Category Archives: Canada Bed Bugs

TORONTO - Canada's largest veterans centre had police escort the daughter of an aged vet from the facility and warned her never to return on pain of arrest after she complained about bed bugs and a patient-safety issue.

Jackie Storrison said Sunday she was devastated and humiliated to be marched out of Sunnybrook Veterans Centre by security and issued a formal do-not trespass notice.

"I was paraded through Warrior's Hall like a common criminal in front of a large crowd to my great embarrassment," Storrison said.

"I believe this to be a deliberate, calculated act of retribution against me for attempting to advocate for my father."

Storrison, 61, is among more than a dozen relatives with loved ones in the veterans centre who have spoken publicly about concerns of neglect and substandard care of the most frail residents at the 500-bed centre.

Those concerns prompted Minister of Veterans Affairs Steven Blaney to order an inspection and audit of the facility. Results are pending.

Storrison said she was forced to leave Thursday evening after she notified a group of nurses that she had spotted an elderly resident pushing a food table down a hallway.

"It was obvious this resident was at risk of falling and potential serious injury," she said.

"No one moved."

A patient-care manager, accompanied by two security guards, later told Storrison the incident had occurred during a shift change and that she should hire a 24-hour attendant if she had any safety concerns for her dad.

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Police escort daughter from Sunnybrook vets centre after bed-bug complaint

VANCOUVER - Herb Varley measures the transformation of Vancouver's Downtown Eastside by the trendy cafes, upscale grocery stores and high-priced salons that are quickly creeping from the city's maze of glass condo buildings toward the notorious intersection of Main and Hastings.

Fifty dollars for a haircut. Ten for sandwich. Three bucks for a doughnut.

An afternoon of that, and Varley, a 28-year-old who's currently living in social housing, would have spent away more than a quarter of the portion of his social assistance money that's set aside for food and other living expenses.

"There's a spa, there's a Brazilian jiu-jitsu place, these boutique shops that don't cater to low-income people," says Varley.

Varley, who was born in Vancouver but whose family is from the Nisga'a First Nation in the province's north, moved to the Downtown Eastside three years ago after a decade of sleeping on relatives' floors and friends' couches. He spent some time at a single-room occupancy hotel, living in a cramped room in a run-down building infested with bed bugs and cockroaches, before finding a suite recently in a native social housing building.

Last year, Varley joined the Downtown Eastside Neighbourhood Council and waded into an emotional debate about the future of the area, which has revealed deep divisions between activists, residents and politicians over how to fix its problems and what kind of community it should be.

"We have a very large, low-income population down here, but developers are trying to upscale the neighbourhood," says Varley. "I don't know where we're supposed to go."

Varley, the neighbourhood council and other activists in the neighbourhood decry the recent push to build condos and attract new businesses to the Downtown Eastside as harmful gentrification, which they argue will increase the cost of living and displace the low-income people who have lived there for years.

Vancouver's city council, the provincial government and developers behind such projects say the Downtown Eastside is going through a rejuvenation that will help the neighbourhood thrive and will actually bring in more affordable and social housing.

The Downtown Eastside is a neighbourhood best known by outsiders through a series of cliches and grim news stories: Canada's poorest postal code, where its gritty streets and alleys are strewn with stories of poverty and addiction. The home of the safe-injection site. The hunting ground of Robert Pickton.

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Recent projects renew debate about gentrification in the Downtown Eastside

Oshawa library treated for bed bugs. OSHAWA -- There have been reports that bed bugs were discovered in the McLaughlin Branch of the Oshawa Public Library. November 21, 2012 Jason Liebregts / Metroland

Lots of libraries have been having this issue, we've been fortunate not to have this problem until recently. Margaret Wallace

Margaret Wallace, manager of customer and circulation services at the Oshawa Public Libraries, said a program was underway at the branch on Nov. 15 when a participant noticed a bed bug on their person at the McLaughlin Branch, 65 Bagot St.

"The staff have been trained to identify them, so the staff member immediately took the appropriate action, got everyone to check themselves," said Ms. Wallace.

All the participants were advised to throw their clothes in the dryer on high heat for 30 minutes when they got home.

"We closed the room down and we called our pest control company in to do a completed identification, which we did, and we treated the room and it's going to reopen tomorrow," she said on Nov. 21.

A sweep of the McLaughlin Branch the previous month had not identified bed bugs.

The Oshawa library has a bed bug protocol for dealing with the issue and in October a professional exterminator and a bed-bug sniffing dog inspected the city's four library branches.

"It was hard to get the dog, she's from Kitchener, and she's very busy," said Ms. Wallace.

There were no bed bugs found at the Jess Hann or the McLaughlin branches, but two chairs were identified at the Legends branch. The chairs were bagged and treated. The dog also sniffed at a wall area at the Northview branch and it was treated as a precaution.

