Bed bugs becoming real pests in Winnipeg

Winnipeg is usually the butt of jokes about mosquitoes, but this year it is facing a different type of bloodsucking pest.

The city is dealing with a larger-than-usual problem of bed bugs.

"Our bed bug business has increased 30 percent this year. There's definitely a lot of problems out there and it doesn't seem to get any better," Clint Roseavear, of Monarch Pest Control, told CBC News.

Bedbugs have shown up in the most unusual and public places — from movie theatres to daycares. Earlier this week Roseavear was called to fumigate a major downtown bank.

"As long as there's a buffet of people, that's all they need," Roseavear said.

The province has noticed an increase in bed bugs over the past few years, but is not too alarmed about the situation. Companies that have bed bugs are not obligated to tell the city or the province, as the bugs do not cause a communicable disease.

Although bed bugs suck blood like other human parasites, there has been no evidence that they spread diseases. Their bite is nearly painless but leaves tiny bumps on human flesh.

Still, the thought of the little bugs is enough to make even grown men a little squeamish.

"It's kinda scary. I don't really want to go sit in a movie theatre now," said Tom Laewetz.

U.S. ranking

Earlier this week, a U.S.-based pest-control company listed the top infested cities in the United States with New York ranking No. 1 in bedbug infestations, followed by Philadelphia and Detroit.

Meanwhile, Toronto is planning a bed bug summit next month to brainstorm ideas on how to deal with the mounting problem.