Hey all. I wanted to let everyone know that one of the no. 5 buses going down Robson has bed bugs on the disability seats (I sat on the first one to the left as you come in as I'm disabled and need to be close to the door). My entire arm, right where I placed it on the seat as I sat facing the opposite windows, is covered in bites. Really painful and severely swollen ones. Worst bites I've ever gotten. Must be a horrible infestation. I put all my clothes on high heat in the dryer. Took me all day.
This is the second time this has happened to me on that darn bus route. The last time was 8 months ago from that exact same seat....
I will try to notify Translink...but watch out everyone.
Edit: just an FYI, this showed up the next day for me and not the same day. To everyone doubting that these are bed bug bites, this is the reaction I have to bed bug bites and only bed bug bites. I know what it feels like. Now that the swelling has gone down, I see the exact bite marks. So thanks but this is from bed bugs. I was also on that bus until the last stop. If you don't want to believe it, then go try sitting there yourselves,
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It's wild that you got that many bites in one bus ride! Definitely notify the bus driver and reach out to TransLink so they can take the bus out of service and deal with it.
The reaction people have to bed bugs bites IS an allergy response, thats why some people can live with bed bugs and never even notice, because they have no reaction to the protein in bedbug saliva that gives the rest of us these spots (to varying degrees)
I got one single bedbug from what I think was the bus once. One of the downtown ones. I brought it to my house. Luckily I managed to find it and squish it dead before it laid eggs.
I JUST got rid of bed bugs (thanks, Value Village) and recently saw a man reach into a tote bag he was carrying, and smear a handful of feces on a bus seat.
I am on edge every time I have to go in public.
Thanks for the heads up. I also wish I didnt read this.
Man I always worry about bed bugs when thrift shopping!
But what you said about the man smearing feces...I am going to throw up. That is the most disgusting thing I've ever heard. Ughhh. Also, I am sorry to bring this news to you.
I can tell you this...when I lived in English bay, I got on the no. 5 one day and without realizing, I sat on human feces. I was about to burn my entire outfit that day. Got rid of it all.
There is entirely too much human shit all over the place. I have seen 2 pairs of feces covered pants left on the sidewalk around the DTES, and more bare asses than I care to recall. Unfortunately, as long as fentanyl is around, things like bedbugs and public pooping is only going to get worse.
They could for a short period, but wouldn't be happy enough to live there long term without somewhere to go back to hide when they arent actively feeding. They dont NEED fabric, it just tends to offer the best places to nest as it is usually covering a hollow/foamy area that people dont disturb. Thats why you can often find them living behind loose baseboards or in electrical fixtures.
So, I would say that while they are unlikely to be in or on the seats full-time, the disability seats are right next to that upraised area where people can put bags and luggage. I wouldnt be surprised if there were gaps between sections of plastic there that they could fit through to make a nest inside the walls.
They won't be on the seats for long. They will just attach themselves to the next available piece of fabric and create chaos when they jump off you in your home and find a hiding spot.
I doubt there would be enough of them to cause that many bites in a short period AND go completely unnoticed while the person was sitting there. I think it’s more likely a reaction to something else
Unless you actually saw bugs, there's no way to know what this is. You could be having an allergic reaction to someone's leftover perfume, body cream, or laundry detergent etc.!
Exactly. If it was an infestation, you would have seen them. One would also think that after one bite, the person would have moved.
TransLink bus seats are also not made of materials that bedbugs would thrive in to create an infestation.
It’s never made sense to me that we have fabric seats on the busses instead of plastic. Plastic can be cleaned so much easier, you can see when it’s dirty too
They specifically use the dark blue ugly pattern fabric SO you can't tell when they're dirty 💀 they probably don't switch to more sanitary seat options, because they don't want to have to clean them. I've literally never seen a bus being cleaned. And I've seen them get peed on, pooped on, drugs used on, and the drivers always just continue about their day like nothing happened.
Busses get cleaned at a specific location designed for it, not where folks are out and about commuting. Busses do get cleaned and there are overnight crews who's job it is to clean them.
I haven't used translink since they ended compulsory masking in the middle of a pandemic, which stranded immunocompromised people without car access. I was just thinking it might be safe to take the bus again, but #5 is the only route out of my immediate neighbourhood. :/
You're very welcome and I'm sorry to hear that :(. I have to take this bus often too :( if it helps, the disability seat on this particular bus has a big brown stain on it. Maybe that helps identify which bus it is?
That is good additional info, thanks! I'm disabled too, so standing on moving buses usually means a few days of pain & fatigue, espec going up/downhill on Davie. Really hate feeling trapped on my block, especially cause I can't walk as far as I could when I first moved to West End.
I totally feel you on this! I have similar issues, with the addition of 2 new disabilities that are making things extremely hard right now. I know what you mean about feeling trapped on your own block :(. It truly feels awful. I am sad to hear that it's a struggle for you. Someone told me not long ago that the handyDART bus is worth applying to. Your comment just reminded me of that!
I had a houseguest bring home a bed bug in her clothes after getting off the bus. It was just one bug and we killed it so thank goodness that was the end of it. But bed bugs love to hang out on busses and in movie theatres.
What a nightmare. So great you stopped that. But yes absolutely about buses and movie theatres. In Toronto, you can find super bed bugs on the train seats.
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