Bed Bugs Exterminated at SF Goodwill Warehouse

After a search on Wednesday, there was no evidence of bedbugs at a Burlingame  Goodwill Industries warehouse, officials with the donation center reported, though officials will resume looking for the pests on Thursday.

Officials on Saturday shut down the Burlingame  facility, as well as the 30,000-square-foot San Francisco donation center at  11th and Mission streets after bug-sniffing canines located evidence of  bedbugs in an isolated area in the San Francisco warehouse.

On Thursday, the isolated corner at the San Francisco site was  tented and treated. Officials believe that  operations will resume at the facility, most likely by the end of the week.

As a health and safety measure, officials tossed loads of donated  goods, a process that could have a tremendous impact on Goodwill's ability to  serve those in need, according to Tim Murray, director of brand and marketing  for Goodwill in San Francisco, San Mateo and Marin counties.

Murray said 15 boxes containing nearly 40 cubic yards of donated  items were removed from the Burlingame warehouse at 1801 Adrian Road.

Bedbugs are tiny pests that feed off human blood, causing itchy,  irritating bites. Although considered a public health pest by the U.S.  Environmental Protection Agency and the Centers for Disease Control and  Prevention, bedbugs do not transmit or spread disease, according to the EPA.

While the exterminators tent and treat the infected areas,  Goodwill Industries plans to work with experts in the field to institute  stricter controls to ensure prevention and the early detection of pests,  Murray said.

In the meantime, Goodwill Industries is calling on its generous  donors to aid the nonprofit social enterprise with monetary donations, as  those are needed most right now, according to Murray.

"Right now we are so tight on space while the warehouses are  closed, we're having to rent trailers to store incoming donations until our  facilities are up and running again," Murray said. "We depend on donations  and are so grateful for our generous donors."

Donations can be made online at sfgoodwill.org.