Mayor Mike BradleyAnother Canadian city made the bed bug headlines. Sarnia Mayor, Mike Bradley has concern about the recent increase of bed bug infestations in his constituency:
“It’s certainly starting to impact on the City of Sarnia and we need to do more.”
He is not alone. Andrew Taylor, General Manager of Environmental Health and Prevention Services for Lambton (Sarnia is situated in Lambton county), shares his concern:
“We don’t believe we receive all the [bed bug] calls because of the stigma attached, and the wealth of information available on the Internet. People feel they can address it themselves.”
There is a one clue as to why the bed bugs are advancing – the first time round, home owners, landlords, hospitality managers, try to kill the bed bugs themselves. After all, they are just insects, right? Insects that are masters of hide and seek.
Mayor Bradley’s concern centres on $44,000 of provincial funding, earmarked ‘bed bugs’, is directed to bed bug education alone by Lambton’s county public health department. Counsellor Anne Marie Gillis would like funding to assist lower income citizens with pest control efforts.
Both have valid concerns. Education is a necessary step, but without adequate funding to eradicate infestations, the battle will be widespread, fought on many fronts and will not end quickly.
Bed Bug Mutts, supports: “Spread The Word, Not The Bed Bug” as the first step; followed by early bed bug detection. And a bed bug dog is essential for that early bed bug detection. A dog's nose is by far faster than a pest control technician's visual search. The dog saves time, which saves money, and lessens the environmental impact because less pesticides are used. It just makes scents.
