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There’s word tonight of a major raid at the John Sopinka Courthouse. The raid had nothing to do with guns, drugs or criminals but rather, bed bugs. It’s the last thing you expect to see in a courtroom – but last week bed bugs were discovered at the John Sopinka Courthouse. The nasty critters were found outside two courtrooms and although a few proceedings had to be moved to a vacant courtroom – no hearings were cancelled.

Exterminators were brought in and have since dealt with the problem but that doesn’t mean bed bugs can’t resurface at the courthouse or any other public space. That’s because like it or not, bed bugs are here to stay.

“Bed bugs are something that are in every urban environment now especially since 2006 there seems to be a rise in bed bugs” says Susan Harding-Cruz from Hamilton Public Health.
The insects, which are about the size of an apple seed and reddish brown in colour, don’t fly. They like to hitch a ride to move from one location to another “if you are in a place with bed bugs they may go onto your shoes, your clothing. If you put a bag on the floor, they may crawl into that. So then you go into your place then you may have a bed bug on you and then it may make it’s home.”

If you do find them, contact an exterminator – do not use a homemade remedy. “They have developed a really hardy resistance to dying – they are really hard to kill. If you see it you need to know what it is and act right away so you can prevent an infestation.”

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