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This article has information about your rights as a tenant in Ontario, if you find bed bugs in your home.

If you have a problem with bed bugs or other insects or pests, you should immediately inform your landlord, your superintendent or property manager, or someone else who is responsible for ensuring homes are pest-free. As a tenant, you are responsible for cooperating with your landlord's efforts to control bed bugs.

It is the landlord's responsibility to maintain the rental unit so that is fit for habitation and complies with health standards.

Landlords have the right to enter to inspect and maintain rental units. Tenants must be given notice in writing 24 hours ahead of time.

Treating an apartment for bed bugs is not considered an emergency, so your landlord should give you proper notice and adequate time to properly prepare your unit before application of pesticide.

Early detection and fast action is important to addressing an infestation. Only licensed pest control companies should be used.

If the job is not done properly, the bed bugs may come back or continue to spread.

If the pest control operator believes there is a need to also treat neighbouring units, your landlord may have the right to enter to inspect and treat your apartment as well as the affected apartment.

Proper preparation is key to successful treatment and prevention of bed bugs. Landlords should tell you what you need to do in order to make treatment effective. Be prepared. This can take a lot of work, including clearing out shelves, laundering all clothing and bedding, moving furniture away from walls and removing clutter.

It is every tenant's responsibility to make sure they properly prepare the apartment according to the landlord's instructions. If you are unable to do this or have questions, make sure you speak to your landlord about it right away. Family members, friends, neighbours or community members may be able to provide additional support with the preparations.

Landlords can apply to the Landlord and Tenant Board for an order to evict a tenant if a tenant seriously and unreasonably interferes with the landlord's efforts to deal with bed bugs.

Landlords are responsible for the costs for treatment.

If a landlord refuses to help when a tenant notifies them of a bed bug problem, tenants may obtain assistance or advice from a legal clinic or from the Landlord and Tenant Board.

Another option available to tenants whose landlord does not maintain their building properly is to file an application about maintenance with Ontario's Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB). If the Board finds that the building or unit is not maintained adequately, there are several remedies that can be ordered. These include an abatement of rent, an order requiring the landlord to conduct the necessary repairs, or a rent freeze until the problems are resolved.

If you are interested in filing an application with the LTB, you can contact the Board by telephone at 1-888-332-3234 (416-645-8080 in the Toronto area), or visit its website at http://www.ltb.gov.on.ca.

This resource is from the Government of Ontario.Published in 2011.

Last updated: January 7, 2016 4001526

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Tenant Rights: Bed Bugs - Settlement.Org

A full-blown bed bug infestation can develop anywhere if allowed to go unchecked; however, in a hospital or surgery center environment, due to frequent bedding changes, fewer places to hide and regular attention from staff, an advanced bed bug infestation is a low risk in most facilities. However, a hospital or surgery centers risk of bed bug introduction is relatively high. The more patients, guests and employees a facility has, the higher the risk of introduction. Therefore, PMPs treating these facilities should know the areas at highest risk for introduction, and they should educate employees and implement proactive inspections based on the level of risk.

In Rentokil Steritechs experience, the following areas pose the highest risk for bed bug introduction:

Waiting rooms and lobbies. Waiting rooms and lobbies are often designed to provide comfort to patients and their family members or friends. These areas are often furnished with soft or upholstered furniture. Because these areas see some of the highest turnover of people within a hospital environment, the possibility for bed bug introduction is also high, as anyone could potentially or unknowingly introduce bed bugs from their home or another location. The availability of soft or upholstered furniture makes a perfect hiding environment for bed bugs.

Emergency rooms and emergency room exam rooms. Like waiting rooms and lobbies, emergency rooms see a high turnover of patients and visitors to a hospital, making them a high-risk point of entry. Increasing that risk, especially in urban population centers, may be the likelihood that transient populations are more likely to visit an emergency room for a variety of reasons. These individuals may be more likely to introduce bed bugs to a facility than the population-at-large; therefore, hospitals should gauge their emergency room needs based on their typical patient makeup in this area.

Seating in ER environments can vary widely from hospital to hospital, and may be less likely to include upholstered furniture, allowing any introduced bed bugs to be spotted sooner due to there being fewer places for the bed bugs to hide.

