Category Archives: Bed Bugs Ontario

SUDBURY -- A city in northern Ontario has topped a list that no one wants to be on, Orkin Canada's top 10 bed bug cities.

Sudbury has taken the No. 2 spot behind Toronto for the most commercial and residential bed bug treatments carried out by a Canadian pest control company in 2020.

However, there is a bright spot, as the company said in a news release that bed bug sightings are down close to 20 per cent nationally when compared to the previous year.

"Travel bans, stay-at-home orders, and a general shift to working remotely have resulted in less opportunities for these hitchhikers to move around, for the first time since Orkin Canada released its annual survey five years ago," the pest control company said.

However, there is a risk for bed bugs spreading as the economy opens back up again.

"Beware of the return of borrowed office chairs," Orkin said. "Due to their ability to double in population about every 16 days, it should not be difficult for bed bugs to regain their grip on the Canadian market."

There are some tips to prevent bed bugs:

The top 10 Canadian cities with the most bed bug calls are:

Some of the changes from the previous year include, Toronto and Vancouver staying in the same spots, Ottawa fell from No. 5 to No. 10, and Whitby rose from No. 20 to No.8.

Find the full list of Canada's Top 25 Bed Bug Cities here.

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This northern Ontario city is one of Canada's top 10 for bed bugs - CTV Toronto

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OTTAWA, Ontario (CTV News) Of the very few good things to come out of the COVID-19 pandemic, bed bug sightings plummeted in 2020.

In a report released on Tuesday from Orkin Canada, bed bug sightings dropped by 20 per cent in 2020, marking the first decline in the five-year history of the report.

Bernie Grafe, Orkin Canadas branch manager for the Greater Toronto Area residential division, said the pandemic is the primary factor behind the decline.

Bed bugs are hitchhikers, he said in a phone interview with CTVNews.ca. As people move around and visit, travel, go to work, go to public places, hotels, long-term rentals, you name it, they are essentially transporting the bed bugs around.

Youre not seeing a lot of people congregating in higher percentages and areas, so therefore the bed bugs are just not spreading.

Grafe said this is a trend Orkin Canada is seeing nationwide, but warned that this decline may go away when the pandemic ends.

Once the lockdown is released and one day there is a sense of normalcy, we will again see that spike go up just from that natural social behaviour, he said.

Bed bugscan lie dormant for several months at a time, meaning bugs in an office may still be alive when office work resumes.

People going back to work who havent been in to these environments for the last eight, nine, 10 months, those bed bugs are going to be hungry, he said.

Grafe said there arent any chemical treatments available that can prevent bed bugs from entering the home, meaning vigilance is the best method to keep them from spreading.

The biggest form of prevention is awareness, and that is through inspections and visually inspecting the environment that youre in, especially with hotels and long-term rentals, he said.

Grafe said its key to inspect the bed, behind picture frames and curtains for any bugs or fecal matter that the bugs may have left behind. He also recommends a thorough inspection of your office setting.

The report also included the Top 25 cities for bed bugs in Canada, with Toronto topping the list, followed by Sudbury, Oshawa, Vancouver and Winnipeg.

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Bed bug sightings plummet in Canada as COVID-19 makes it harder for them to spread - ABC17News.com

Eloise Keene, a senior who lives alone, has been sleeping in a chair in her apartment in Hamiltons east end for two weeks.

The 75-year-old woman, who resides in a social housing building at 555 Queenston Rd., which is dedicated to seniors, said she threw out her furniture for the fifth time after a resurgence of bedbugs.

She said pest control has been treating her apartment every month since spring, and the bedbugs still werent going away.

One guy came in ... walked in right to my chair, (and) said Wonder if you still have bedbugs oh yeah, theres one ... on my chair, she said. I said to myself, I want to get rid of them and I knew the only way to get rid of them was to throw the furniture out; they taught me that.

She said she previously bought a leather couch and chair because she was told bedbugs dont like the material. Before she had her most recent inspection at the end of August, she threw those out, too.

Every time CityHousing Hamilton told me the bugs were gone, Id buy new furniture, said Keene, who is on a fixed income.

The city says theyve been doing better with bedbugs this year.

This years been relatively good in terms of complaints coming through, for both public and private buildings, said Coun. Chad Collins, who is also president of the CityHousing board of directors.

Bedbugs have plagued the city for years at a cost in the millions.

In 2009, the CityHousing Hamilton budget for pest control was $300,000. In 2017, that number was $1.3 million.

