Category Archives: Bed Bugs Vancouver

The Vancouver library's bedbug problem is virtually under control, but has not been eliminated. Used to be the worst thing you could encounter in a public library was a book with a musty smell.

These days, though, there's a chance an outhouse smell may greet you when you pull a book down from the stacks, or maybe something crawling out from between the pages when you crack it open.

Should you be bringing rubber gloves on your next visit?

Perhaps, if you live in Leamington, Ont., where someone's been soaking library books in urine. Or in Vancouver, where bed bugs have made a reappearance at some library branches a year after a concerted effort to eradicate the pests.

CBC News reports staff at the Essex County Branch in Leamington have discovered 300 books ruined by urine, causing more than $3,000 damage.

[ Related: 300 library books found covered in urine ]

It's happened more than four times in the last three weeks, library chief executive Janet Woodbridge said, adding the damaged books were in an area out of staff sight and not often visited by the public. The frequency of the incidents has escalated, she said.

The books have been taken out of circulation and trashed.

Woodbridge said staff are now patrolling the stacks regularly hoping to catch the phantom urinator, whose motive is a mystery.

"They don't appear to be making an editorial statement," she told CBC News.

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Libraries under attack from bed bugs, urine-wielding vandal

The Vancouver Public Library admits it has found dozens of bed bugs in branches across the city in the past year, despite tougher protocols.

The VPL put new procedures in place last year after the parasitic insects were found in libraries around the whole Lower Mainland, but 41 of the bugs have turned up this year in more than half of the citys 22 branches.

Staff are trained to look for the critters, said spokesman Stephen Barrington.

If staff suspect an item is carrying one of the insects, librarians put the item in a plastic bag, seal it and throw it out.

Supervisors are notified and equipment and furniture are cleaned and treated.

It's a very responsive approach, it's a very proactive approach. We know that it's working Barrington said. The incidents are indeed very low.

Barrington noted that VPL branches comprise about 500,000 square feet of floor space, with about 10 million items circulating each year and 6.5 million patron visits.

Library patron Gail Meredith's home became infested with bedbugs last spring. Meredith was forced to move out for 10 days and spent nearly $4,000 for an extermination.

She said shes not sure where the bugs came from, but the exterminator had a theory.

"The pest control people came to the conclusion that the only thing that was going on in my life that was likely to bring them in is my library books, Meredith told CBC News.

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Bedbugs battle still underway at Vancouver libraries

VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) - Thousands of people in Metro Vancouver are living without a roof over their heads. With World Homeless Day today, governments and organizations are putting the issue in the spot light and trying to change things for the better for those in need.

News1130 spoke with one Vancouver man who is homeless and hangs around the Fairview area. Craig collects empty bottles and cashes them in to buy meals. He makes enough to pay for a single room in the Downtown Eastside but chooses not to because he doesn't like the poor and nasty conditions.

"There are drug addicts, cockroaches, bed bugs, mice...if you don't mind being eaten alive by bed bugs, okay fine live there," says Craig.

He doesn't think social housing is any better and thinks the main problem with homelessness is the rising cost of housing.

"How it all started was that stupid Olympics. I was living in the West End and the hotel that we were in just before February, everybody got evicted," explains Craig.

"The hotels and things like that the government actually has taken over downtown, well, they're just as bad as any of the other ones, so there's really no difference in it...People can't afford Vancouver, everybody is in the same boat so it's like people are getting pushed to the suburbs, go to New West, go to Burnaby, places that are a little more affordable for rent."

He says politicians talk about how they're making improvements but from his experience he doesn't think that's really the case. "They say one thing but in reality they do different things," adds Craig.

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World Homeless Day today

Vancouver, BC (PRWEB) October 09, 2012

Terramera, a pioneer in developing effective and safe biopharma products for pest management, today announced it had signed almost 200 Pest Management Companies (PMPs) as Partners. PMP Partners were able to buy and use Terrameras groundbreaking pesticide CIRKIL before market launch. CIRKIL is the first EPA registered biopesticide proven to have effective control of bed bugs and the first pesticide known to kill bed bug eggs as a residual treatment.

Terramera started the CIRKIL Partner Program in June in cooperation with CIRKIL distributor Target Specialty Products. Since June Terramera has attracted over 200 PMP Partners. The Terramera Partner Program provides select PMPs with an early supply of CIRKIL and also supports users with product training.

CIRKIL demonstrates unparalleled efficacy against all stages of the bed bug life cycle including eggs. CIRKIL can be effective for up to three weeks as a residual treatment. CIRKIL is formulated to meet National Organics Program standards, and is the only pesticide that offers a minimal-toxicity solution to eliminating bed bugs without sacrificing efficacy.

We are thrilled with the response weve had from PMPs, said Karn Manhas, CEO of Terramera. The positive response from Partner PMPs has been overwhelming. Theyre part of a pest management market looking for solutions that work. PMPs using the product love it. Demand is increasing, and we expect it to increase with our nationwide release this fall.

CIRKIL products will be released nationwide in October 2012, at NPMA PestWorld in Boston (booth 2016). Distributors and PMPs interested in CIRKIL bed bug products can email sales(at)terramera(dot)com or call 1-800-597-9509.

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Terramera Signs Almost 200 Pest Management Companies as CIRKIL Partners

Pest Management Professionals Get Biopesticide That Works Against Bed Bugs & Eggs.Vancouver, BC (PRWEB) September 26, 2012 Terramera, a pioneer in developing effective and safe biopharma products for pest management, today announced it had signed its first distribution agreement with Target Specialty Products. Target Specialty Products will sell Terramera’s bed bug control product, CIRKIL, to ...

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Terramera Signs Target Specialty Products as First Distributor