November 14, 2007
BEDBUG EPIDEMIC! Not To Be Alarmist Or Anything.
Toronto councillor Paula Fletcher wants Toronto Public Health to officially categorize bedbugs as a "health hazard," as opposed to their current status, "nuisance,"—that's not a joke; "nuisance" is apparently the official term—after our dear city has seen a recent upsurge in the pests. And for all you folks living in highrises, don't get too smug, because it seems "there is no community that hasn't been affected." Fletcher is also urging officials to implement a bedbug furniture pick-up system similar to the one used in Cincinnati, where city employees collect infested furniture if it's covered in plastic. And it looks like Fletcher's getting somewhere because an "expert panel discussion" is being held tonight at the WoodGreen Community Centre.
We wholeheartedly agree with Fletcher. A case of the bedbugs might not seem that serious, but it's only funny until it happens to you! Do you have any idea how hard it is to get rid of begbugs? They're invincible! Steam the whole room, wash your sheets, nothing kills them! And the bites, oh those bites—they itch like nothing else. Or, you know, so we've heard!
Image by wonderferret from Flickr.
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Yay Paula Fletcher for taking action on this! Bedbugs scare the crap out of me. Seriously, I have nightmares about those things.
...I mean they CRAWL ALL OVER YOU WHEN YOU'RE SLEEPING AND SUCK YOUR BLOOD OMG WTF I have to go take a bath now ::shudder::
SING IT, SISTER!!!!!! YOU KNOW I KNOW!!
My name is Sean Rollo and I am a former pest control technician and am now a Quality Assurance Manager and Technical Advisor for one of North America’s largest pest control companies.
I have spent the better part of the past five years studying and researching bed bugs. It has literally become a hobby.
I have created a website geared toward providing the public with a place to go to get information and allow industry professionals to communicate with each other on this issue.
The site is called The Bed Bug Resource (www.thebedbugresource.com). At the top of the page there is a Forum button that will take you to the message boards.
If you find this to be a useful resource please feel free to pass the information on to colleagues and the general public.
Sincerely
Sean Rollo
Entomologist / Pest Professional
www.thebedbugresource.com
The picture you have posted is a dustmite, not a bedbug, bedbugs are much larger than that.
How do you get bed bugs? They don't just walk into your apartment, do they?
I wonder if they affect all animals who use beds, or just humans.
Anyone interested in the answers to my questions might do as I did, and look it up:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bedbug
Totally fascinating.
I had bedbugs in my last apartment, and it was horrible. Waking with large itchy spots all over your body, in sheets speckled with your own frickin' blood! We threw out the bed and moved shortly thereafter. All out war on bedbugs!
Toronto's bed bug infestation map at the Bed Bug Registry: http://bedbugregistry.com/metro/tor