By paNOW

Bed bugs in Regina; exterminator seeing increase in cases

Jan 10, 2013 | 12:16 AM

Your mother wasn’t lying. Bed bugs do exist, and they do bite; and they are in Regina according to Rob Schuba with the Environmental Health Department of the Regina Qu’appelle Health Region.

“Over the last ten years, we’ve seen an increase in the number of inquiries into prevention, and how to handle the bed bugs,” he said.

Schuba said they don’t actually take down the number of phone calls they receive, but something they have noticed is that they are hearing about more cases in multi-family dwellings like apartments.

In Saskatoon, there are a number of cases as well; they the blood sucking bugs have been discovered in side libraries.

As a result, Saskatoon Public Libraries have teamed up with the City of Saskatoon and the University of Saskatchewan to create a task force to deal with them.

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Here in Regina, our library locations have been lucky. CEO Jeff Barber says there’s only been one case there in the ten years he’s worked there, and it was dealt with quickly.

If a staff member finds one, they are trained to get it in a sealed container, call a manager, and have an exterminator brought in right away.

Poulin’s Pest Control has also seen an increase in cases. Manager Shawn Sherwood says 18 percent of his business last year was dedicated to removing bed bugs.

The heat equipment they use to deal with them is being used five days a week, he said, and is booked a month in advance.

If you do discover the bugs in their natural hiding places, like in your mattress, pillow or couch, Sherwood says you have two ways you can deal with them.

One way is by using chemicals, which takes a few treatments and is a little risky because the bugs have built up a resistance to the chemical, and it doesn’t kill the eggs.

The second is heating the home to 135 degrees.

This method is much more reliable, and while it may sound easy enough to do, Sherwood says you will need a professional to do it because it is very dangerous.

And while some people might be embarrassed to have bed bugs in their home, because there is a stigma attached to it that your home is dirty or unlivable, Sherwood says no one has anything to be embarrassed about.

“The bed bug does not care what your net annual income is; does not care whether you have a maid service come in to clean your house or whether you do it yourself,” he said

“They are simply looking for a human blood meal, and they don’t care who they get it from.”

Sherwood said the most common places people can get them is through travel.

All you’d have to do is stay in a hotel room that is infested with them; sit in the backseat of a taxi cab where they are, or on a plane.

It would be just enough for you to take them back to your home on your clothing or inside your suitcase, and suddenly, you have them in your bed.

A great thing to do when you come back from travel, according to Sherwood, is to take all the items out of your suitcase and throw them in the dryer for 20 minutes.

The heat from the dryer would be enough to kill any bed bugs that might have hitched a ride back to your house, looking for food.

news@panow.com

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