Bed Bug Infestation Testing Patience of Burlington Woman

She is wondering why it is taking so long to eradicate a more than eight-week case of bed bugs in her subsidized Halton Region housing unit.

The 59-year-old says she has had to throw out - and pay for it to be done - her entire bed unit and a sofabed, both less than a year old; she also decided to do away with a bunch of clothes as a result of an infestation that goes back to at least the third week of December of last year.

Da Costa said when the superintendent for her building turned over her bed mattress just before Christmas the area between the mattress and box spring was swimming in what turned out to be bed bugs.

She said she had never seen one of the little insects before and that she doesn't know how they got into her apartment.

Information provided by the Ontario health ministry on the Halton Region Public Health website states that bed bugs are insects with oval-shaped bodies and no wings. An adult bed bug is about the size of an apple seed.

They are parasitic insects of the cimicid family that feed exclusively on blood. They multiply quickly and travel easily.

They usually bite at night and will bite all over, especially around the face, neck, upper torso, arms and hands. Most bed bug bites are initially painless but could turn into large, itchy skin welts. Some people have no reaction at all. Most bed bug bites eventually go away by themselves and need no treatment.

There are currently no known cases of infectious disease transmitted to people by bed bug bites, says the health ministry.

"Although they are a nuisance, bed bugs are not considered a health hazard," concurred the Halton health department in an email to the

Burlington Post

.

Due to the prolonged infestation, Da Costa has had to endure four fumigations of her small, one-bedroom downtown apartment unit in the Wellington Terrace building on John Street.

Her unit had a fifth pest control treatment on Feb. 9 with a sixth set for Feb. 16.

Da Costa said even after the first several pest treatments she continued to find individual bed bugs; she said she found two live ones on the tile floor just inside her front door last week.

Earlier in her ordeal she's found them coming from under the floor baseboard molding.

When the pest control people set up glue traps in her unit she was finding them inside her tub.

"I could hear them in my ears trying to get out of the traps," she said.

Da Costa has kept several dead bed bugs in Ziploc bags as proof. Most of the rest she's flushed down the toilet.

During each fumigation carried out by pest control company Pro PCO she has had to be out of her unit for at least several hours. Upon returning to her unit she has had to avoid touching items that have been sprayed with bug poison.

In the meantime, when Da Costa is in her unit she sleeps in her tiny living room on what she describes as a not very comfortable inflatable mattress provided by the Halton Community Housing Corporation (HCHC).

"When am I going to have my real bed?" she asks in exasperation.

Things got so bad, said Da Costa, that in the time between losing her bed and getting the inflatable mattress she took the desperate measure of trying to sleep in her bathtub. She attempted it for a couple of nights but couldn't get any rest. She even tried sleeping on a chair.

Da Costa has a new double mattress that's still in its box and is awaiting a bedframe. HCHC has paid for the bed's headboard and is storing it until the bed is ready to be assembled.

Meanwhile, in her almost empty bedroom the carpeting has been removed and vinyl flooring installed.

Trying to sleep day after day on an an inflatable mattress is not helping Da Costa with her various health challenges, which include lupus, a chronic auto-immune disease that causes inflammation and swelling of joints and organs, a condition she has had for about 30 years.

She also has Crohn's and some arthritis.

Initially hesitant to speak out about her situation, she said she felt compelled to.

"This is not for me, I'm doing this for others as it is harming me."

Da Costa, who lives alone, has a 23-year-old daughter and a grandson in Hamilton but isn't visiting them under the current circumstances.

"You think I would dare to (possibly) bring that (pest) to her house?"

The

Post

asked Halton Region a series of questions about Da Costa's situation and bed bugs in general and received responses via several emails.

"This is an isolated confirmed case of bed bugs within this unit. HCHC staff has made extensive efforts to remediate the infestation for the tenant....," said Heather Anderson, manager of corporate communications with Halton Region.

However, under repeated questioning the region confirmed that one other unit in Wellington Terrace has reported bed bugs. Initially, no live bug activity was found in a fifth-floor unit in October 2107 but a bed, sofa and chair were treated as a preventive measure.

The fifth-floor unit was inspected again on Nov. 16 with one live bed bug found on a couch. The sofa, a chair and bed were sprayed. A second treatment was done Nov. 30 with no live bugs found there since then, said the region.

On Jan. 4, Da Costa's unit was checked again as well as the unit beside her and the one directly below with no bug activity detected in any of them, said the region.

"Adjacent, above and below units are normally inspected; if no activity is evident, then no treatment is completed," said Anderson.

"We are awaiting full treatment completion and then we will be looking to complete additional inspections to ensure pests have not migrated from (Da Costa's) treated unit," she said.

Anderson says they have been diligent in addressing Da Costa's concerns.

"The tenant has acknowledged that she did not recognize the bedbugs for some time. As is the industry standard in large infestations such as (in) this unit, it can take several months and multiple treatments to fully eradicate the issue," she said.

"HCHC has treated (her) unit on (four) occasions, offered temporary alternative living arrangements, provided assistance and financial support for the removal and purchase of affected furniture, financial support for laundry, and removed the carpet and replaced it with vinyl flooring. HCHC continues to provide support to the resident and has been responsive to her inquiries," said the HCHC.

The region says that the current cost to HCHC to support Da Costa in "remediation, replacement and to ensure safety, health and comfort" is more than $5,800.

In 2017, theHalton Community Housing Corporation says it spent about $89,000 on all aspects of pest control, treatment and remediation. The HCHC webpage says it owns and operates 32 communities within Halton providing geared-to-income and market rent housing to families and seniors in 1,989 townhouses, apartments, single and semi-detached dwellings.

Da Costa notes that she's lived in HCHC units for many years. In her previous 15 years in a townhouse unit on Walker's Line and for the first eight months of her time at Wellington Terrace she said she had no issues with pests and that both buildings' maintenance crews always have been helpful.

It's just the last eight-plus weeks that have been hell for her.

What's particularly hurtful, she says, is that she has been made to feel at times as though the infestation is her fault.

"I've thrown out so many clothes and I wash every day," she said.

The region stressed that bed bug infestations are not due to lack of cleanliness and aren't localized to Halton or to social housing.

"With people travelling now more than ever, bed bugs can be carried in unknowingly to any residence and can happen to anyone, anywhere," said the region, adding "... we have responded promptly to her inquiries, have made frequent visits to her unit....

The region claims its staff has treated Da Costa with "...the utmost respect and dignity throughout this time and during her tenure at the residence...."

Da Costa receives in-home care three days a week from several Personal Support Workers. One of the PSWs says her client has been put through too much.

"....Gisele has been going out of her way to have her home returned to normal..... all the extra rules and regulations that (housing officials) have been putting on her is causing too much stress for someone who has ongoing health concerns," Gabriella Karlos told the Post in an email.

"... throughout all of this Gisele has no bed, no couch and barely any furniture left... she is one of the cleanest, most organized people out there. It is such a shame to see something like this happen to someone so nice."

Karlos said she has helped Da Costa, both professionally and personally, for about a year.

"I have personally helped her as much as I can throughout this ordeal whether it be washing the laundry and sealing them as airtight as I can or clearing out as many cupboards as I can while I am here."

Speaking of clothes, Da Costa said prior to the latest fumigation of her unit on Feb. 2, all of her clothes were removed by housing officials to be cleaned at HCHC expense. She hopes to have them back this week.

Now it's a sixth fumigation she has to prepare for, and then hope the bugs will be gone for good.