New mother says she was bitten by bedbugs at Thunder Bay hospital

A new mom says she was bitten by bedbugs while staying at the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre (TBRHSC) last month.

Justice Widmeyer, who lives near Barwick, Ont., gave birth to twins on March 21. While her twins were in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), she said she stayed in a "parenting room."

After four or five days, she said she and her partner woke up with red marks on their bodies they believe are bedbug bites.

"After we found out that they had bedbugs in the room, I didn't even see the babies that night because I felt gross, like I didn't want to go contaminate the babies," she said. 

Widmeyer said the stress of worrying about bedbugs added to the anxiety of being a new mom recovering from a C-section with twins in the NICU.

"It just made everything else just even more emotional and it was more traumatic," she said. 

She said they were transferred to another parenting room, but she claims the second room also had bedbugs. The couple ended up finding a hotel nearby, instead.

Widmeyer said she would like to see the hospital do more to prevent this from happening to other patients. 

"It's already stressful enough giving birth, let alone having babies in the NICU and having babies for the first time … nobody should have to deal with bed bugs on top of that."

Widmeyer said she will also be filing a complaint with the Thunder Bay District Health Unit.

'Only a few isolated incidents involving bedbugs' this year: hospital 

"Over the past 12 months, there have been only a few isolated incidents involving bedbugs, and in every case, we have taken swift and effective action," said a hospital spokesperson in an emailed response to CBC.

TBRHSC said while it is hard to prevent bedbugs from coming into hospitals on people or their clothing, it has rigorous cleaning protocols.

"Every patient room undergoes a thorough cleaning and turnover process after discharge. This includes proactively inspecting for any signs of bedbugs," said the email.

It said that professional exterminators are hired when necessary. 

Bedbug infestations seemingly on the rise in Thunder Bay: exterminator

Roger Mayer, co-owner of B&R Pest Control, says he's seen an increase in calls to treat bedbugs in Thunder Bay recently.

Treating a large public space like a hospital is not as easy as treating an individual dwelling with bedbugs, said Mayer.

 "You can do it, but it's very difficult. And not just difficult, it can be costly," he said.

Ideally, the area would need to be closed off to people entirely for four to six hours.

"If you can cordon off the area and not have the public and employees going in there for the time period, that would probably work. But judging by how open a lot of areas are, it's very difficult to do," said Mayer. 

Bedbugs common in Thunder Bay: health inspector

Preventing bedbugs from getting into a space is very hard, said Matt Bradica, a public health inspector with the Thunder Bay District Health Unit.

"Bed bugs are wherever humans are. They go wherever humans go and they're a really common issue in Thunder Bay," he said. 

Bradica said businesses and institutions can train staff to spot the signs of bedbugs so they can act quickly against any possible infestations. 

Anyone who thinks they've been exposed to bedbugs can check their sleeping area for signs, said Bradica. Bedbugs can be killed by washing bedding and clothes with hot water and putting non-washable items in a dryer on high heat for 30 minutes. Vacuuming the area can also help get rid of any bedbugs or eggs that may be present, he said.

It's important to act fast, he said.

"A few bed bugs can multiply to like hundreds within a few weeks," said Bradica.