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Aaron Flunkie can count 12 red bite marks spread out all over his body, and is constantly resisting the urge to scratch them.

He has been isolating at Chateau Nova Hotel in Yellowknife, one of the territorial government's designated isolation centres, since Wednesday.

Northwest Territories residents who travel outside the North have to isolate for two weeks in either Yellowknife, Inuvik, Hay River or Fort Smith when they return.

"I've been getting severe bite marks and I had no idea what it was from," said Flunkie.

On Sunday night Flunkie said he ordered pizza, and threw the hot box down on the bed. That's when he said he first saw the bugs. Bedbugs can't live in heat and steam, whichcan penetrate soft surfaces, so it'soften used to kill them.

"I noticed something black that was moving,I lifted the pizza box and I just saw bedbugs crawling out of the bed, out of the sheets."

Flunkie said he knew they were bedbugs right away, because he has encountered them before.

"It was really disgusting," he said.

The territorial government confirmed to CBC News on Tuesday that it is aware oftwo reports in the past month of bedbugsat different isolation centres.

Itbecame aware of the first on Sept. 1 through social media, and "immediately began an investigation."

Mike Westwick, a government spokesperson, told CBCNews via email that they would not be naming the isolation centre, but took immediate action with guidance from health officials, including cleaning several rooms in the affected area.

"For the guest's part, they were moved immediately to another room, only to find that the bedbugs had moved with them through their clothing," said Westwick, adding that the guest was given personal items including clothing and a new room.

Westwick said the territory received another report on Mondayabout someone with bedbug bites.

"We worked with hotel staff to get the individual and those accompanying them to a new room. We also offered to arrange medical attention if required. The individual indicated it wasn't," said Westwick.

He said the territory is investigating the situation right now, and that environmental health will be working with the hotel to ensure the proper protocols are followed to avoid further exposures.

Flunkie confirmed to CBC that when he went down to the front desk they switched his room, but said they didn't give any details about extermination at the time.

"I did go downstairs, I did tell them to move me because there were tons of bedbugs on the bed, and they didn't say anything about exterminating."

He was moved to a new room, but said no one gave him further information about sanitization procedures for bedbugs. Flunkie said hesoughtadvice from friends and made surehis clothing was washed.

Westwick said the territory will not be naming the isolation centres allegedly affected by bedbugs because they are confident the right protocols are being followed to keep the situations contained.

"We have confirmed the facility has professional pest control programs in place and is monitoring for bugs," he said.

Westwick said these programs normally include the use of mattress covers, monitoring of high-likelihood areas, and "immediate follow up/steam heat treatment of the room and rooms nearby."

He added that the territory has been made aware of a bedbug situation at a boarding house often used by medical travellers in Alberta, and it's possible there might be a connection.

Flunkie said he wants the hotel to prevent this from happening to other guests in the future.

"I think they should find out how many bedbugs are in each room and they should exterminate them. If this thing spreads then no one's going to want to stay here. It's just going to shut down the hotel."

Flunkie's grandmother, Violet Martin, said she's worried about the conditions that her grandson is staying in.

"I don't want to go in and start fighting or anything, I was just really mad," she said.

"He's got bedbugs all over, he's isolating and they're supposed to take care of him. And to be in a room, and he's going to come out with these red marks all over, I wasn't happy about it."

The territorial government says that hotel staff are responsible for facility maintenance and things like pest control programs.

"We all share responsibility for keeping our guests safe throughout their time there," said Westwick.

Reached by phone, Nova Hotels CEO Richard Wong said he was unaware of an investigation at the Chateau Nova. He did not provide further comment.

More:
'It was really disgusting': 2 cases of bedbugs reported at N.W.T. isolation hotels - CBC.ca

SASKATOON -- The owner of a Saskatoon hotel poised for closure by the Saskatoon Fire Department claims inspectors have been looking hard for any reason to shut down his business.

I dont think this is right. At my age, Im 77-years-old, I dont feel good about this at all. (The inspectors) have the power to do whatever they want, when they want, the time they want and if its sunny or rainy they choose what day, John Pontes said in an interview Wednesday, which you can watch portions of using the player above.

City Centre Inn and Suites, which was previously known as Northwoods Inn and Suites, is under a closure order issued by the fire department that will go into effect Thursday afternoon. The order comes after inspectors found dozens of maintenance and fire code deficiencies at the hotel.

On Wednesday, the City of Saskatoon shared photos illustrating some of what was found inside the hotel, including raw sewage in a bathroom and signs of bed bug infestations.

Pontes said he's working to correct many of the issues and the presence of cockroaches and bed bugs does not warrant the closure of his hotel.

