One of the most detested and least known pests known to science is the bed bug C lectularius. Most of us dozed off to sleep at night as children with the words of our elders in our ears “sleep tight and don’t let the bed bugs bite”
Bed Bugs probably started to predate on people at about the period we started living in, the bat bugs Cimex pilosellus and Cimex pipistrella mostly feed on bats and it is likely that bat feeding species of bug evolved to dine on the blood of human beings when our ancestors began dwelling in bat infested caves.
Before the arrival of DDT in the early 20th century bed bugs were common unwelcome guests in most poor quality homes.
The later part of the twentieth century saw pest control companies called out to very few bed bug call outs indeed, their presence being generally confined to cheap holiday lodgings and student accomodation etc.
Most people mistake dust mites, which aren’t visible to the naked eye, with bed bugs which most certainly are.
Adult bedbugs are reddy-brown, about a quarter of an inch in size and very swollen after a feed of human blood.
Lacking a suitable human meal to feed on they can stay dormant for periods of up to 18 months.
The initial signs of a bed bug problems are oftenspots of blood on duvets and on the base of mattresses and some people can react very badly to their bites.
The early 21st century has seen bed bug infestations expand across the entire globe, the cheap availability of international travel and economic migration have both been cited as reasons for the comeback.
What is certain is that that are now making a real comeback not only in poor quality homes but high class hotels, schools and even hospitals.
A single stay in an infested hotel is all it needs, they hitch a ride in your suitcases or bags. Pest control operatives are also now reporting cases of transport related bed bug infestations on tubes, trains and buses so a simple ride home on an infested tube or train can be all it takes to spread the these insects to your own home.
They are an difficult pest to deal with as contrary to popular belief they do not just hide in beds. They hide in any nook and cranny conveniently close to a sleeping target, beds, electrical sockets, televisions, bed-side telephones etc and dealing with 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 on grossly over-weight people.
Bed bugs are not a pest that can be eradicated by an amateur and a pest control professional will almost certainly be needed.
Telephone Manchester Pest Control now on 0800 019 8382
