Are bed bugs really considered a health hazard? According to a Toronto municipal councillor, Howard Moscoe, they certainly should be. Moscoe wants the city to begin taking steps toward calling the growing problem of bed bugs a health hazard. The changes will be made under the provincial Health Act. According to pest control companies there has been a rise in bed bug infestations over the last year. According to the article on CBC News “one company told the Toronto board of health it was fumigating 450 residences a month.”
Bed bugs aren’t considered life threatening by any means, but the damages could be considered just as bad if not worse. The physical and psychological effects are reason enough to declare them a health hazard says Moscoe. Another advantage to having bed bugs considered a health hazard? Currently, under the Health Act you can’t force a neighboring resident to spray for bed bugs if he or she has them. But if they are considered a health hazard you will be able to. If you know anything about bed bugs you’ll know that they spread easily and multiply quickly so spraying the infected area as soon as possible is absolutely necessary.
Moscoe plans to address the issue to the health board at its next meeting. What do you think, should bed bugs be considered a health hazard? Share your comments and questions below.
I have recently encountered bedbug infestation in the home of my niece, she is disabled an confined to a wheel chair. It is very troubling to think that my niece, her baby, my sister (the mom) are living this nightmare.
I have found that apartment managers try to put the blame on tenants to shed themselves of the responsibility that they have to deal with this problem. What I have found and would like to share is the law. Which says the owner has a responsibility to make the unit habitable.
So find an attorney, I did and file a lawsuit, I am, to enforce you rights to live in your home free of bugs of any kind. Don’t be afraid to stand up You have rights, there are many law suits over this bug and people are winning. So don’t just let yourself be tortured fight back…..
Howard Moscoe I’m proud of you to take a stand for everyone. I’ve been trying to tell the local health unit that schools are likely portholes for bed bugs since backpacks (luggage) are brought in and out daily. My request to the health unit was to make it mandatory that all public schools separate their belonging down the hall, lockers would be ideal because as it is now, it’s easy transmission for any parasites.
Coats and backpacks are overlapping and to me and other parents this is totally unacceptable. It’s a guarantee that homes will become infested this way. I’ve spoken to the Simcoe County School Board a few months ago and they didn’t even have any policies to protect the school community from students transmitting these parasites.
I know of a family that have been battling bedbugs, supposedly they’ve fumigated 3x’s. So yes, the Health Act must be changed to protect us all. I’ve seen the kids and they look mentally ruined and I’m sure the parents are both mentally ruined and financially ruined. My child also sees the kids and he is not happy about hanging his belongings over top of everyone else’s knowing what’s out there. Again, I support you on this uphill battle. Your my hero!
Yes!!!!!!!!! It is becoming an increasingly hazard all over North America. Something needs to be done at a large scale. Otherwise, it will get worse!
You have to have your home sprayed immediately when you know that someone you know has been coming over to visit, even for a second, and they have bed bugs. All it takes is one pregnant bug or a little nymph and they multiply quickly. A female can lay about five eggs a day. Imagine there are at least 10 females in the house, that you didn’t know about, that is about fifty eggs a day. Over the course of a month that would give you 1500 in one month! Now you do the math!
From experience, I can tell you that if they are hiding in your baseboards, they are in your carpets, behind your wallpaper, in the door jams, behind outlet covers, old picture holes in the wall, cracks in cabinets, dresser drawers… and they are definitely going to get worse because people think that the pest guy comes over, does what he has to do. Comes back and treats and checks for a month or two and the job is done. Nobody has been bitten in a while, nobody has had any issues. And then all of a sudden, after the chemicals or powders have worn off, and trust me, they will, those bugs that found little hiding places away from the big bad pest guy, will come out and start all over again. The only thing we could do was to move. Sadly, you will have to notify your friends, family, coworkers, and if your landlord won’t tell the tenants in the apartment complex you live in, then you will have to do so. Don’t you think they should know?
I was ashamed, really. But then after doing some research, I couldn’t deny the fact that I now had a responsibility to help others and to let them know that they had to treat their homes and furniture and bedding before ‘their’ bugs got out of hand. And 100% guarantee that the people you have visited, as well as those you work with, have taken some bugs home with them.
Bedbugs are terrible to deal with…knowing that your children are getting bit by bedbugs while they sleep, and then watching them itch and scratch all day is awful. The itching and scratching CAN lead to infection…and, let’s not even talk about the mental anguish of not being able to sleep, and your children being afraid to sleep. Definitely a health hazard!