Patient rooms and maternity suites. Patient rooms, especially those that make comfort accommodations for visiting family and guests, are one of the most likely areas of bed bug introduction in a hospital. Patients may unknowingly transport bed bugs from their home or resident environment. While many patients are put into hospital gowns, any personal items that they bring or store in their room could be a vehicle for introduction. Often, these items are tucked into closets or drawers or placed on chairs next to the bed, left for hours or days unchecked, providing opportunities for bed bugs to crawl out.

Visiting guests also may introduce bed bugs to a facility. In patient rooms or maternity suites that provide upholstered furniture for the comfort of visitors who may stay overnight, bed bugs may have more of a chance to become established before they are noticed, as they can hide in the soft furniture without being noticed for longer periods of time.

Specific at-risk points in patient rooms and maternity suites include patient beds, sleeping chairs/fold-out sleepers, any closet areas where personal items are stored and any floor/wall covering that may be present.

Doctor/Nurse/Employee sleeping quarters. Due to the round-the-clock care hospitals provide, sleeping quarters for doctors, nurses and other staff members are often available. The range of bed types can vary widely from facility to facility, including couches, hospital beds, cots and even full beds. Some bed types may be more conducive to allowing bed bugs to hide.

In general, the more upholstered and intricate a bed is, the more likely it is to provide a hiding place for bed bugs. Unfortunately, employee sleeping quarters are often not considered or go uninspected, so the chances of a bed bug problem becoming established may be increased here.

Employee locker rooms or personal storage areas. Areas where hospital employees store personal items can be a hotspot for bed bug introduction, as bed bugs can be brought into a facility on a wide variety of personal items, from clothing to shoes, coats and winter apparel such as scarves and gloves. Items that remain in lockers undisturbed for longer periods of time offer bed bugs more opportunity to crawl out.

While the chances of a bed bug infestation becoming established in these areas are low, due to the lack of sleeping humans to feed upon, they should be included in all proactive inspections.

Patient intake areas. Areas where patients are held between arriving at the hospital and being admitted may be at an increased risk for bed bug introduction. In these rooms, potential patients are still wearing their own clothes and may have several personal items. They often are accompanied by family members or friends who also pose a risk for introducing bed bugs. Any hitchhiking bed bugs have an opportunity to crawl off a person, their clothing or their personal items in these areas.

Additionally, since these rooms have a high rate of patient turnover, they may be at higher risk for introduction because they see a higher volume of patients than standard patient rooms. As such, PMPs should develop a more frequent inspection plan for patient intake areas, which could help reduce the likelihood of introduced bed bugs making their way into the larger facility.

h368k742 | AdobeStock

TREATMENTS/INSPECTIONS. Proactive measures, including routine visual inspections, and/or a canine inspection, and treatment measures, including conventional treatment with pesticides and/or heat treatment in conjunction with low-impact residual pesticide applications, are key to managing infestations.

Proactive measures. Based on risk level, a facility and its pest management team should develop a plan for proactive inspection. Proactive inspections identify potential introductions on a regular basis.

Proactive inspections in hospitals typically include areas of risk in every inspection, and patient rooms on a rotation based on size. For example, a hospital with 200 patient rooms may inspect 50 patient rooms per quarter, so that every patient room receives an inspection at least annually.

Proactive inspections can be conducted in two primary methods: traditional inspection, conducted by pest control experts performing a manual inspection, or a more rapid method of inspection that employs the use of a specially trained canine team that can detect bed bugs. Manual inspection can be time consuming and require additional labor, so budget-conscious facilities may wish to investigate canine inspection. However, the use of canines in a health-care facility may be off-putting for some health-care professionals and requires coordination with the availability of rooms.

Treatment measures. For the treatment of bed bug issues, PMPs often perform a conventional treatment with pesticides and/or a heat treatment used in conjunction with minimal application of residual pesticides.

Conventional treatment will involve a pest control professional removing infestations with a vacuum, and then the application of pesticide products to all areas of suspected activity and/or potential bed bug activity. While typically very effective, there are some potential objections to the use of this method. As with any manually conducted pest control service, there is a margin for human error. Of greater concern, however, particularly in a hospital, may be the use of powerful pesticides within a sensitive environment. Hospitals pursuing bed bug service should understand what products their provider will use to address potential bed bug issues. Due to the application of pesticides, rooms receiving this type of treatment typically need to remain out of service for a period of several days to allow the products to work; this is often not a luxury that many hospitals have. Finally, conventional treatment, while effective, may not be able to fully eliminate infestations in furnishings, meaning that some furnishings may need to be discarded.

