“Foothills residents bedding down with bugs” |
| Foothills residents bedding down with bugs Posted: 23 Sep 2010 09:12 AM PDT The phrase don't let the bedbugs bite has taken on a whole new meaning for Okotoks residents. Bed Bugs are on the rise in Alberta and according to local exterminators, this town is no exception. "It doesn't matter where you go – Okotoks, Black Diamond, Drumheller or Calgary – everyone is talking bed bugs," said Keith Petrie, owner of Cal-Rid Exterminators. "They really get around. You can see the bugs in apartments, hotels and buses … but in Okotoks we see them mostly in homes." Exterminators and Alberta Health Services say bedbugs are a growing problem but how much is unclear. Dr. Judy MacDonald, deputy medical officer of health for the Calgary region, said Alberta Health Services responds to pest complaints at rental properties, hotels and motels but doesn't keep track of the number of bed bug calls. Neither does it have any jurisdiction over private homes, although the health superboard can offer advice for getting rid of the pests. The lack of any hard statistics make it hard to know how widespread the infestations are or how many of the 101 vermin calls in the Calgary area this year have been about the bugs, MacDonald said. "But in general terms we are seeing an increase," MacDonald said. "These little insects are hitching rides on clothes and furniture and crawling under apartment doors and just spreading." Bed bugs don't indicate a lack of cleanliness and can be found anywhere that there is a high turnover of people, from luxury hotels to senior homes and barber shops. Bed bugs are flat and usually stick around mattresses, where they can receive their meal, but can also be found behind picture frames, inside dressers and wood slats. They come out at night to feed on warm bodies. The insects have always been around. There are stories from the Depression years of Prairie families battling the bugs and tucking their children in with the ever-popular bedtime lullaby, "sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite." Petrie joined the family extermination business in 1971 and remembers his first call for bed bugs. "I didn't even know they existed until I got the call to go down to a Calgary rooming house on Stephen Avenue to rip up the mattresses and toss them out," he said. Fifteen years later the calls to destroy bed bugs are coming in again – and some in the most bizarre places. Petrie found an infested barbershop in Calgary and some bugs in a woman's medical brace. "We sprayed this one woman's home several times and bed bugs kept coming back. We didn't know why," he said. "Then she complained about being bitten on the leg and we checked her brace and they were in the leather strap." Petrie and Peregrine extermination owner, Nick Holland, say the cause of the surge is anyone's guess but they suspect it's because of widespread travel and work camps. Canada has also banned a lot of the stronger pesticides, like Diazionon, that were used against the insects years ago. "I think we can win this battle but there has to be more education for people and more effort made on the local level," Holland said. "Too often people want us to clean their homes but they won't bother to prepare for us so we can get access to all the places these things hide. That has to change." Holland says people should be calling exterminators right away if they suspect there are bugs. Dark blood-like stains on bed sheets, walls and frames or itchy welts are signs of an infestation. He also warns against buying second-hand furniture, even if it's been in the store for awhile. Bugs can live up to a year and a half without feeding. Local second hand venues – like Bibles for Mission Thrift Store and the Salvage Centre – are aware of the bedbug problem and say they are trying to monitor what's dropped off. The Bibles for Mission Thrift Store no longer takes mattresses. "I haven't heard of any problems in Okotoks yet but we are aware of bed bugs and are trying to address the problem," said Anna Hoath, day manager. "We'll even take additional measures if it's needed but so far no one has come in with a concern … or has come back saying they got bedbugs from something we sold here." Vince Kimura, Foothills AIM Society executive director, says the salvage centre also plans on taking some precautions – like refusing soiled mattresses. But at the end of the day, people are responsible for what they take home. Everything is sold as is. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php |
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