On Campus

Bedbugs weren’t a huge problem this year say two universities

But campus residences remain exposed to infestations

Student housing officials in Waterloo are reporting that very few bedbug infestations were recorded this year, writes the Waterloo Region Record. During the school year that ended in April, there were fewer than 10 known cases in the 5,188 residence rooms at the University of Waterloo; at Wilfrid Laurier University (WLU), there were between 10 and 20. WLU spokesperson Kevin Crowley told the Record that the problem is “only one room here and one room there,” rather than big clusters. Although bed bugs aren’t known to spread disease, their bites can be itchy and getting rid of them is a difficult and expensive process. Multi-unit residences are especially prone because students are constantly moving in and moving out, bringing the tiny bloodsuckers with them. Other schools that have reported bedbugs in recent years are the University of New Brunswick, Ryerson University, the University of Alberta, McGill University and Humber College. Simon Fraser University uses bug-detecting sniffer dogs to find small infestations so that they can be addressed before spreading.

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