City Council to take up bedbug ordinance in Augusta

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AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — Officials in Maine's capital city are taking up a final vote on a permanent bedbug ordinance that would allow the city to require landlords to bring in pest management professionals when an infestation is discovered.

The Kennebec Journal (http://bit.ly/2auTUAM ) reports that the ordinance being voted on Thursday by the City Council is a version similar to an emergency ordinance adopted in May after a bedbug infestation at a pair of boarding houses in Augusta.

Bedbugs were also recently found in a suite at the Augusta City Center.

The ordinance would require tenants to notify their landlords if they know or suspect an infestation in their rental units. It prohibits tenants from trying to treat the infestation themselves.

If approved, it would take effect in 30 days.

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Information from: Kennebec Journal, http://www.kjonline.com/