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Bedbugs found on discarded mattress at apartment complex

Updated April 20 at 1:40 p.m. On April 19, a Balmoral apartment resident noticed someone had left a mattress outside the building's basement entrance in the New Sudbury area. Upon closer inspection of the mattress, he could see it moving.
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Bedbugs infest a mattress that was left in the entrance of a New Sudbury apartment complex. Photo by Jenny Jelen.

Updated April 20 at 1:40 p.m.

 

On April 19, a Balmoral apartment resident noticed someone had left a mattress outside the building's basement entrance in the New Sudbury area.

Upon closer inspection of the mattress, he could see it moving. The mattress and box spring were both covered with bedbugs, a nocturnal insect that feeds on blood.

“It's disgusting,” he said.

After calling the Sudbury Housing Authority, the mattress was moved from the entrance to a nearby garbage dumpster.

The infested piece of furniture was placed against a number of other discarded mattresses by Greater Sudbury Housing Corporation workers wearing gloves.

The resident, who asked his name to be withheld, said children from Ryan Heights, a near-by housing complex, often play on the mattresses, jumping on them and running around them. He was worried that the bugs could be transported to other housing complexes in the area.

Bedbugs infest a mattress that was left in the entrance of a New Sudbury apartment complex. Photo by Jenny Jelen.

Bedbugs infest a mattress that was left in the entrance of a New Sudbury apartment complex. Photo by Jenny Jelen.

By 2 p.m., the mattress and the box spring were removed from the dumpster area.

Before the mattress could make it outside though, it had to be dragged through the Balmoral complex, which holds about 250 apartments. There are carpets outside the elevator, and also throughout the hallways, the man said.

The resident was concerned that the bedbugs would be spread throughout the complex.

Mark Scarfone, acting general manager of Greater Sudbury Housing Corporation, said there is no reason residents should be concerned about the spread of bedbugs in the building.

“We had our professional exterminating contractor attend the building and perform a clean-up of the areas (the mattress was dragged though),” he said. “So they performed an inspection, vacuumed and steamed the hallway from where the mattress came from, the elevators and the basement stairwell that lead to the back of the building. That was all done yesterday.”

On April 20, Scarfone said Orkin/PCO Services came back to the complex for a final inspection.

“They've been working with us on our bedbug management program for some time now,” he said.

Orkin/PCO's marketing department said they were “unable to participate in (an) interview” with Northern Life.

Scarfone said the Balmoral building does have a pest control program, which has a section dedicated to bedbugs. Tenants who believe they might have unwanted critters in their unit are encouraged to call the corporation at 705-674-8323 and ask for the maintenance department.

Scarfone said if the tenants who dragged the mattress outside had contacted the Corporation before moving it, Greater Sudbury Housing workers would have taken “proper precautions” to remove it.

“We have done that, certainly in other situations, where we been alerted to a problem,” Scarfone said.

Burgess Hawkins, manager of the Sudbury District Health Unit's environmental health division, said when infested furniture is moved without being bagged, it is possible for bedbugs to fall from it.

“If they did (fall off the mattress), they could go to whatever area they happened to be in,” he said. “Bedbugs can go for extended periods without eating.”

Hawkins said studies show that they can live for up to 60 days without food. Once they've landed in an area, they could easily travel around it too.

“They normally get around by hitchhiking,” he said. “Unlike a flea, they can't jump and they don't fly. They can only walk. For the size of them, they move repetitively quickly, but they are only the size of an apple seed.”

Hawkins said when the Health Unit gets complaints about bedbugs in rental units, they go to the unit to look for obvious signs indicating bedbugs are present. Then they deal with the landlord, to try to solve the issue.

Hawkins said a professional pest controller is usually needed.

“For the most part, landlords want to get rid of them,” he said. In case a landlord doesn't take action, Hawkins said there is a bylaw in Greater Sudbury that states rental units must be kept clear of insect infestations.

Bylaw officers are able to order landlords into complying.

For more information about bedbugs, visit the Ministry of Health website www.bedbug.ca.

 

 


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