So far this year, CityHousing has spent more than $655,000 on pest control, according to numbers provided by city spokesperson Antonella Giancarlo on behalf of CityHousing Hamilton CEO Tom Hunter.

Giancarlo said in an email that 555 Queenston Rd. has had eight bedbug treatments so far this year, plus 46 cockroach treatments. In all the CityHousing buildings, there have been 664 bedbug treatments and 851 cockroach treatments this year.

Laverne Dow, another tenant in the building, said she believes there are more than three units at 555 Queenston Rd. with bedbugs, but acknowledged theres a stigma that prevents some tenants from calling for help.

In 2016, the city implemented a three-year bedbug strategy to help reduce the prevalence of the pests.

A summary of the community engagement report mentions some of the barriers to addressing the problem. Among them are a fear that reporting bedbugs might lead to blame on the tenant or possible eviction. Another is stigma that bedbugs are connected to poverty or unclean conditions.

Bedbugs can happen to anyone, anywhere, at any time, the report notes.

When you dont call because you might be embarrassed, theres the opportunity then for the bugs to spread to other areas, said Collins. The longer something goes unchecked, the more that they have the opportunity to get into other places and impact other people.

Dow said shes concerned pest control is only treating the affected units and not the ones surrounding them, as she believes this allows the problem to persist.

Were not randomly going through to other units and just treating them without knowing whether pests are prevalent in the unit, said Collins, noting that staff tries to be proactive. He said one of the units at 555 Queenston had its pests discovered when a resident came into the building office and staff noticed a bedbug on her.

Dow and Keene both said theyve sought assistance from CityHousing to replace their baseboards and caulking to help seal their apartments to prevent the bugs from coming in, but theyve had no luck.

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In an email, Giancarlo said CityHousing may provide help with baseboards and caulking depending on how much work is involved, noting that residents can request basic caulking work. But a property managers approval is needed for bigger projects such as replacing baseboards.

In the majority of cases, baseboard replacements and caulking are not necessary for the control of pests, she wrote.

Its actually disappointing that someone whos not just a senior but who lives in CityHousing is being forced to live with no furniture, said Dayna Sparkes, a member of ACORN Canadas Hamilton East chapter.

ACORN has been organizing for better protections for renters in Hamilton, including a licensing process for landlords and proactive enforcement of municipal property standards, including proper pest management, Sparkes noted.

I dont think people realize how extensive and thorough you have to be when youre getting treatment, she said. Its not an easy process.

Sparkes added that its challenging for seniors to remove furniture from their apartments and costly to laundry everything.

She believes CityHousing and other landlords have the responsibility to help their tenants get their furniture replaced.

Its the same thing as with having the pests themselves its not (the tenants) fault, she said.

Giancarlo said money is available to ODSP and Ontario Works recipients to offset the costs of mattresses, as well as preparation and prevention for bedbugs.

Keene said she hasnt yet received the results from the inspection, but after she threw out her furniture, she hasnt been bitten once.

Even if she could afford new furniture again, Keene said she doesnt see the point in replacing it.

Why buy it again if (the bugs are) going to come back? she said.

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What's the point in buying furniture? Queenston Road senior tormented by bedbugs - TheSpec.com

Neighbours on Mornington Avenue in London, Ont. say this pigeon is one of at least a dozen that have died after allegedly being poisoned by staff of a nearby highrise.

Residents ona stretch of Mornington Avenue in east London say someone is poisoning pigeons after reports of at least a dozen bird carcasses have beenleft to rot in parking lots, and on sidewalks, lawnsand a public park.

CBC News spoke with seven people who live in the area Wednesday, many of whom called the poisonings cruel, inhumane and a potential health threat to the wildlife. They were also concerned that pets and children might come into contact with the remains.

"We shouldn't have to be concerned about walking our dogs, or if somebody has a cat, or young children. There are a lot of young kids here," said Elise Frenette, who lives in the neighbourhood.

"Once you see an animal getting poisoned, that image does not leave your mind," she said."It is a slow and what looks to be an excruciating death. The confusion, the convulsions, they're trembling.You can see they're trying to get away but they physically can't. It's so inhumane."

Frenette said she first heard of the dying birdsMonday when a group of neighbours at an apartment building at 530 Mornington Avenue gatheredto clean up more than half a dozen dead birds that had mysteriously appeared near the building that morning.

