A video circulating online appears to show a bed bug crawling on a seat aboard a TTC Line 1 subway train, raising renewed concerns about cleanliness on Toronto’s transit system.
The 14-second video, uploaded to the Toronto Reddit forum this week, zooms in on a tiny brown bug crawling on an empty seat.
CityNews has independently confirmed that the video was captured on the morning of Monday, July 21, on Line 1 (Yonge-University).
Antonia Guidotti of the Department of Natural History (Entomology) at the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) tells CityNews that the insect shown in the video is, in fact, a bed bug.
In a statement to CityNews, TTC spokesperson Stuart Green said that transit vehicles are cleaned nightly.
“While not common on the TTC, this is something public transit agencies around the world must deal with,” Green said. “Even though multiple experts in the field have said that transit is an inhospitable environment for insects to live and breed, irrespective of the seat material, our hope is that if someone sees something like this, they promptly report it to customer service or through the SafeTTC app so we can have the vehicle taken out of service and cleaned.”
Toronto Public Health (TPH) wouldn’t comment on the video, instead telling CityNews that TPH responds to complaints and requests for service related to “extreme active bed bug infestations in combination with vulnerable clients and health impacts that may constitute a health hazard.”
“Bed bugs themselves are not considered a health hazard except in these rare situations and are not reportable to public health,” a TPH spokesperson said. “Further, TPH does not investigate complaints related to bed bug activity in public settings.”
Bed bug sightings are nothing new for Toronto
Toronto has consistently been ranked the worst city in Canada for bed bug infestations, topping pest control company Orkin Canada’s annual list for seven straight years. In Toronto, 65 per cent of reported infestations occur in apartment buildings, particularly older high-rises with frequent turnover.
Bed bug sightings aren’t as common on the TTC, but they have been reported in various public settings across Toronto, including libraries, hospitals, and office buildings.
Bed bugs are small, wingless insects that feed on the blood of people and animals during sleep. They spread by attaching to infested items such as clothing, furniture, or luggage.
Adult bed bugs are brown, but they darken to a blood-red colour after feeding. Young bedbugs are smaller and lighter in colour, but also darken after feeding.
A bed bug bite can take as long as 14 days to appear and is often found on the face, neck, arms, legs, and chest. Some individuals do not react to the bites, while others may experience minor skin reactions.