Detroit Court Reopens After Bedbug Scare

DETROIT (WWJ) - The 36th District Court in downtown Detroit is open Friday after being evacuated the day before.

Judge Cylenthia Miller emptied her courtroom on Thursday as a precaution, after a bailiff observed bugs crawling on a man in the first row of seats.

The man was reportedly accompanying a witness to a hearing before Miller. His daughter later told reporters she knew there were bedbugs in her father's house.

A statement issued by the 36th District Court, where about 7,000 people enter each day, said a pest control vendor was called in to investigate after the court was evacuated.

"After thoroughly examining the area, he indicated that there was no evidence of the presence of bedbugs in the court room," the statement read.

Bedbugs can be found in mattresses, furniture and clothing, and they feed off animal and human blood.

Earlier this year, pest control company Orkin released a list of the top 50 cities based on the number of bedbug treatments it did in 2011 -- and Detroit ranked third, behind only Cincinnati and Chicago.