We’ve barely recovered from the scandal of rats and cockroaches in Chinatown that we now discover that Toronto has a bedbug problem that has reached epic proportions in apartment buildings, hotels, and student residences. Anyone can get bedbugs. They hide in bed frames, chairs, sofas, and electronics. It doesn’t mean that you are dirty. One of the reasons that we are having such a hard time controlling bedbugs is that we no longer use toxic chemicals to eradicate them. Another is the increase in international travel. They are an unfortunate gift brought in by travelers.

Over 1,400 hundred calls this year have been received by Toronto Public Health about bedbugs. If you are concerned about bedbugs contact Toronto Public Health. You can check for bedbugs by putting out glue boards or sticky tape to catch them.

What should you do if you have bedbugs? Here are some useful ideas from Toronto Public Health:

•    Hire a professional pest control services company
•    Carefully check the areas that bedbugs hide, particularly the crevices and folds in mattresses, chairs, sofas
•    Vacuum the areas daily and empty the contents of your vacuum immediately
•    Wash all your linens in the hottest water possible and place them in a hot dryer for 20 minutes
•    Keep a plastic cover on your pillows and mattresses
•    Seal cracks and crevices between baseboards, on wood bed frames, floors and walls with caulking
•    Repair or remove peeling wallpaper
•    Tighten loose light switch covers
•    Seal any openings where pipes, wires or other utilities come into your home