Some patrons of Palo Alto's public library are scratching themselves silly, after reports of bedbug sightings at a local branch have them worried they got a side dish of "parasite" when they checked out their books.

City officials say that a couple of the pernicious beasts were spotted on some chairs at the PAPL's Mitchell Park branch Wednesday, KPIX reports. As a precaution, that branch has been shuttered until at least Sunday, they say, while a pest control company comes in to deal with the critters.

The library has also deployed bedbug-sniffing dogs (which may or may not be effective) to other branches to make sure they aren't infested, as well.

Palo Alto city spokesperson Claudia Keith told ABC7 that library bedbug situations are pretty common, since "their books are circulated throughout a wide region. "

"There might be different ways that any kind of bed bugs may have come into the library. All of our other branches are open and so we'll be having dogs go in after we get Mitchell Park Library open to go in and sniff for bed bugs," Keith said.

Library patrons like Suzi Jackson, who spoke with KTVU, are far less sanguine, saying that when she heard the news, "My husband looked through all the books, then stacked everything up and then I brought them back here just in case."

"My scalp has been itchy all day thinking about it," she said, seemingly unaware that even if her books are bedbug free, she might still have scalp-itch-causing lice.

As anyone who watched the excellent show Difficult People knows bedbugs have been known to infest books, not just library ones. Here's a handy guide on how to spot book bed bugs, or like Billy and Julie, you can just go burn all your books in a barrel right now, just in case.

Related: Beware Of Bed Bugs On BART
North Beach Flophouse With Bedbugs, $1450/Mo

Cases of bedbugs in San Francisco rental housing are on the rise, and a recent surge may be blamed on the recent hot weather we experienced -- bedbugs thrive in temperatures of 70 and above, with the females laying more eggs and eggs hatching more quickly in the heat. As the Examiner reports, the greatest concentration of bedbugs seems to be in the Tenderloin, with its clusters of cracky SROs and such. But Uptown Almanac posted this alarming photo of a not-so-quarantined mattress lying out on the streets of the Mission last week, so other neighborhoods are clearly not immune.

Reported cases have risen 44 percent in each of the last few years, with 373 reported in 2007, 537 in 2009, and 500 already reported this year -- SFist first reported on bedbugs here in 2005. The epidemic has been on the rise in other cities like New York and Chicago, and as a bedbug expert instructed on the Rachael Ray Show last year, you ought to carefully check your luggage and clothes after traveling to make sure you aren't bringing the critters with you. Also of note, and a whole a new argument for sticking to Netflix and TiVo: Beware of bedbugs in movie theater seats! The paranoid are advised to check the crevices and seams of movie theater seats before sitting down, while the lights are still up, to see if you see anything crawling up in there.

I removed the sheets off the bed and found more bugs. I went to the front desk to report my find, and to my indignation, the person that was in charge didn't seem to care much. He absently told me he was going to report the incident to the manager. Even after I showed him the bites and the bugs in the bag I did not get a "We're terribly sorry" or "Is there something we can do for you", at the very least offer me some lotion for the itching and inconvenience.

Photo: Dramatic re-enactment of infestation at the Heritage Marina Hotel. Bedbugs pictured may not be actual size.

After the New York Times recently published an article on bedbugs (Boo, TimesSelect), their media profile has certainly risen. Our old friend Sam Dodge at the Tenderloin Housing Clinic, who have been dealing with the issue of bedbug infestations across the city for w hile now, especially in SRO hotels. He told us exterminators have assured him they can also be found in private homes and top hotels. A difficult and expensive bug to get rid of permanently, Beyond Chron reports that the problem seems to have started in local hostels. The Bay Guardian points out that no public agencies have stepped in to address the issue citywide, though they obtained a letter from the DPH that assured Chris Daly that they are "planning a bedbug eradication workshop in SRO Hotels in spring 2006."

So what can you do if you think you've got an infestation? Well, short of raiding grannie's basement for that old can of DDT, you may have to throw out and disinfect a lot of your stuff, and repeatedly fumigate. The Times offers some handy tips, and the THC has prepared a guide [PDF] that will also help you negotiate with your landlord. And don't freak out! While the bites are itchy and ugly, bedbugs aren't know to carry any infectious diseases.