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Oshawa library treated for bed bugs

Rihanna performing in Stockholm. Photo: Mary H.K. Choi

The following is a conversation between me and Maud during a 90-minute delay on a Stockholm tarmac waiting for Rihanna who we know ARRIVED at the nightclub at 5AM last night and proceeded to pour and do a grip of shots. We also cant get our wheels up because were waiting for a bunch of reporters who cant sit the F down because they were raised by wolves. Wolves that were CLEARLY tortured and abused at the hands of THEIR forebears because holy crap, this is ridiculous.

Mary H.K. Choi: Oh my god, Im so tired and this flight out of Stockholm is one majillion hours late. I wish they hadnt served all the mimosas at 9 in the morning.

Maud Deitch: My coffee high wore off about 20 minutes ago and then I started Googling whether or not there are bed bugs in our hotel in Paris. People need to sit down.

MHKC: I legit cant think about bed bugs right now. I havent been checking my mattress seams at all. Im just so relieved every time we see a bed. I have to say though, I love that theyve been putting us in the same seats in Home Plane because any change in the one routine Im hanging onto would end me. Stockolm was a trip, thought. So fun. Best show yet?

MD: Definitely best show yet. Ri seemed way into it and the small variations in the set list made a huge difference. That guy doing the modified Rollin With The Homies dance from the balcony really solidified the whole thing. Thanks for pointing him out. Also we need to talk about Stay because it made me feel a lot of feelings (which is a theme for me this trip I think).

A Rihanna fan's Air Yeezy 2s. Photo: Mary H.K. Choi

MHKC:YES! Stay was so good. And we were close enough to see Ri get a little misty-eyed over it. Adidas guy was The Best. The crowd in general was awesome. That kid in the Yeezys who camped out for a week to get em. AND, UM, how nuts is it that the really cute girls we took pictures of ended up being total Julianne (here from Spin, and she also writes our RuPaul Recaps) Twitter fans. The Internet is amazing. So, we need to discuss the venue.

Julianne Shepherd fans in Stockholm. Photo: Mary H.K. Choi

MD: Pause, All of the photographers are crowding around the bathrooms/breakfast tray in the back of the plane so we have to check and see if its RihannaNope just Nuno (the guitar player).

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Rihanna 777 Tour Diary: Toronto To Stockholm

ATLANTA, Nov. 13, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --Atlanta-based pest control leader Orkin reminds holiday travelers to look out for bed bugs because they can be a threat to you and your home, whether you are staying at a five-star hotel, visiting relatives or have friends and family visiting you. According to AAA, 43.6 million Americans are planning to take to the roads, skies and railways between Nov. 21 and Nov. 25. The Federal Aviation Administration lists the nation's 35 busiest airports, and 30 of those cities can be found on Orkin's top 50 bed bug cities list.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120315/CL71466 )

"Bed bugs are great hitchhikers, so you have to pay close attention when traveling," said Orkin Entomologist and Technical Services Director Ron Harrison, Ph.D. "Bed bugs can find their way into your luggage, whether it is in a hotel, on a plane, train or bus and eventually make their way back to your home. If you brought home just one bed bug, it could reproduce and get out of hand in just a few weeks."

One female bed bug can lay one to two eggs a day and up to 200 eggs in her lifetime. Routine inspections will lead to early identification, which is important to help lower the risk of a severe problem and the need for extensive pest control treatments. Typically, bed bugs come out at night to feed, but during the day, they are most likely found within a 5-foot radius of where people sleep.

Research from the University of Minnesota has also suggested bed bugs are attracted to dirty clothes, so keep them in a sealed bag or container.

"It appears that body odor is one cue for bed bugs that there could be a food source nearby," said Harrison. "It may be an evolutionary trait that leads them to your dirty laundry, which makes sense, so do everything you possibly can to ensure you do not attract bed bugs."

When traveling, Orkin suggests using the acronym S.L.E.E.P. to avoid taking bed bugs home with you.

"It is best to contact a licensed pest control professional if you think you have bed bugs," said Harrison. "You do not want to try and combat these pests yourself. Professionals can identify infestations using a variety of techniques like visual inspections, monitors, trained bed bug-sniffing dogs and DNA testing, in which common areas bed bugs are found can be swabbed and tested to confirm if bed bugs are present."

About Orkin, LLCFounded in 1901, Atlanta-based Orkin is an industry leader in essential pest control services and protection against termite damage, rodents and insects in the United States, Canada, Europe, South America, Central America, the Middle East, the Caribbean, Asia, the Mediterranean and Africa. With more than 400 locations,

Orkin's almost 8,000 employees serve approximately 1.7 million customers. The company serves homeowners and numerous industries, including food and beverage processing, foodservice, hospitality, healthcare, retail, warehousing, property/facilities management, schools and institutions. Orkin is proud to be recognized by the

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Bed Bugs - The Unwanted Holiday Travel Guest