Daily Archives: January 31, 2021

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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ctvnews.caproducers@bellmedia.ca

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