CALGARY – A local shelter is asking for clothing donations after bed bugs were discovered in one of its resident’s sleeping quarters.
The problem was first discovered on Thursday at Inn from the Cold and pest control specialists were quickly called in.
Personal belongings are now under scrutiny and anything the shelter plans to keep has had to be sent off-site to be laundered.
The rest they’ve had to throw out.
In the meantime, the shelter is looking for donations to help clothe 100 residents, including newborns and infants up to 18 months.
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“We’ve depleted a lot of the stock that we’ve had around basic clothing items,” explains executive director Linda McLean.
The shelter has also put in a request for on-site commercials and dryers.
This isn’t the first time the Inn from the Cold has dealt with bedbugs, though the problem is not specific to shelters. Local pest exterminators say they see no shortage of work. One company, “We Kill Bugs Ltd.”, says it responds to an average of five jobs a day.
“It’s pretty much everywhere,” says Steve Stein. “Million dollar homes, cheaper homes, apartments, they don’t really discriminate. It’s not a dirty thing like cockroaches, they pretty much go everywhere.”
Access to sleeping quarters at Inn from the Cold had to be cut off for about 10 hours while exterminators worked to get rid of the bedbug problem.
All the residents have now been allowed back.
To donate to Inn from the Cold, click here.
With files from Tracy Nagai.
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