One of the most feared and misunderstood pest species known to mankind is the bed bug (Cimex lectularius). How many of us dropped off to sleep at night as young ones with the parting rhyme of our parents in our ears “sleep tight and don’t let the bed bugs bite”?
Bed Bugs probably started to predate on man at around the time we moved into caves, the bat bugs Cimex pilosellus and Cimex pipistrella largely feed on bats and it is probable that bat feeding species of bugs evolved to feed on man when our forebears started living} in bat infested caves.
Up to the invention of DDT in the early 20th century bed bugs were commonplace unwelcome guests in most slum quality homes.
The later years of the 20th century saw pest control companies called out to very few bed bug problems indeed, their presence being largely restricted to budget holiday homes and student accomadation etc.
A lot of people confuse dust mites, which cannot be seen by the naked, with bed bugs which most certainly can be seen.
Adult bedbugs are reddish in colour, about a few milemetres in size and swollen after dining on human blood.
Bed bugs usually feed on our blood every seven to ten days, appearing in the early hours of the morning and locating their target by sniffing the exhaled carbon dioxide from human breath and when close in on their target, they sense body body heat.
Without a suitable human host to feed on they can lay in a period of dormancy for periods of up to a year or more.
Bed Bug Bites
The first signs of a bed bug problem are spots of blood on bedding and on the corners of mattresses and a lot of people can react badly to the bites of these bugs.
The early part of this century has seen bed bug numbers growing across the planet, the easy availability of world travel and economic migration have both been blamed for the resurgence.
What is certain is that that are now making a real resurgence not only in cheaper quality housing but top class hotels, schools and even hospitals.
One London borough reported a doubling of bed bug problems every year from 1995 to 2001.
|One night away in an infested premises is all it requires, they hitch a ride in your suitcases or bags. Pest control companies are also now reporting cases of transport related bed bug infestations on transport of all kinds so a simple journey home on an infested tube or train can be enough to spread these bugs to your own home.
They are an tricky pest to deal with as contrary to popular belief they do not just live in beds. They live in any nook and cranny conveniently close to a sleeping human being, beds, electrical sockets, televisions, bed side telephones etc and dealing with them is both difficult and time consuming. They have even been discovered found living under the toe-nails of infirm people and in the creases of flesh on very overweight people.
They are not a pest that can be successfully tackled by an amateur and a pest control professional will almost certainly be needed.
Call Harrier Pest Control on 01772 837727