At Sheldon, we have plans in place to manage and control various pests that may be encountered.
Mosquitoes/Blackflies/Deerflies: The Sheldon property is home to a small number of biting insects. That said, insect levels are much lower than other places such as Algonquin park and most green spaces in Toronto due to healthy levels of aquatic predators in our creek and minimal amounts of standing water. Most students find it unnecessary to bring or wear bug spray between September through to April. May and June we have some biting insects that may bother students. We advise to:
- wear long clothing
- wear a bug jacket/bug head net
- if comfortable, put on bug spray
Ticks: Ticks have been an unwelcome recent addition to the Sheldon forests. We do have ticks present here and at the time of writing this, are in low populations compared to many green spaces in Toronto. Unlike mosquitoes, ticks will attach themselves to you for multiple days, and they can (but not always) carry tick borne diseases such as Lyme.
It is good practice in weather that is above -1 degree Celsius to:
- wear long tucked in clothing and
- wear bug spray
- to conduct tick checks on a daily basis.
If one is found, please get it off quickly as tick borne diseases can set in only after 24 hours or more of continuous attachment. See the attached sheets for more details.
Lyme Disease Presentation
Tick Information Sheet
Tick Check Poster
Bed Bugs: Bed bugs are biting insects that make their home indoors and bite while sleeping. We at Sheldon have a Bed Bug Management plan to ensure no active bed bug populations get established within our buildings. We are inspected monthly by a pest management company that utilizes bed bug sniffing dogs to identify any issues before they become a problem. We also inform visiting teachers and students to put clothes and bedding through the dryer and bag it immediately to ensure to transportation of bed bugs to our centre. Any issues we have had in the past are very rare and have been addressed quickly and efficiently to not affect any visitors.
Bed Bug Poster