Seniors battling bedbugs at Halifax apartment building

CTV news (2014) explained,
 A group of Halifax seniors say they are at their wit’s end after dealing with a bedbug-infested building for years.

“I have panic attacks over them,” says Charlene Meisner, who lives at the Gordon B. Isnor Manor in the city’s north end.

Meisner says the tiny tenants have taken up residence in her apartment and others.
 “I walked into a friend’s place last night. His whole mattress is covered in blood, he was bitten that bad,” she says.

When Meisner isn’t scratching at her bedbug bites, she is on the lookout for other pests.

“Out of the radiator, I’ve seen three mice continuously come out.”

The building is managed by the Metropolitan Regional Hospital Authority. General manager Janet Burt-Gerrans says new measures will soon be taken to control the pest problem, including changes to the building’s infrastructure and educational programs for tenants.

“In my nine months as general manager with this organization, I quickly identified this as our number one priority,” says Burt-Gerrans.

Meisner says pest control has been brought in over the years, but it isn’t helping.

“They have a gentleman come in spraying and he says he can’t keep up, this is the busiest,” she says. “All the manors, the three manors here are just filled.”

“In a large multi-unit building, one of the biggest issues is the vast amount of people in different units,” says pest control expert John Zinck. “You can’t just isolate one unit. It has to be looked at as a whole problem.”

Most of the tenants are low-income seniors who feel the province is to blame for the pest problem, but some say the tenants themselves are also part of the problem.

“People going through people’s garbage and bringing more dirt into the building, that’s not helping either,” says tenant Ann Frame.

Margaret Sutherland says she has never seen a bedbug in her apartment, and she spends a good part of her week making sure it stays that way.

“Everything gets moved around…box spring, mattress, everything comes off.”

Burt-Gerrans says she isn’t certain when the new ‘innovative methods’ will be introduced at Gordon B. Isnor Manor, but she hopes it will happen before the end of the year.

With files from CTV Atlantic's Alyse Hand

Read more: http://atlantic.ctvnews.ca/seniors-battling-bedbugs-at-halifax-apartment-building-1.1972241

Bedbugs infest hotel says pregnant woman

Dover Express (2014) explained,
A HEAVILY pregnant teen living in a taxpayer-funded room at the County Hotel claims she was moved twice because of bed bugs – but the owners say she must have brought them into their building.

Catherine Goldup, 19, was allocated a room at the Townwall Street hotel by Dover District Council (DDC) last week and claims beds in two of the rooms were "full of bugs".

The former Christchurch Academy pupil said: "It was fine for the first four days, but then we were told we had to move rooms and they wouldn't say why.

"The new room we were given had bugs all over the mattress. We were moved to another room and there were loads of bugs in it again. It was gruesome.

"So we put them into a glass and went to show the manager, and he said we would have to cope with it because there are no other rooms available.

"I wasn't very happy – it's not the sort of thing you want to deal with when you are eight months pregnant.

"Our neighbours in the hotel told us they had complained about the same thing.

"There are lots of young families here. There are newborn babies everywhere."

Shortly after the Express contacted hotel staff saying a guest had complained of bed bugs, Miss Goldup says she was phoned and told to leave immediately.

Asked if this was true, owner Steve Christo said: "I don't know."

He said: "If there were bed bugs then why didn't she mention it when she first moved in?

"I don't know what my staff were shown as I was away for the weekend, but we checked on Monday and couldn't see anything. We have pest control in every three months to make sure we are on top of that sort of thing.

"If there were bed bugs she must have brought them in with her, probably in her luggage."

A DDC spokesman said: "The council has a duty to provide advice and appropriate assistance to people who are homeless or threatened with homelessness and this does mean that we sometimes have to house people in B&B accommodation in an emergency.

"We try to ensure that the accommodation used is of an appropriate standard, but if concerns are raised with us we will always address them."

A spokesman for SOS Pest Control said: "Both of the situations are absolutely possible. Bed bugs can be transferred easily from clothes, so there's really no saying where they might have come from."

Read more at http://www.dover-express.co.uk/Bedbugs-infest-hotel-says-pregnant-woman/story-22729753-detail/story.html

Don't let them bite: Why bed bugs are worse than ever

CTV News Toronto (2014) explained,
 Canada's bed bug problem is worse than ever, as experts say the pesky little bloodsuckers are multiplying in record numbers in cities and smaller communities across the country.

Pest control experts say the frequency of bed bug reports has shot up 20 per cent since last year, as the blood-sucking, rapidly-reproducing insects have continued to spread. Mike Heimbach of Abell Pest Control says that increase has been a steady, "compounding growth" in the last six years. And it shows no sign of letting up.

"They've really got a good foothold in Canada and the United States, and we don't see that changing any time soon," Heimbach told CTV's Canada AM on Monday morning. He added that while the bugs were initially an urban problem, they've spread to rural and less-populated areas in recent years.

 Heimbach also stressed that bed bug infestations have no link to socioeconomic status.

"Anyone can get bed bugs," he said. "The challenge that we see is that certain people can't afford to get rid of them."

A bed bug is about the size, shape and colour of an apple seed, three millimetres long and oval-shaped, with reddish-brown colouring. When found hiding in the seams of mattresses, the insects are visible to the naked eye. They only emerge to feed late at night. Their bite is similar to a mosquito bite, Heimbach said, leaving behind an itchy welt in the spot where they draw blood from the skin.

The insects spread by hitchhiking in bags and on clothes, but they can also be hiding in discarded furniture and electronics that people unwittingly bring into their homes.

Aside from the small, red bites, there are other identifiable signs of a bed bug infestation. Heimbach said a quick check of your mattress seams and headboard can reveal many telling signs, from leftover insect husks and little black droppings, to blood spots on the mattress.

"They know how to live unseen," Heimbach said. Spotting one of the bugs is, of course, another sign of infestation, he said.

"The key is to learn to identify them and to act quickly if you get them."

Attempting to get rid of bed bugs yourself with over-the-counter bed bug sprays can actually make the problem worse, Heimbach said, as the spray can agitate the insects and drive them to spread out, widening the infestation.

"You can't get rid of them," he said. "You have to call an exterminator."

Heimbach called it a "real skill" to stop a bed bug infestation, as it requires the use of special vacuums, steam, residual spray, and diatomaceous earth.

Peak bed bug season is typically between June and October, when weather is warmest and the insects reproduce fastest, Heimbach said. Bed bugs like to hide in bags and on clothing, making them easily transferrable and more likely to spread in the high-travel summer season.

Bed bug numbers have been steadily on the rise in recent years, going up by an estimated eight per cent annually, Heimbach said.

"The problem, I think, is growing," he said.

Ontario's bed bug information site offers tips for identifying and dealing with a bed bug infestation at home. The site also offers tips for avoiding a bed bug infestation in the first place.

It recommends keeping your home clean and vacuumed, and advises you seal all cracks and crevices in your house so no bugs can get in. Thoroughly inspect any used clothing you buy, and don't bring home discarded furniture or electronics, as they are prime hiding places for bed bugs.

When travelling, check the bed in your hotel room for blood spots and other signs of bed bugs. Also keep clothes in oversized sealable plastic bags to avoid picking up bed bug hitchhikers, and inspect your luggage before you leave.

And if you do find bed bugs at home, Heimbach has one bit of advice: call an expert.

http://toronto.ctvnews.ca/don-t-let-them-bite-why-bed-bugs-are-worse-than-ever-1.1923633