Overall, heat treatments have been proven to be the preferred option. Containerized heat treatments have proven to be extremely effective in treating localized bed bug issues. In this method, all furniture and other decorative objects (subject to sensitivity) are placed into a container/tent/chamber and heated to a temperature proven to kill all bed bug life stages. PMPs couple containerized heat treatments with minimal applications of low-impact residual pesticides to ensure that isolated pests do not survive. Heat treatment is typically much faster than conventional treatment and in many cases, a room can be returned to service in under 24 hours.

SUSPECTED INTRODUCTION. A more common course of action in hospitals and surgical centers is to call a PMP when a bed bug introduction or infestation is suspected. When incorporated as part of a bed bug protocol, this method can be effective for quickly addressing newly introduced problems. However, problems often arise when a facility has no plan of action and staff members in the facility dont know what to do. A written plan of action for what to do when a bed bug introduction or infestation is suspected should be developed in coordination with the facilitys pest control partner so that all parties have an understanding of what is to happen when a call for service is placed.

Quarantine procedures. In cases of suspected bed bug introduction, the first line of thinking is often to remove items from the area. However, this can lead to the inadvertent spread of a bed bug problem deeper into a facility.

Instead, Rentokil Steritech recommends quarantining an area where a suspected bed bug issue has been identified until a pest control expert can be notified and come out to conduct an identification and inspection. Any patients in a quarantined area can be moved, but health-care facilities should take caution that only the patient is moved, and if possible, a physical inspection of the patient is conducted to ensure there are no bed bugs on their person.

If quarantining an area is not possible, any furniture or items removed from the area should be moved to an area specifically designated for the quarantine of potentially bed bug-infested items. Appropriate inspection methods should be conducted along the path of movement of these items on the way to quarantine.

The author is a Board Certified Entomologist and Bed Bug Line of Business Manager, Rentokil North America.

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Can Bed Bugs Stand the Heat? - PCT - PCT Magazine

The Ontario-based corporate owners of a Chilliwack seniors home are in damage control and are in town investigating after an expos uncovered a 94-year-old blind woman was left in a bed-bug infested room for days on end.

Rita Bedford was the focus of a CBC Go Public story from Nov. 3 that stemmed from distraught employees of The Cascades filming the bed bugs on the elderly womans mattress.

The bed bug incident dates back to December 2018, but the story spurred other employees, residents and relatives of residents to express concern about care at the home, and the companys response.

Representatives for Sienna Living came to The Cascades on Nov. 5 to hold a meeting with residents and family members.

Esther Esaus mother lives at The Cascades and she addressed the company owners with strong words about the billion-dollar company that runs dozens of senior living homes across Canada.

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Given that many of the residents suffer from serious health conditions, and many have dementia, Esau expressed concern that complaints about care at the home had to be leaked to the media by anonymous employees.

The employees that work here are the eyes and ears and voices for the vulnerable tenants who may be blind, deaf or have dementia and so it is of most importance that employees have the right and freedom to make it their duty to report any complaint and not have the threat of losing their jobs if they do so, Esau said at the meeting.

In response to questions about changes, Sienna Living director of communications Natalie Gokchenian issued a statement to The Progress.

In response to the CBC Go Public piece, I can confirm that representatives from our team were at The Cascades [Nov. 5] to commence an investigation into the allegations that were new to us regarding transparency, accountability and openness within the team, Gokchenian said via email. We are deeply disturbed by these allegations and wanted to immediately investigate to ensure our core values were being reflected in our day-to-day operations.

A resident of The Cascades who spoke to The Progress, but did not want his name used, said he sometimes eats with the 94-year-old Bedford and has to help her because they are currently using plastic cutlery and paper plates.

Esau, too, pointed to the dining situation because of an apparent sewage pipe leak that has affected all dining at the facility for weeks.

The plastic cutlery and paper plates are being used temporarily because the kitchen is being repaired, Gokchenian explained. During this temporary interruption in the meal service, plastic and paper cutlery is being used for sanitary purposes and we anticipate full service to resume sometime late next week.

Esau said after she spoke at the meeting, she was told by Lisa Kelly, the regional vice-president for long-term care for Sienna Living, that she would be in town for a couple of days to give employees a chance to come forward with information about operations at the facility.

Hopefully Sienna will be able to resolve this issue and prevent any more neglect and abuse, Esau wrote in an email.

Asked about inspections at the facility, a spokesperson for Fraser Health explained that assisted living sites are not licensed by Fraser Health but are done so through the Ministry of Health via the assisted living registry. The Ministry is responsible for inspection.