"So what, we have medicine for that. So what, we spray that. We have a guy that's going through there."

Also, Pontes dismissed concerns raised about the presence of bed bugs at the inn.

"One here, one there. There's no bedbugs."

He said he has told inspectors numerous times he needs more time to meet their requirements.

We will clean the rooms. We will fix the windows. Whatever needs to be repaired will get fixed but right now with the COVID-19, its hard and its hard to find good, quality labour.

Over the years the inn has also been the scene of several crimes and police say they have been called to the hotel nearly 3,000 times over the past six years.

In 2014 Pontes was fined $45,000 for sexually harassing a former female employee.

Five years later, in 2019, Pontes was handed a90-day probation for sexual assault and required to register as a sex offender.

Roman Todos, who is president of the Caswell Hill Community Association, considers the hotel an "ongoing problem."

It seems to be a magnet for ongoing issues and it filters out to the greater neighbourhood. The individuals living there seem to be being used and if you look at the crime statistics its been a problem area, many people here have a big concern," Todos told CTV News on Wednesday.

Roughly 150 residents, including three children, who live at the hotel are being relocated due to the hazards found by inspectors.

I am worried about the people here, Pontes said. Where are you going to put them? On the street? This is very discriminatory. (Indigenous people) are always being discriminated against by everybody. The country I came from has never done such a thing. I will get a hold of a lawyer."

--With files fromCreeson Agecoutay and Josh Lynn

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'One here, one there. There's no bedbugs.': Owner of former Northwoods Inn says closure unwarranted - CTV News

Bed bugs have been a household pest issue for more than 3,300 years, dating back to ancient Egypt. They were first brought to the Canada and the United States by early colonists, where they thrived for many decades. However, by the 1950s, bed bugs had been all but eradicated in the developed world, thanks to the availability of new pest control products, coupled with the widespread use of vacuums and washing machines which helped to control the spread of infestations in living spaces.

Several factors led to theresurgence of bed bugsbeginning in the late 1990s; increased international travel, more targeted pest control products and methods and a lack of public awareness about pest prevention methods. However, today the wide spread of bed bugs has been identified as people purchasing second hand furniture and bringing it into their homes. The homeowners sleep soundly tucked in their warm beds as the bed bug feast on their unsuspecting bodies.

SLEEP TIGHTDONT LET THE BED BUGS BITE!

For more information, contact:

Patrick Martens

Read more from the original source:
The Bed Bug Armageddon | Alberta Fire and Flood

Bed bugs are usually mistaken for some other bugs. This is because all those insects living in the house resemble each other.

So, what are the differences between bed bugs and other bugs? Which bugs are commonly mistaken for bed bugs?

Bed bugs are small, oval-shaped and blood-fed insects. For more information, you can check this article that we posted before:bedbugdetected.com/what-is-bed-bug-and-how-it-lives/

Basic physical features of bed bugs are below:

I know, those features I have specified above are eligible for other bugs too. Then lets make it clearer:

Not enough for these features? So, lets define other bugs and understand what a bed bug looks like completely. You can also check this article:bedbugdetected.com/what-do-bed-bugs-look-like-to-the-human-eye

I believe that most people already know about spiders. Even so, I will give information about this bug:

Its hard to mistaken spiders for bed bugs, because they are different in features.

How to differentiate:

First way of this is to count their legs. Spiders have 8 legs and bed bugs have 6 in total. Spiders can occur all day, but bed bugs usually occur at nights.

Bed bugs are close to the sleeping areas, spiders hide in everywhere including toilets or bathrooms.

While bed bug bites are itchy, spider bites are typically painful.

Fleas are parasites which feed by blood. They usually feed by the bloods of pets like birds, dogs or cats.

How to differentiate:

They are both blood-fed insects, but while fleas prefer feeding on hairy animals like dogs or cats, bed bugs usually prefer feeding on you!

Bed bugs cant jump, fleas can jump 200 times their length. They are similar in color and shape, while fleas are a more oval-shaped and skinner, rather than flatter.

Bed bugs hide in cracks, holes, furniture, clothes or beds. Fleas are more likely to be found near the pets or sleeping areas of your pets.

Cockroaches are one of the most common visitors of our houses. We usually see them while walking fast from one place to another in our kitchens.

Basic features of cockroaches are below:

Adult cockroaches are clearly different from bed bugs with their size and its the recently hatched cockroaches which are mistaken for bed bugs.

How to differentiate:

The basic difference between cockroaches and bed bugs is the antennas of the cockroach. Cockroaches have long antennas extending forward. They also have wings, while bed bugs dont.

Cockroach nymphs are more similar to bed bugs, because they dont have wings. But you can still define a cockroach with its long antenna.

