Written by One of the most feared and misunderstood pests known to man is the bed bug Cimex lectularius. Most of us dropped off to sleep at night as kids with the words of our elders in our ears “sleep tight and don’t let the bed bugs bite”
Bed Bugs possibly started to predate on people at about the period we started sleeping in, bat bugs Cimex pilosellus and Cimex pipistrella largely fed on bats and it is possible that bat feeding species of bug evolved to feed on our blood when our ancestors commenced dwelling in bat infested caves.
Up to the arrival of DDT in the early 20th century bed bugs were common guests in most poor quality homes.
The later part of the twentieth century saw pest control operatives called out to very few bed bug problems indeed, their presence being usually restricted to cheap holiday hotels and student halls etc.
Most people confuse dust mites, which aren’t visible to the unaided eye, with bed bugs which certainly are.
Adult bedbugs are reddy-brown, about a a few milemetres in size and very engorged after a feed of human blood.
In the absence of a suitable human being to feed on they can lay dormant for lengthy periods of up to 18 months.
The initial signs of a bed bug problems are usuallyspots of blood on sheets and on the corners of mattresses and some people can react very badly to bed bug bites.
The early 21st century has seen bed bug reports exploding across the entire globe, the cheap availability of world travel and economic migration have both been cited as reasons for the comeback.
What is definite is that that are now staging a real comeback not only in low quality properties but high class hotels, schools and even hospitals.
One night stay in an infested premises is all it takes, they stowaway in your suitcases or bags. Pest control operatives are also now finding cases of transport related bed bug infestations on tubes, trains and buses so a simple trip to work on an infested tube or train can be all it takes to spread the these pests into your own house.
They are an tricky pest to eradicate as contrary to popular notion they do not just hide in beds. They live in any nook and cranny conveniently close to a sleeping target, beds, electrical sockets, televisions, bed-side telephones etc and eradicating them is both expensive and time consuming. They have even been revealed found living under the toe-nails of infirm people and in the creases of flesh of very fat people.
Bed bugs are not a pest that can be tackled by an amateur and a pest control professional will almost certainly be required.
Telephone Manchester Pest Control now on 01204 689361
