BEDBUGS - Identifying and Controlling Bedbugs - A useful new guide for
building owners, administrators and managers

MONTREAL, Oct. 13 /CNW Telbec/ - Bedbug infestations are on the rise in most large cities and the Montréal area is no exception. To help control infestations, the Ville de Montréal and Direction de santé publique (DSP) de l'Agence de la santé et des services sociaux de Montréal today jointly launched a free guide entitled, "BEDBUGS - Identifying and Controlling Bedbugs".

This new guide, which focuses on prevention and action, was developed especially for building owners, administrators and managers. It explains how to detect the presence of bedbugs, how to prevent infestations in apartments or other buildings, and how to exterminate them efficiently and permanently. Note that building owners, administrators and managers are responsible for hiring an exterminator as soon as they are informed of the presence of bedbugs in an apartment.

"The Ville de Montréal, in association with the DSP and Office municipal d'habitation de Montréal (OMHM) introduced a number of measures to eradicate these insect pests. In addition to this guide, these measures included the 2009 brochure entitled "Don't let the bedbugs bite", which was aimed at tenants and several interventions as part of the Plan d'action sur la salubrité des logements. Moreover, the DSP organized training sessions for borough inspectors and other stakeholders especially from the OMHM, to help them identify the presence of bedbugs in apartments or other types of buildings and carry out the proper follow-up with owners," said Michael Applebaum, Vice-Chairman of the Montréal Executive Committee responsible for housing.

Bedbugs are brownish insects that are visible to the naked eye and usually found on armchairs and along the seams of mattresses. These insect pests feed on human blood at night. Their repeated bites cause itching, sleep disturbances, anxiety and can greatly reduce the quality of life of the victims of an infestation.

"The DSP is concerned about the increasing number of bedbug infestations on the Island of Montréal, because of their impact on public health, and also because individuals may be tempted to get rid of them by using all kinds of methods that could be harmful to their health. The guide that is being introduced today explains how to exterminate bedbugs safely," said Dr. Louis Drouin, who is in charge of the urban environment and health sector at the DSP.

The brochure "BEDBUGS - Identifying and Controlling Bedbugs": http://ville.montreal.qc.ca/portal/page?_pageid=5097,16283561&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL is available free of charge, in French and English, at borough and Accès Montréal offices, Centres de santé et de services sociaux (CSSS), as well as on the web sites of the Ville de Montréal habitermontreal.qc.ca and the Direction de santé publique (DSP) santepub-mtl.qc.ca. The brochure "Don't let the bedbugs bite" also is available on the Ville de Montréal and DSP web sites.

For further information: Relations avec les médias: Ville de Montréal, François Goneau, 514 868-5859; Direction de santé publique, Agence de la santéet des services sociaux de Montréal, Marie Pinard, 514 528-2400, ext. 3471; Sources: Ville de Montréal, Direction de santé publique, Agence de la santé et des services sociaux de Montréal