working order and it is addressing the concerns raised by the workers.
“It is very irritating, you cannot concentrate on your job,” one worker said.
Another said a coworker reported a bite about a year ago.
Recently, a Chicago Water Department truck, workers say, has become infested with the bugs, many of them making their homes in the seatbelts.
“They pulled the seat back and there was a bunch of them,” one worker said. “It gave me the hee bee gee bees.”
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Workers stay they’re now worried about their homes becoming infested if the bedbugs hitch a ride on their clothes.
Exterminators say bedbugs are difficult to kill without the help of a professional. The city workers say the truck in question has been cleaned but the bed bugs were not killed.
