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| DATE: October 4, 2009 |
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EDMONTON SUN
By SUN MEDIA
There are lessons in April Lariviere's plight that every Edmontonian can learn from.
Lariviere and her three children, all under the age of three, have been living for months with a severe bedbug infestation in her north side apartment.
In fact, the large, four-storey complex was fumigated in the early spring, but it failed to wipe out the pests. Over the summer things got so bad that in some of the suites -- Lariviere's included -- the residents had to throw out their egg-laden mattresses and furniture.
Now Alberta Health has become involved. Public health officials are working informally with the building's owners, managers and tenants to eradicate the problem.
Public health officials warn that Lariviere's building is just the tip of the iceberg.
Like all major cities across the continent, bedbugs are invading apartment buildings, townhouses, single-family homes and dormitories across Edmonton. No one, rich or poor, is immune.
Travelers are especially vulnerable. Bedbugs have been found in even the poshest hotels, and they're known to hitch rides in luggage and on people's clothes.
The apple-seed sized bugs have round, flat bodies, perfect for hiding in mattress seams, in couch cushions and behind baseboards.
They're inactive during the day, and only come out of hiding at night so they can feed. Their favourite meal is human blood, and they leave small itchy welts on their victims, similar to mosquito bites but usually in a linear pattern.
There's no evidence that bedbugs transmit disease, but according to Health Canada, their bites can cause mild allergic reactions, leaving victims with itchy rashes.
Ken Dong, a senior environmental health official with the Alberta government, says once a home is infested, it takes a lot of work to eradicate bedbugs.
Vigilance is the key, he says.
If anyone in your home starts waking up with "curious bites," Dong says, "that's when you have to start looking and seeing what's going on."
Look in mattresses and under couch cushions, and if you find them take immediate measures. Health Canada's website offers several solutions.
But, Dong warned, don't stop there. Do followup checks to make sure they haven't returned.
And in cases where they've invaded multi-family housing complexes, like co-operation is paramount.
Dong said it's particularly difficult to rid apartment blocks of bedbugs, because exterminators need to get into every room. The bigger the complex, the more difficult this can be.
"There needs to be a lot of co-ordination, and everyone needs to play their part," he said.
Words worth heeding. |
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