Fraser Health funds The Cascades for healthcare services only, and bed bugs are not a health issue.

While a considerable nuisance, bed bugs are not considered a health concern and theres no evidence they spread disease to people, according to senior public affairs consultant Tasleem Juma. However, there is the possibility of secondary infection if bites are scratched.

We investigate all healthcare-related complaints and if they are substantiated, we work closely with the site to resolve the concern and ensure they are in compliance with the requirements of the contract we have with them.

Sienna Living said the company continues to work with Fraser Health and the Ministry of Health to ensure safety and quality standards are met.

The Cascades Lodge and Manor is well respected in the Chilliwack community and I am delighted to share that The Cascades has an Exemplary rating by Accreditation Canada and quality indicators are consistent with the provincial average in B.C., Gokchenian said. Our recent resident satisfaction survey had a 97 per cent response rate from residents at The Cascades who rated the care at the residence higher than in past years with an increase in resident satisfaction.

@PeeJayAitchpaul.henderson@theprogress.comLike us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

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Owners of BC care home in damage control after 94-year-old left with bed bugs for days - Abbotsford News

Bedbugs have invaded another federal government building in downtown Ottawa.

Employees at Fisheries and Oceans Canada were notified Wednesday that an insect, found on the 13th floor of 200 Kent Street, has been positively identified as a bedbug by pest management experts at Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC).

We are working with PSPC pest management experts who will be performing a canine inspection before determining the extent of the issue, employees were told in an email shared with this newspaper.

Depending on the advice of the pest management experts from PSPC, a full treatment of the affected area may be required. Elements of the treatment could include vacuuming, steaming and other measures. Whenever possible, treatments are done after hours to minimize the impact on employees.

Federal employees in the building were told that theyd be expected to report to work as usual while the extent of the problem was determined.

The notice reminded employees that early reporting remains the cornerstone of effective management of any pest, and encouraged them to contact the national service call centre immediately if they suspect bedbugs in their workplace.

The glass and steel building at 200 Kent Street is also home to offices of the Canadian Coast Guard and the Tax Court of Canada.

It is the sixth federal office building in the capital to report an issue with bedbugs in recent weeks. The Public Service Alliance of Canada has called on the government to use sniffer dogs to check all federal office buildings and introduce training for workers so that they can identify the bloodsucking insects.

This is a serious health and safety issue affecting workers and the government needs to take proactive measures to eradicate bedbugs in all federal buildings, Eddy Bourque, national president of the Canada Employment and Immigration Union, said last week.

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Bedbugs discovered in another government office building in Ottawa - CANOE

CLOSEUP OF A LIVE BEDBUG, HELD BY LORNE CHADWICK.Julie Oliver / Ottawa Citizen

Bedbugs have invaded another federal government building in downtown Ottawa.

Employees at Fisheries and Oceans Canada were notified Wednesday that an insect, found on the 13th floor of 200 Kent Street, has been positively identified as a bedbug by pest management experts at Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC).

We are working with PSPC pest management experts who will be performing a canine inspection before determining the extent of the issue, employees were told in an email shared with this newspaper.

Depending on the advice of the pest management experts from PSPC, a full treatment of the affected area may be required. Elements of the treatment could include vacuuming, steaming and other measures. Whenever possible, treatments are done after hours to minimize the impact on employees.

Federal employees in the building were told that theyd be expected to report to work as usual while the extent of the problem was determined.

The notice reminded employees that early reporting remains the cornerstone of effective management of any pest, and encouraged them to contact the national service call centre immediately if they suspect bedbugs in their workplace.

The glass and steel building at 200 Kent Street is also home to offices of the Canadian Coast Guard and the Tax Court of Canada.

It is the sixth federal office building in the capital to report an issue with bedbugs in recent weeks. The Public Service Alliance of Canada has called on the government to use sniffer dogs to check all federal office buildings and introduce training for workers so that they can identify the bloodsucking insects.

This is a serious health and safety issue affecting workers and the government needs to take proactive measures to eradicate bedbugs in all federal buildings, Eddy Bourque, national president of the Canada Employment and Immigration Union, said last week.

ALSO IN THE NEWS

What Ottawas 2020 draft budget means for your wallet

Coun. Diane Deans tweets good news on cancer treatments

Police budget to invest in community policing and officer wellness

Read more:
Bedbugs have invaded another federal government building in downtown Ottawa - The Province