The provincial government announced details Thursday for a strategy to deal with bedbugs.
At an event in Brandon, Healthy Living Minister Jim Rondeau said the province is committing $770,000 to the first year of the plan.
"As this problem has grown, we want to take prompt action," said Rondeau.
The money will go towards supplying qualifying organizations with access to specialized materials, such as box-spring encasements, insect monitors and specialized laundry bags, at low costs, said the province.
"This is not the complete strategy. This is a good, solid start on things that we can do," said Rondeau.
The program will also include the formation of a bedbug coalition.
The province has posted online information on what you can do to prevent or deal with bedbug infestations. The website is:
The province will also be launching a phone line to offer information about bedbugs to Manitobans.
The Professional Property Managers Association said the strategy is a good start, but suggested more needs to be done to help private landlords deal with the problem.
"It's getting very expensive, which unfortunately ends up costing the tenants because the costs get passed onto the tenants and those who are fixed incomes, etc. It's affecting their pocketbooks," said Mario Lopes from the Professional Property Managers Association.
Currently, the province does not plan to publicly release information on locations where bedbugs have been found.
