Bedbug problem? Blame the winter weather

A national pest control company says it has seen an unusual spike in bedbug cases this year in Nova Scotia and the rest of the Maritimes, an increase they believe was partly due to bad winter weather.

When people stay home more than usual, the constant availability of blood meals speeds up the bugs reproduction, said Jim Newhook, Atlantic branch manager at Abell Pest Control.

It definitely contributed somewhat. They have to feed five times before they can breed.

However, a raft of other changes also play a role in bedbugs steady move into Atlantic Canada, said Newhook, who teaches a seminar on bedbugs in the tourism management program at Nova Scotia Community College.

This year, there were also more calls than usual from rural Nova Scotia, said Mike Heimbach, director of business development at Abell, which he said is the second-biggest pest control company in Canada.

Bedbugs took a little longer to reach the East Coast than the rest of the country, but now they are making their way from hotels and urban dwellings through the region, said Heimbach.

What we are seeing is bedbugs are spreading further and further away from major cities, he said.

They started where youd have them in Halifax theyre spreading out to more rural areas where people are travelling.

Overall, Abell has seen about 25 per cent more calls about bedbugs in the past year compared with the one previous, said Heimbach.

Throughout the rest of Canada, the average year-over-year increase in calls was 20 per cent, he said.

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Bedbug problem? Blame the winter weather