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Dr. Perron said the results need to be replicated in follow-up research but seem to fall in line with the panic and disorientation he has observed in people plagued by the bugs.

Ms. Younger said she attributes the stresses partly to the social isolation of being bed-bug afflicted, noting that many people end up being shunned by family and friends. They also feel constant wariness, “an automatic visceral reaction when they see a speck on the floor — ‘Is that a bed bug?’ ”

But she said sleep deprivation is perhaps the biggest factor, a result not just of the bites that typically start as soon as someone falls asleep, but also from the fear of actually being asleep and falling victim to the insects.

“You try not sleeping for days, weeks, months, years on end,” said the activist. “It doesn’t just make you a bear, it changes your entire personality. You become withdrawn, anti-social, you fly off the handle more easily.”

The process of having a home treated for the insects is stressful in itself, as clothes have to be washed and bagged and furniture and other belongings steamed, before a pest-control worker sprays the apartment once, then again two weeks later.

She said she has seen residents resort to substance abuse, act out with vandalism and, in one case, throw a pet cat off an apartment balcony in frustration at their infestation. Ms. Younger said she is even aware of suicides where the bugs were at least a factor.

“You can walk into the lobby [of an infested building] and the sense of utter despair is palpable.”

Toronto’s Woodgreen Community Services has been working on the problem since 2004, when it first started getting regular calls about bed bugs, and has even produced a manual on how to cope with the pests.

“It is very, very stressful for [bed-bug victims], especially people who have limited resources and who don’t always have a friendly landlord who is going to assist them in dealing with it,” said Brian Smith, the agency’s CEO. “It’s one of those things it’s hard to escape from.”

National Post

• Email: tblackwell@nationalpost.com