Since then, she said there's been a steady stream of dead or dying pigeons turning up all over the rental property. It housesa cluster of buildings and is owned byCalgary-based Northview ApartmentREIT.

"A lot of people are really distraught over this," said Frenette."Nobody was notified."

Many people in the neighbourhood allege the birds were killed by Toronto-based Husky Pest Control with pesticide-laced bird seed.

Calls from CBC News to Husky Pest Control were also not answered Tuesday.

Some say the apparent poisonings aren't limited to just pigeons. They saythere are reports from other residents aboutmourning doves, starlings and blue jays, as well as skunks, squirrels and other rodents sprawled dead on the groundor appearing ill or disoriented.

CBC News visited the Northview-owned apartment complex on Mornington Avenue Wednesday and found no evidence of dead animals such as skunksor squirrels nearby. However, the carcass of a pigeon was discovered lying in a public tennis court. The birdappeared to have died recently.

Staff at the building declined to comment when asked about the apparent poisoningsTuesday.

"We're not allowed to talk about it. It's just company policy," said awoman who would only identify herself as Trina, the regional administrator for the company. She said there were no health concerns for pets in the building.

"I don't see an immediate concern for dogs," she said.

However, some tenants disagree. Brenda Lonie, a resident of the highrise at 520 Mornington Avenue, said while she watches her dog Milo closely when out on walks, others aren't so careful.

"You're taking the chance of a dog eating that and killing it or even a cat," she said.

Tenants say a number ofbuildings owned by Northview along Mornington Avenue have hadrecurringproblems with vermin and untidy conditions for years.

"They don't seem to care about this property when it comes to garbage. This whole placeneeds to be taken care of in a better manner. This place is full of bed bugs, cockroaches."

Lonie said other than relieving themselves on balconies, the pigeons don't really bother anyone.

"I find them on my balcony," she said. "I just take a water bottle and I just spray them to get lost. They get the message. If someone is trying to get rid of them, that's not the right thing to do. You don't kill animals."

Calls from CBC News to Starlight Investments, the owner of Northview Apartments, were not returned Tuesday.

Brent Ross, a spokesman for the Ontario Ministry of the Solicitor General, which is responsible for animal welfare in the province, said it has not received any complaints regarding the apparent poisoning of wildlife in the area.

"The ministry has not received a complaint on this matter," he wrote in an email Tuesday."It would be inappropriate for the ministry to speculate on the legality of this matter.

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Residents say someone is poisoning birds in their east London neighbourhood - CBC.ca

OTTAWA -- A City of Ottawa Committee is pushingforward a by-law aimed at improving the lives of those living in rental housing.

The by-law also aims to help those dealing with pests at these properties.

Mice, bedbugs, and cockroaches are just some of the pests which tenants in Ottawa are living with.

Darin Loewy says he has been dealing with cockroaches in his downtown Ottawa apartment since 2016.

For years now Ive slept with the lights on, Loewy said.

If I dont - Ill have roaches all over me I wake up in the morning, go into the living room and turn on the lights, theres one on the ceiling, theres one on the coffee table.

Loewy says his landlord has had pest control treat his unit sixteen times and believes the problem originates elsewhere in the building.

The property management company responsible for his building says it has done preventative treatments elsewhere in the building.

We dont like tenants having these issues, said Adam Pearce with Sleepwell Property Management.

It doesnt make our lives easier; it certainly doesnt make their lives easier. But Pearce also thinks tenants have a responsibility when it comes to dealing with the issue including keeping a unit clean.

You have to have an empty kitchen, you have to have accessible areas for the pest control company, Pearce said.

The by-law would be a new tool that could help both sides in these situations.

City council will vote on the by-law next week.

Councillor Jenna Sudds is also the Chair of the Community and Protective Services Committeeand. She believes the by-law is a big step forward.

The new bylaw establishes common minimum standards for all rental properties.

This includes both privately owned ones and social housing units.

It will address things like pest control and improving the lives of tenants.

Sudds says it will mean better living accommodations for tenants, better standards and more accountability for property owners.

Some landlords also think its a good idea. John Dickie is with the Eastern Ontario Landlord Organization.

He believes the by-law imposes obligations on both parties.

Under the by-law, it will be an offence for a tenant to fail to report an infestation, Dickie said.

It will be an offence for a tenant to allow conditions in their unit that harbour pests.

Loewy is hopeful this will help his situation.

All I want to do is live cock-roach free.

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City committee approved by-law to help tenants and landlords deal with pests - CTV News Ottawa