She wants the health department to investigate whether they’re a health hazard:

Toronto Councillor Paula Fletcher (Ward 30, Toronto-Danforth) has received so many calls from constituents she’s asked the health department to declare them a health hazard. Last month, Fletcher met with Toronto’s Medical Officer of Health. It was decided the Board of Health would issue a report in February on what should be done about bedbugs in the city and whether they should be declared a health hazard.

Here’s a hint, Toronto: stress, anxiety, loss of sleep, are all health issues. You need look no further. Something more sinister is clearly a possibility, but these other concerns are not to be taken lightly.

Next, Fletcher wants people to talk about how to get rid of bed bugs, and prevent their spread:

In the meantime, says Fletcher, “We will have a bedbug summit with all the people who are interested in and involved in this issue.” Fletcher is advocating the city address the problem with education, not enforcement.

“Some people said they were living beside a house and the bugs were travelling from the house or apartment next door,” she said. “I’d like to see a focus on what needs to change in terms of behaviours; what do you need to do to stop bringing them in and what do you need to do to get rid of the bedbugs.”

This is all familiar ground for us.

Fletcher seems a bit distracted by the idea that bed bugs primarily affect a certain region of Toronto:

The bedbug problem seems to be concentrated in areas south of Bloor Street, says Fletcher.

“They might be north of Bloor, but the infestations and pockets are definitely south of Bloor. Right now tracking them is not a requirement but that’s one thing we’re looking at is how are we going to track and where are we finding them?”

While they may be more common in certain neighborhoods (and certainly spread more easily to those next door than to those across town), they will spread anywhere, and are certainly moving in all directions. And not just from neighbor to neighbor, but to workplaces, co-workers, people who frequent the same gyms, doctors, schools, and shops. Public transportation is likely to be affected. (David Cain tells stories of encountering this situation in London.)
Fletcher mentions the concern of people bringing in used furniture, and getting them to not do so is a public education issue. But her ideas about eradication methods are quite progressive:

“Sometimes people are bringing bedbugs into a whole building inadvertently and they are travelling unit-to-unit. I’d like to see a model where there are teams of people who go into a building to assist and not simply spraying, but cleaning, washing, getting rid of them and then when the spraying happens, you have a better chance to eradicate them.”

The article also quotes PCO and bed bug dog handler Michael Goldman of Purity Pest Control, who claims that “most hotels” have bed bugs, at least in one room. This is a far cry from the claims made by other companies.

The article also concerns itself with the need for notification of other tenants when bed bugs are found in a building.

Unlike schools that send home letters when lice are found in a school, superintendents rarely post a notice saying bedbugs were a problem in a unit, says Fletcher.

Finally, there’s a nod to Vancouver, which has some of the more progressive bed bug-fighting protocols in place (though we rarely get details of them).

Vancouver has launched one of the best pilot projects in its downtown east side as the city prepares for the 2010 Winter Olympics. “They’re vigorously trying to figure out what to do with bedbugs and they have a program set up but it’s very labour-intensive.”

The Vancouver pilot included tenant and landlord education, public education workshops, pest control and development of a health and safety protocol.

I hope politicians in New York City and other US cities with bed bugs (from Boston to Cincinnati) will take note, and that they’ll trade notes with their counterparts in other cities, from San Francisco to Toronto and Vancouver.

The number one complaint I’ve heard now from professionals (entomologists and PCOs) in several cities is that their local politicians will not listen to those with bed bug experience. This is a grave mistake.

Though it is not explicitly mentioned here, it’s clear Paula Fletcher is listening.

However, there was one small problem. This:

“The chemical approach isn’t necessarily the only way or best way to go. It’s one piece of a bigger puzzle,” says Fletcher, who would like the city to help people control bedbugs. “What people have to learn is that to control bedbugs they must become good at cleaning their bedding. People have to be taught how to do that.”

People do not get bed bugs, nor do bed bugs persist, because people do not know how to clean their bedding.

Reminds me of  when the chief medical health officer in Vancouver, John Blatherwick, implied bed bugs were spreading in Vancouver due to hanky panky in downtown eastside hotels.  Doing or not doing “naughty things” had no bearing on the spread of bed bugs.  What is it with politicians and their weird ideas?

Read the rest of the article here.

• bed bug news for 2007-11-16
• Reg Ayre of Toronto Public Health: bed bugs a “health concern,” not a “health hazard”
• Toronto Board of Health gearing up to fight bed bugs
• Vancouver official blames hanky-panky for bed bugs in nice areas

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Des Moines — “So what do bedbug bites look like?” OffTheBus asked Joe Biden’s Iowa political director, Danny O’Brien.

“They’re really big and round and itch like crazy,” said O’Brien, as we polished off a glass of red wine in downtown Des Moines late last night.

O’Brien and two other campaign staffers were stricken with bedbug bites while taking up residence in a cheap hotel outside Des Moines, in the northwestern suburb of Urbandale, during the final days before the Iowa caucuses.

“Actually, it’s more of a weekly or monthly sort of place rather than a real hotel,” explained O’Brien.

O’Brien and the other two other staffers, both women, bought some medication and are more comfortable. They also purchased their own sheets, pillows, and blankets.

It’s clear that O’Brien and co. do not understand how bed bugs work. They strike any hotel, any home, no matter how glamorous or humble.

And bringing your own sheets, pillows, and blankets has zero effect on keeping bed bugs at bay. It’s a great way to bring bed bugs away from the hotel with you, though.

They should have been getting their clothing, luggage and other possessions carefully searched, washed and dried on hot, and made sure the bed bugs were not moving with them to the bus. I know they aren’t taking time for that.

I realize the campaign is more important than anything, but statements like the following imply that bed bug bites in a hotel are only a temporary nuisance:

Bedbug bites, overflowing toilets, relying too heavily on volunteers, and worrying about every dollar could all add up to a promising candidate getting culled from the field on caucus night because he didn’t start raising money early enough in this highly competitive race.

Bed bug bites can be just a temporary nuisance, like overflowing toilets, but if transported in one’s possessions or (God forbid) one’s vehicle, one or many people can end up taking them home and to the workplace.

We might see bed bugs taken a bit more seriously if they ended up in the Senate, House of Representatives, or Oval Office. But I still wouldn’t wish it on anyone, not even my political enemies.

• bed bugs on the campaign trail
• I can’t find a bed bug, but think I am being bitten. What do I do?
• Tales of bed bug woe: Allergicgirl’s questions
• NJ halfway house infested

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