Bedbugs and other Health Hazards

Bed Bug Registry allows you to check out and report sightings of bedbug infestation in hotels, apartments and cruise ships. It recently reported that bed bugs were found in books from Winnipeg libraries. We bring piles of them home from our local library, share books with friends, and have bought books at yard sales. The report was disconcerting.

I was thinking of buying a no-longer produced, gently used board game that my daughter wants for Christmas from a Kijiji ad. But what if the seller's downtown apartment is bedbug infested? Toronto is currently represented on the Bed Bug Registry site by 2,770 individual bedbug reports, Vancouver with 1,944.

Do you flick through books and other previously used or shared materials from re-sale stores, schools and libraries to check for bugs before carrying them into your car or home?

Should you avoid old, musty-smelling books because mold is a health hazard? It's a good idea to wear gloves to protect the pages of old books, and to protect yourself.

Then there are the bugs you can't see--viruses and bacteria. Wash your hands after handling borrowed materials to prevent the spread of flu and other germs. Advise your kids to use hand-sanitizer gel if they can't wash their hands with soap and water after using library keyboards and other frequently touched public items, like taps, door handles, subway poles and elevator buttons, especially during flu season.

My sisters both worked in our city's downtown Central Library years ago. The upholstered chairs used by the public were infested with lice. Hopefully in the years since, the public library systems have dealt with this problem. But if you're choosing a seat in a public place, remember that a hard-surfaced chair is easiest to keep clean.

Take reasonable precautions.