One of the most hated and misunderstood pest insect species known to science is the bed bug (Cimex lectularius). How many of us dozed off to sleep at night as youngsters with the parting rhyme of our parents in our ears “sleep tight and don’t let the bed bugs bite”?

Bed Bugs most probably started to dine on people at about the period when we moved into caves, the bat bugs Cimex pilosellus and Cimex pipistrella largely feed on bats and it is a fair chance that bat feeding species of bugs evolved to feed on human beings when our ancestors started staying} in bat infested caves.

Until the invention of DDT in the early 20th century bed bugs were commonplace guests in most slum quality homes.

The later part of the 20th century saw pest operatives called out to very few bed bug call outs indeed, their presence being generally restricted to low quality holiday camps and student accomadation etc.

Most people confuse dust mites, which cannot be seen by the naked, with bed bugs which deinitely.

Adult bedbugs are reddish in colour, about a quarter of an inch in size and engorged after dining on human blood.

Bed bugs typically feed on human blood every few days, appearing in the hours before dawn and locating their target by sniffing the exhaled CO2 from human breath and when nearby their target, they sense infra red heat.

Without a suitable human meal to feed on they can lay in a period of dormancy for periods of up to 18 months.

Bed Bugs

Often the first sign of a bed bug infestation are spots of blood on bed clothes and on the edges of mattresses and many people can react badly to their bites.

The early the 21st century has seen bed bug numbers expoding everywhere on the planet, the easy availability of overseas and economic migration have both been blamed for the resurgence.

What is certain is that that are now making a real return not only in low quality housing but first class hotels, schools and even hospitals.

One London borough reports a doubling of bed bug problems every year from 1995 to 2001.

One night stay 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 tubes and buses so a simple trip to work on an infested tube or train can be enough to bring the infestation to your own home.

They are an tricky pest to eradicate as contrary to popular belief they do not just live in beds. They hide in any nook and cranny conveniently close to a sleeping person, beds, electrical sockets, televisions, bed side telephones etc and dealing with them is both tricky and time consuming. They have even been revealed found living under the toe-nails of infirm people and in the creases of flesh on very fat people.

A way of stopping bed bug infestation is to equip your bed with bed bug moats.

Bed bugs moats stop bed bugs from entering your bed.

Pop along to the Bed Bug Moat site for more details.

They are not a pest that can be dealt with by an amateur and a pest control professional will almost certainly be needed.

Call us on 0800 019 8382

 

 

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Filed under: General Interest