Eek: Detroit-area library shuts down after a DVD is returned with bugs inside

By The Associated Press

The return box sits outside of the closed library, Monday, Sept. 23, 2024, in Royal, Oak, Michigan, after someone returned a DVD with bugs inside the case. (AP Photo/Mike Householder)[ASSOCIATED PRESS/Mike Householder]

ROYAL OAK, Mich. (AP) — Someone at a suburban Detroit library returned more than a movie.

The library in Royal Oak was closed Sunday after staff members encountered creepy crawlies — and ones that fly — when a DVD case in the drop box was opened.

“It appeared to be multiple species of bugs, but we aren’t sure,” the library said on Facebook. “The DVD was returned sometime after we closed on Friday and before we opened on Saturday.”

The book drops were immediately locked and all items were put in bags and transferred to a garage, the library said.

Library director Sandy Irwin said pest experts were expected to visit on Monday. She offered a bit of humor from the stacks.

“I’m a librarian, not a pest control professional,” Irwin told the Detroit Free Press, “but I will look up 1,000 types of bugs.”