Bed bugs

Bedbugs (Cimex lectularius) are visible to the naked eye. Brown and flat, measuring 4mm to 7mm (0.2 to 0.3in) long, bedbugs are attracted to the vibrations, warmth, odours and CO₂ that we give off as we breathe.

This insect got the name “bedbug” because it feeds on human blood in the middle of the night while we sleep, most often hiding in mattresses or elsewhere in the bedroom. Bites are often clustered in the areas of the body that are most exposed during sleep, such as the arms and legs.

After feeding for about 15 minutes, a bedbug will retreat into hiding for about a week. Bedbugs are extremely resilient and can survive in a dormant state for months on end without food.

Females lay two to four eggs per day, depositing them inside objects, cracks in furniture and floors, crevices along baseboards, etc. As an infestation intensifies, the colony grows beyond the bedroom to other rooms in the house and, potentially, to neighbouring houses. Bedbugs travel inside wall and floor cavities, inside ducts and along pipes and electrical wires.

Bedbugs leave stains on bedding and mattresses. (Brown stains are from blood after bites; black stains are the insects’ fecal matter.)

Like many other invaders, this species spreads because of widespread international travel and exchanges of goods. Bedbugs can be found in suitcases, fabric, furniture, cargo vehicles, etc.

According to Health Canada, bedbugs are not a known carrier of blood-borne diseases, so there is nothing to fear in this regard. However, the bites are unpleasant and can become infected.

• Keep your house in order. Any clutter can serve as a refuge for bedbugs.

• Inspect and clean any used furniture, clothing or books before bringing them into your house.

• Place mattresses and box springs in plastic covers with zip closures. For even more protection, seal the zipper with duct tape.

• When travelling, inspect your room, including the headboard and furniture next to the bed. Leave your personal effects in your luggage, which should be placed in plastic bags on a shelf at some distance from the floor.

• When returning from travel, examine luggage carefully and clean it. Wash clothes in hot water and dry them at high temperature.

Do not try to fight a bedbug infestation yourself. Call a specialist, who should:

• Treat mattresses with hot steam.

• Apply a low-toxicity contact insecticide (pyrethrin or diatomaceous earth) along baseboards and in cracks in floors, etc.

• Lay glue traps in cavities in the building or furniture.

• Use heat or cold shock treatments (e.g., dry ice), because bedbugs do not survive extreme temperatures.

• Use CO₂ traps.

Contact insecticides won’t kill the eggs; the pest control specialist must return at least twice in the following weeks to eliminate newly hatched insects. If you live in a multiple-unit building, the specialist must inspect the other units and treat them as required.

For your part, it is vital to wash textiles in very hot water and to put clothing in the dryer at high temperature for 30 minutes. Carefully vacuum every room and every item of furniture in hour home, and throw the vacuum bags into outdoor garbage bins.

Bedbug infestations are mandatory in Montreal, Laval and Longueuil. The exterminator is responsible for completing the declaration form.

If you live elsewhere in Quebec, check on requirements with your municipality. If you rent your dwelling and you discover bedbugs, tell the building owner immediately. He or she must call in a pest control specialist certified by the Quebec Ministry of Sustainable Development, Environment and the Fight Against Climate Change. If your building owner fails to take action, contact your municipality’s building inspection department.

CITY OF MONTREAL 

Bed Bugs