Bed Bugs
One of the most hated and misunderstood pests known to man is the bed bug (Cimex lectularius). How many of us gone off to sleep at night as young ones with the words of our parents in our ears ‘sleep tight and don’t let the bed bugs bite’?
Bed bugs possibly started to feed on man at about the time we moved into caves, the ‘bat bugs’ Cimex pilosellus and Cimex pipistrella primarily feed on bats and it is probable that bat feeding species of bug evolved to dine on human blood when our ancesters started living in bat infested caves.
Until the invention of DDT in the early 20th century bed bugs were common non-paying guests in most poor quality homes.
The later part of the 20th century saw pest control companies dealing with very few bed bug problems indeed, their presence being largely restricted to inexpenisve holiday camps and student lodging etc.
Many people confuse dust mites, which are not visible to the naked eye, with bed bugs which very definitely are.
Adult bedbugs are reddy-brown, about a quarter of an inch in size and very swollen after a meal of our blood.
They experience an incomplete metamorphosis which means that the young are just smaller versions of the adult, they do not have a maggot stage like a flea or flies.
Bed bugs typically feed on human blood every 7 – 10 days, emerging in the hours before dawn and sensing their target by sensing the exhaled carbon dioxide from our breathing and when close in on their target, infra red body heat.
In the absence of a suitable human to feed on they can stay dormant for periods of up to 18 months.
Indications of a bed bug problem are spots of blood on bedding and on the underside of mattresses and some people can react badly to their bites.
Typical costs
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The early 21st century has seen bed bug numbers increase across the world, the easy availability of world travel and economic migration have both been blamed for the come back.
What is positive is that thet are now making a major comeback not only in low quality dwellings but high class hotels, schools and often hospitals.
One London borough reported a doubling of bed bug call-outs every single year from 1995 – 2001.
A lone night away in an infested hotel is all it takes, they catch a ride in your suitcases or bags. Pest control companies are also now reporting cases of transport related bug infestations on tubes, trains and buses so a single ride to work on an infested bus or train can be sufficient to spread the infestation to your home.
They are an expensive pest to eradictate as contrary to popular mythology they do not just live in beds. They crawl into any nook and cranny conveniently close to a sleeping human, beds, electrical sockets, televisions, bed-side telephones etc and treatment is both difficult and time consuming. They have even been found living beneath the toe-nails of infirm people and in the creases of flesh on heavily over-weight people.
They are not a pest that can be tackled by an amateur and a professional will almost certainly be required.
