Bedbug sighting spurs sweeping KMB action

Michael Shum

KMB buses will be disinfected today to get rid of bedbugs after one was found on the seat belt of a KMB bus parked in the Lai Chi Kok depot.

The incident marked the second sighting after the pest was found on an Airport Express train on November 10.

KMB told The Standard it immediately recalled the bus back to the depot and asked workers to do a thorough check.

"We eventually found no bedbug on the bus, but to ensure the safety and hygiene of our buses, KMB has employed a professional company to disinfect the bus with ultra-heat and deep clean it, which has already been completed," KMB said.

It also said all Longwin Bus Company fleet will undergo anti-bedbug infestation work today by spraying them to prevent further spread of the bedbugs from overseas.

According to a post on the social media group HK Bus Channel, the bus ran on four routes Wednesday before it was parked in the depot early yesterday morning.

The four routes are route 118 which runs between Cheung Sha Wan and Siu Sai Wan, 948 between Tsing Yi and Causeway Bay, 900 between Pak Shek Kok in Tai Po and Wan Chai, and overnight route N271 between Tai Po and Hung Hom.

The video that went viral showed a bedbug on a seat belt of a KMB double-decker bus, that was parked at Lai Chi Kok depot.

It was later squashed by several passengers, as seen in the video.

The social media group also quoted witnesses at the scene as saying: "Fortunately we found it early, or else it would be a headache if the bedbug was taken home."

After seeing the photos and the video, Henry Cheng Kwok-hang, operator of Ivy Pest Control, confirmed it was indeed a bedbug.

"Bedbugs have more horizontal patterns on its abdomen. Combined with other characteristics including its head being relatively small and its feelers being relatively short, I am almost 100 percent sure it is a bedbug rather than a cockroach," Cheng said.

He also said seat belt buckles and gaps between seats are places where bedbugs might hide.

"They would wait till passengers get on board and get themselves into passengers' pockets or bags."

He said moving buses are not ideal breeding places for bedbugs, so the bugs "generally tend to follow passengers home."

He suggested passengers should wash their clothes as soon as possible upon arriving home, and if possible, wash them with water over 60 degrees Celsius, as well as check their bags and pockets for hidden bedbugs.

This is the second case of bedbugs being sighted on Hong Kong's public transport amid serious bedbug infestations overseas, with the first incident on an Airport Express train on November 10.

michael.shum@singtaonewscorp.com