Bed bug outbreak likely to get worse

Magally Zelaya, staff

A national outbreak of bed bugs, the parasitic insects that take their “blood meals” from sleeping humans, is expected to get worse before it gets better.

According to the Health Canada website, “[B]ed bugs are making a comeback. They are being found in cities across the country, everywhere from homeless shelters to five-star hotels.”

In Winnipeg, there is estimated to be an approximate 300 per cent increase since 2004, according to Lincoln Poulin, general manager of Poulin’s Pest Control Services.

“For the last 30 years, we’ve been doing bed bug work. . . . We got bed bug calls, one call a year, maybe, or every second year,” said Poulin.

These days, things are different.

“We can easily get three or four calls a day for bed bugs, “ he said.

Dave Funk, pest control co-ordinator for the Manitoba Housing Authority (MHA), said the insects don’t discriminate.

“It doesn’t matter what your income level, or your demographic, or your nationality, or your social status — if you’re human, bed bugs seem to like you,” he said.

Funk said that five per cent of the affordable housing units that the MHA provides currently have bed bugs, and that, in 2004, the number was negligible.

According to Health Canada, the bugs were “nearly eradicated” courtesy of the widespread use of residue-leaving insecticides such as DDT, which are now banned due to their toxicity.

Both Poulin and Funk attributed the outbreak to a marked increase in international travel and a shift in the types of insecticides used.

“This problem will get worse before it gets better, [in terms of] what we can or can’t do for treatment,” said Funk.

Peter Galloway, an entomologist at the U of M, said that it is likely that the insects will develop a resistance to the pyrethroid insecticides used today.

“Almost every insect pest that we have applied sufficient pressure on using insecticides sooner or later develops resistance,” said Galloway.

“If we ever get resistance in bugs to these compounds, then it’s entirely possible that we will have very little [to fight them], and the bugs will just have their way with us,” he said.

Poulin said bed bugs are resilient and can survive long periods without feeding.

“The adults have been proven to go 18 months without a blood meal.”

Bed bugs are nocturnal wingless insects belonging to the family Cimicidae. The bugs thrive in clean environments as well as they do in dirty environments.

During the day, they hide in the cracks and crevices of mattresses, box springs, headboards, floorboards, electric outlets, behind loose wallpaper, on curtains and in suitcases — the common vehicle for spreading the bugs.

Bed bugs are not known to transmit disease and do not pose major health risks. Some people will have no reaction to the bites. Others may develop an inflammatory allergic response and the bites will leave itchy red welts.

To avoid getting bed bugs Galloway recommended, “People should be very cautious about buying used furniture.”

“And if you’re going to look at an apartment, it’s not a bad idea to look around for evidence of bed bug infestation.”

When bed bugs defecate they leave behind small black markings.

Funk said that because students often move around and travel over school breaks they should take precautions when returning to their residences.

“They are going to have suitcases that may or may not be in places that have bugs and, when they return from a trip, they should be dumping their suitcase out probably outside the residence preferably.”

Poulin suggested emptying luggage in the bathtub if it is not possible to do it outdoors. Laundry should be done immediately and luggage vacuumed out.

In 2006 there were bed bug infestations in student residences at both McGill University and Ryerson University, according to reports from their respective student newspapers, the McGill Daily and the Eyeopener.

In the United States, the Stanford Daily reported that there was an infestation in the Stanford University student residences last year.

At the University of Manitoba, the office of housing and student life said there have been no reported infestations.