Three huts along the Whanganui Journey Great Walk are closed after a “bed bug attack”.
A press release from the Department of Conservation said the Whakahoro and Tīeke huts would be temporarily closed for “precautionary” treatment.
Jim Campbell, DOC Whanganui supervisor, said the John Coull Hut – where the bites were reported – would receive a higher dose of chemicals and would be closed for the remainder of the Great Walk season. The season ended in a week.
Steve Taylor, director of heritage and visitors, said all visitors to these cottages had been contacted and given treatment plans.
CONTINUE READING:
* DOC cabin with the ‘toughest bed bugs known to mankind’ that needs to be closed for overhaul
* Stewart Island visitor disappointed to visit a bed bug infested DOC cabin on the Rakiura Track
* Tourism workers restore backcountry cabins with Jobs for Nature funds
The publication added that this was the first time bed bugs had been reported in the Whanganui huts.
Delivered
Ren Leppens, operations manager of the Rakiura Ministry of Nature Conservation, described bed bugs as a master hitchhiker (file photo).
In March, a visitor to the cabin along Stewart Island’s Great Walk reported an encounter with “the toughest bed bugs known to man.”
The hut had been fumigated four times since the first report in February.
Yesterday, DOC announced that the Stewart Island cabin will be closed for a week in May for full refitting.
Campbell said it was impossible to say, but highly unlikely, that the bed bug infestations on Stewart Island and Whanganui were linked.
He said rangers cleaned the cabins daily and no one noticed bed bugs.
Bed bugs usually attack at night by feeding on the blood of sleeping people and animals.
While getting rid of an infestation could be annoying, it was generally not a health risk.
Anyone who had already booked a stay at the cabins was eligible for a refund.
