What are bed bugs?
Bed bugs are wingless, red/brown, oval-shaped insects that feed off the blood of humans, but they will also bite other mammals and birds. They grow to about 7 mm in length and can live from 4 to 12 months.
A female bed bug lays between 200 to 400 eggs during her lifespan, depending on temperature and food supply. The eggs are oval-shaped, about the size of the head of a pin, and are found in clusters of 10 to 50 eggs. The eggs hatch in about 10 days.
Bed bugs feed at night, but during the day they hide in cracks and crevices of furniture such as nightstands and dressers, and in the seams and holes of mattresses.
Adult bed bugs are flat as paper until they have a blood meal. After feeding they become bloated and turn dark red.

Do bed bugs carry disease?
Bed bugs are a nuisance but there's no evidence that bed bugs carry disease that is harmful to humans. Bed bugs aren't like fleas and lice and don't hop from person-to-person.

How will I know if I have been bitten by a bed bug?
Many people have no symptoms of bed bug bites. Others will get a welt or skin swelling that's itchy. The welt is often mistaken for a mosquito or fleabite. Fleabites however are usually found on the ankles. Bed bugs will bite any skin that is exposed when sleeping, such as the chest, arms, legs, neck, face, and hands. Bed bug infestations may go unnoticed for a long period of time and can become quite large before they're found.

What is the treatment for bed bug bites?
Your healthcare provider may prescribe creams or lotions to help with itching and to prevent infection.

How do you know if you have bed bugs?
Bed bugs leave their waste (poop) behind. The dried waste looks like small dark stains near mattress seams. You may also see bed bugs and their eggs in this area. The best way to know is to have a professional pest control service inspect your home. Go to the Health Canada website for more information and to see what a bed bug infestation looks like.
Health Canada: http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/cps-spc/pubs/pest/_pnotes/bedbugs-punaises-lits/index-eng.php

How do bed bugs get into my home?
Bed bugs often catch a ride on clothes, furniture, bedding, and in bags. They spread when objects they're hiding in are taken into the home. Make sure you carefully inspect any items that you're bringing into your home for evidence of bugs. Once bed bugs are in an apartment they can quickly spread through the entire building by crawling through electrical wiring, pipes, and other openings.

What can I do to stop bed bugs from entering my home?
Even the cleanest homes and hotels can have bed bugs, but regular house
cleaning, including vacuuming your mattress, can help to stop bed bugs.
You can also:

Clean up clutter to reduce the number of places bed bugs can hide.
Inspect used furniture or clothes and ask the seller if the items were checked for bed bugs.
Use caution when bringing home used furniture or clothes from the curb side. These items may be infested with bed bugs.
When travelling:

Inspect your room and furniture. Be sure to look at all cracks and crevices of the mattress and box spring, and look for blood spots or live insects. Ask to move to a different room if you find evidence of beg bugs.
Protect your luggage. Keep items in your luggage and wrap your luggage in plastic. Keep your luggage off the floor by storing it on a shelf.
Protect the bed. Move the bed away from the wall and keep blankets and sheets from touching the floor. When you get home, keep your luggage in an area away from the house, such as the garage. Inspect the luggage for signs of bed bugs. Wash all your clothes in the hottest water possible and put them in a hot dryer for 20 minutes.

How do you get rid of bed bugs?
You should remove clutter from your home, wash all bedding daily in hot water, and place it in a hot dryer for 20 minutes. Vacuum your mattress with a narrow nozzle, especially along the seams and make sure to throw out the vacuum bag right after vacuuming. Bed bugs can be very hard to get rid of because they can live for up to six months without a blood meal. It's best to consult a professional pest control management service to get rid of bed bugs.

What is the Health Unit doing about bed bugs?
The Windsor-Essex County Health Unit is providing information about bed bugs and directing people who need help with bed bug problems to private pest control companies.

Where can I get help if my apartment is infested?
Tenants should know they can't be evicted for reporting a bed bug problem to the landlord. If a landlord refuses to clean up a reported problem, the tenant may contact the Landlord Tenant Board (LTB) and get help from a legal clinic. Landlords may also have concerns over tenants who don't cooperate with their efforts to control bed bugs. Both landlords and tenants can get more information by going to the links below.
Community Legal Clinics: www.lao.on.ca
Landlord Self-help Centre: www.landlordselfhelp.com
Landlord and Tenant Board: www.ltb.gov.on.ca
Structural Pest Management Association of Ontario: www.spmao.ca