Ticks are little arachnids which feed by bloods of animals and human. They are infectious for a lot of diseases to animals and people.

Basic features of ticks are below:

How to differentiate:

Main difference between those insects is where they wander. While a tick prefers to live outdoor in grassy or woody areas, bed bug live indoors.

In addition to their living areas, adult ticks have 8 legs and bed bugs have only 6 legs.

Carpet beetles live in the carpets or old furniture. They feed by flowers and pollens. Some physical features of carpet beetles are below:

How to differentiate:

There are hundreds of species for carpet beetles. Most common carpet beetles have hard outer shell and while carpet beetles have wings, bed bugs dont have any.

Swallow bugs are a kind of true bugs and closely related to bed bugs. They are almost the same with bed bugs.

The only physical difference between a swallow bug and a bed bug is that swallow bug is covered in longer hair.

How to differentiate:

Swallow bugs and bed bugs are cousins. Main food source of a swallow bug is a swallow. Thats why you can usually find them near windows, because they are more likely to live outdoor for feeding on swallows.

As I told above, although they are closely like bed bugs, you can difference it from bed bugs with long hair covered.

Head lice are arthropods and they require a blood source to survive. They are blood-fed insects. Features of an adult lice are below:

They settle into the head of a human and dont leave it until they grow fully.

How to differentiate:

While bed bugs spend most of their times away from their food sources, lice prefer to keep living on their sources like a humans head.

Lice are smaller than adult bed bugs. While color of a lice is grey or transparent, bed bugs are darker colored like reddish brown or black.

Mites are arthropods too and they can live in various habitats like water, soil, animals or human. Some studies shoe that there are almost 50.000 different species of mites. Some features of mite are below:

Mites do not look like bed bugs, but their bites are similar to bed bug bites.

How to differentiate:

There are more than 40.000 species of mites which makes it hard to define them clearly. But most mites are not invisible to human eye because of their size.

While bed bugs are insects and have 6 legs and antennas, mites are arachnids and have 8 legs with no antennas.

As their names look similar, their appearance is similar too. It s almost impossible to distinguish bat bugs and bed bugs from each other.

Because bat bugs belong to the same scientific family with the bed bugs. They feed on the bloods of mammalians too. Their main food source is bats.

Some studies claim that the bed bugs originally come from bat bugs which used to live in caves in old times.

Without a trained professional its not going to be easy to define a bat bug, but the main difference is that bat bugs hair length is longer than bed bugs hair.

How to differentiate:

As I told above, they are almost the same, except their hair. Bat bugs hair is much longer than bed bugs hair.

Weevils are beetles which have more than 90.000 species and up to 6 mm length. Physical features of weevils are below:

How to differentiate:

The best way to identify a weevil is to look at its head. They will have long snouts on their heads which bed bug dont.

For more information about bed bugs, please check these posts too:

bedbugdetected.com/natural-remedies-for-bed-bugs

bedbugdetected.com/can-bed-bugs-make-you-sick

Excerpt from:
10 bugs that look like bed bugs | Bedbug Detected

Winnipeg, Vancouver and St. Johns dont have much in common except when it comes to being ridden with bed bugs, according to a national pest control company.

On Tuesday, Orkin Canada released its annual list of top 25 Canadian cities dealing with the pesky bugs, based on the number of bed bug treatments the company performed in each location from January to December of last year.

Toronto received top honour of being the nations top bed bug city for 2019, followed by Winnipeg and Vancouver.

The only other B.C. city to receive the dubious honour included Burnaby, ranked 19th.

Entomologists say that bed bugs are extremely efficient hitch hikers, and can move easily across a room and climb onto luggage or anything left on a bed in just one night.

Orkin suggests keeping all luggage elevated on metal luggage racks while youre on vacation and away from soft furnishings.

Bed bugs cannot easily climb metal surfaces, so they make an ideal overnight spot for your suitcase, the company suggests. Keep the rack away from the walls and any wooden furniture.

RELATED: Bedbugs are here to stay what can we do about it?

Bed bugs thrive in dark, cool places with long-term access to humans. They can also be found on airplane and train seats, buses or in rental cars, Orkin said. They can lay up to five eggs in one day.

Upon returning home, luggage should be left in the garage and all clothing run through the dryer at the highest appropriate temperature for 15 minutes.

To find bed bugs, homeowners can inspect beds, soft furnishings and framed pictures thoroughly and look for insects, blood stains, dead bugs and eggs.

@ashwadhwaniashley.wadhwani@bpdigital.caLike us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

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Two B.C. cities crack top 25 most bedbug-infested cities ...