Bedbugs creep into MTS building
Bedbugs have found their way into an MTS office building on Osborne Street in Winnipeg.
Three of the creepy bugs were found on the main floor of the building on Tuesday.
One was crawling on a computer monitor, one was in a couch in the staff lounge and one had been squashed into the carpet, said company spokeswoman Selena Hinds.
Some employees were uncomfortable about the discovery and went home early.
"We were completely supportive of that, but the building has been treated and is completely safe," Hinds said.
"We are working with internal and external experts to develop and implement a long-term monitoring and prevention plan. We're taking [it] very seriously."
City of Winnipeg and Manitoba government data show a nearly 20 per cent increase in reports of bedbugs in the city from 2009 to 2010.
Apartment blocks, rooming houses and homes in the city's core, along Langside and Furby streets saw the highest reports of the bugs in 2010.
But the complaints also come from government buildings, a daycare, retail outlets, a movie theatre, a hospital, a library, banks, university residences, and even a Winnipeg media outlet.
Those reports — which have increased from 505 in 2009 to 639 in 2010 — do not mean the bugs were actually found.
City Hall made the list but none of the critters have ever been located.
"Globally there is more opportunity for transfer and you do unfortunately start finding those bedbugs in the workspace or in the public space," said Dave Funk, who heads up the provincial bedbug strategy.
The strategy, launched in 2010, provides organizations with access to specialized materials — such as mattress and box-spring encasements, specialized laundry bags and insect monitors — to help combat bedbugs at low cost.
