rs. I knew of bed bugs but was unaware of their residency in the building. I was doing laundry late one night and bumped into a tenant from the lower level (I lived on the upper floor). She asked me if I was getting ready to have my unit sprayed for bed bugs the following morning. I had no idea what she was talking about.

Turns out that several units on the upper floor (east side of the building) were confirmed to have bed bugs and were being treated by a PCO. This included a unit adjacent to mine supposedly to have the worst of it. I confronted the landlord who confessed to entering my suite (without my consent) and determining on his own that I had "too much stuff" to prepare for a proper bed buy spray and they were waiting until I moved out at the end of the month to treat. Obviously with no plans to tell me.

I was furious and explained that had I been notified I could have had my unit ready in time and that the spraying in the units around mine had clearly driven the bed bugs into my unit just prior to me moving out. I requested the PCO check and treat my unit. Upon inspection it was confirmed I had bed bugs (excrement spots on wooden bedframe slats at head and foot of bed) but the PCO was adamant that it didn't seem serious compared to the other units.

Two weeks later, May 27th 2009, my unit along with others in the building were treated for bed bugs. I received no information from the building management or PCO about the results during the treatment. I learned that the unit adjacent to mine was treated several times with no results and he continues to find bed bugs in his suite. Before moving I properly disposed of thousands of dollars of furniture simply to minimize the risk of bringing bed bugs with me. Other tenants on the seemingly unaffected west side of the building have moved out as a precaution.

I had heard from other tenants that the building underwent a minor bed bug infestation on the bottom floor (east side) in the past (not sure of exact dates), which was kept very quiet, but the landlord self treated to save money. Current tenants have come to the conclusion that the mistreatment of this infestation may have resulted in the spread to the upper levels and are in dispute with the building management over responsibility. Alberta Health has been involved.

I would be hesitant to occupy any of the vacant units (especially the upper 300s) in this building in the immediate future as I personally believe, based on my experiences, that the total elimination of the infestations will be very difficult/costly, time consuming and is already being mismanaged.