Bed Bugs Bolton, Bury and Radcliffe. April 28, 2011 at 5:26 pm
One of the most feared and least understood pest insect species known to civilisation is the bed bug (Cimex lectularius). How many of us dropped off to sleep at night as kids with the parting words of our parents in our ears “sleep tight and don’t let the bed bugs bite”?
Bed Bugs most probably started to predate on man at about the period we moved into caves, the bat bugs Cimex pilosellus and Cimex pipistrella largely feed on bats and it is likely that bat feeding species of bugs evolved to feed on human blood when our ancestors started dwelling} in bat infested caves.
Before the production of DDT in the early 20th century bed bugs were commonplace stowaways in most slum quality homes.
The later part of the 20th century saw pest controllers called out to very few bed bug problems indeed, their presence being largely restricted to low quality holiday camps and student accomadation etc.
A lot of people mistake dust mites, which cannot be seen by the naked, with bed bugs which very definitely are.
Adult bedbugs are reddy-brown, about a few milemetres in size and swollen after feeding on human blood.
Bed bugs typically feed on a target’s blood every few days, appearing in the hours before dawn and locating their target by smelling the exhaled carbon dioxide from human breath and when close to their target, body heat.
In the absence of a suitable human host to feed on they can stay dormant for periods of up to 18 months.
The first signs of a bed bug presence are spots of blood on sheets and on the base of mattresses and many people can react badly to bed bug bites.
The early the 21st century has seen bed bug infestations growing everywhere on the planet, the easy availability of world travel and economic migration have both been put forward for the resurgence.
What is certain is that that are now making a real resurgence not only in low quality housing but top class hotels, schools and even hospitals.
One London borough cited a doubling of bed bug problems every year from 1995 to 2001.
One night stay in an infested bed is all it requires, they catch a ride in your suitcases or bags. Stretford Pest control companies are also now reporting cases of transport related bed bug infestations on transport of all kinds so a simple trip to work on an infested tube or train can be all it takes to spread these bugs to your own home.
They are an difficult pest to eradicate as contrary to popular notion they do not just live in beds. They live in any nook and cranny anywhere close to a sleeping human target, 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 folds of flesh on grossly over-weight people.
They are not a pest that can be dealt with by an amateur and a pest control professional will almost certainly be needed.
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