Windsor ranked 9th by annual Orkin bed bug map

Windsor ranked in the top 10 of worst cities for bed bugs in 2018, according to Orkin Canada.

The pest control company marked the 2018 list of worst cities for bed bugs, with Toronto at first place and Winnipeg at a close second.

Windsor placed ninth.

A few weeks into January, the map was released on the Orkin website. It adds a friendly reminder to residents to keep sheets clean and check under their beds.

Victoria Peczulis, the Windsor Essex County Health Unit environmental health coordinator, works closely with residents in Windsor to help get rid of bed bugs.

“They generally feed at night,” said Peczulis. “They aren’t limited to just bedrooms. They can basically live anywhere.”

Peczulis suggests checking under nightstands and bed frames, as well as others living areas. This is especially true when travelling and purchasing used furniture.

That’s exactly what Hani Yassine does now. The 28-year-old Windsor photographer had a bad experience with bed bugs when he was 15 and said he will never underestimate them again.

“In the summer of 2006 (my family and I) started seeing marks on our arms,” said Yassine.

“Mentally it was very depressing, just because it made us feel like we were prisoners in our own home and we were just sitting there knowing it’s infested.”

Yassine said it came around during a tough time in his life, only adding more problems to his life. He got rid of the bugs by moving out of the home. However, this wasn’t his only encounter with them.

He got a new mattress that was infected with bed bugs and ended up throwing the mattress away. He said he didn’t mess around anymore when it came to bed bugs.

His advice to anyone dealing with bed bugs is to try to find the nest and completely eliminate it, as well as find a solution for it immediately.

“The longer you wait, the longer you ignore them. The harder it will be to get rid of later on,” said Yassine.

Possible signs include tiny bites on the arm with itching and redness, that could lead to skin infections.

To prevent possibly infestations, according to the WECHU website, be sure to clean up clutter in your home and be cautious when bringing in new items that have been used.

You can find out more by going to https://www.wechu.org/healthy-homes/bed-bugs.