Bedbugs are taking a bite out of the Great Sofa Roundup.
Organizers of Colorado State University’s annual event fear that the tiny insects, which hide in bedding and furniture, could spread to the apartments and homes of those who adopt the discarded sofas.
So they canceled this year’s roundup, started eight years ago to keep people from abandoning their old couches in city alleys when rental leases ended in July and August.
Instead, people were invited to haul used sofas to a CSU parking lot each year, and as many as 80 percent of them found new homes.
“It was a really hard decision to make,” said Melissa Emerson, community liaison for CSU and the city of Fort Collins. “We know the roundup is for a good cause, and people always walk away happy.”
Health officials say there is no evidence of mass infestations of bedbugs in Fort Collins or elsewhere in Colorado. But they also point out that there has been a surge in bedbug activity nationally.
Still, roundup organizers, representing CSU and the city, worried that the insects could be spread by swapping upholstered furniture, Emerson said.
“Our research and conversations with other communities and pest-control agencies have given us pause,” she said.
Last year, as many as 600 sofas were dropped off. Those not recycled were taken to the landfill.
Bedbugs, which resemble ticks, feed on blood. They hide in the cords, cracks, crevices and seams of upholstered furniture.
Larimer County Health Department spokeswoman Jane Viste said bedbugs aren’t deadly but can make a victim miserable.
She agrees that events such as the couch roundup could spread the pests.
“But you can get them in nice hotels, anywhere where you don’t know exactly where the furniture came from,” Viste said.
The city will offer a Sofa Retirement Pickup Program on July 31, when people can kick to the curb their unusable sofas for transport to the landfill.
Meanwhile, CSU roundup organizers will assess whether the program has run its course or whether it could be restarted with changes.
“We hate to see it go,” Emerson said. “It’s a pretty good time, and it’s something positive for the community.”
Monte Whaley: 720-929-0907 or mwhaley@denverpost.com
