Kansas City has had a number of high profile bed bug infestations recently. In September 2018 a library location had to be shut down after librarians noticed bed bugs on a book returned to them. After this they realized that bed bugs were present on the furniture of the library itself.

While public buildings often have to deal with bed bug infestations the issue is more pressing for libraries. Because customers take home books, potentially exposing them to infestations, and then return them the library can pick up bed bugs in a number of ways. On the other hand, customers who take books out of the library can risk exposing their own homes to infestations as well. In this situation the library officials urged anyone who had taken out books to bag them up to protect their homes from potential bed bug exposure.

In March 2018 officials in Kansas City also found bed bugs in the airport, prompting the closure of a mezzanine while the infestation was dealt with. In this case the bugs were located in chairs near several restaurants. Details are more scarce on how the bed bugs there were dealt with: officials reopened the area the next day.