Bed Bugs Bedevil Olympic Athletes
The problems at the Vancouver Olympics just keep coming. Not only do they have less snow than we have here in Northern New Jersey, now it seems bed bugs are nibbling on Olympic athletes. Canada has experienced the same resurgence in bed bug populations over the last five years as the U.S. Bed bug infestations have been reported in every major Canadian city, including Vancouver. This week, Canadian downhill skier Manny Osborne-Paradis reported being attacked by bed bugs while sleeping at the team’s Vancouver condo.
Canadian skiers are staying in private local condos scattered around Vancouver which apparently haven’t escaped invading bed bugs. Bed bugs are equal opportunity pests that are just as likely to inhabit upscale condos as low rent tenements. Canwest News Service reported seeing Manny scratching as he waited to start a training run earlier this week. Joking with reporters, the skier said he’d woken up with itchy red bed bug bites and complained that teammate Robbie Dixon seemed unscathed despite sleeping just five feet away. Manny’s solution was to wash his sheets and shrug it off; advice the bed bug experts here at Heritage Pest Control certainly don’t recommend.
Because only about 50% of people react to bed bug bites, Manny’s teammate may also be affected without knowing it. While washing your sheets if you find bed bugs in your bed is a good first step, you can wind up spreading the nasty critters if you don’t take proper precautions.
Next time: What to do if bed bugs bother you