Bed Bug infestations in Prestwich,Whitefield and Swinton in 2010
One of the most detested and least known pests known to science is the bed bug Cimex lectularius. Many of us fell asleep to sleep at night as infants 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 sleeping in, bat bugs Cimex pilosellus and Cimex pipistrella largely feed on bats and it is possible that bat feeding species of bug evolved to dine on the blood of human beings when our ancestors began living in bat infested caves.
Before the invention of DDT in the early part of the 20th century bed bugs were common pests in most poor quality homes.
The later part of the 20th century saw pest control professionals reporting very few bed bug problems indeed, their presence being usually restricted to cheap holiday lodgings and student lodgings etc.
Most people confuse dust mites, which aren’t visible to the naked eye, with bed bugs which very definitely are.
Adult bedbugs are red-brown, about a quarter of an inch in size and very engorged after dining on human blood.
Without a suitable human being to feed on they can lie dormant for lengthy 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 many people can react extremely badly to bed bug bites.
The early part of the 21st century saw bed bug numbers boom across the entire world, the easy availability of world travel and economic migration have both been cited as reasons for the comeback.
What is certain is that that are now staging a real comeback not only in poor quality properties but high class hotels, schools and even hospitals.
One night stay in an infested bed is all it takes, they hitch a ride in your suitcases or bags. Pest control companies are also now reporting cases of transport related bed bug infestations on trains, tubes and buses so a simple journey to work on an infested tube or train can be sufficient to bring the infestation to your own house.
They are an tricky pest to deal with as contrary to popular opinion they do not just live in beds. They infest any nook and cranny conveniently close to a sleeping person, beds, electrical sockets, televisions, bed-side telephones etc and clearing them is both tricky and time consuming. They have even been discovered found living under the toe-nails of infirm people and in the creases of flesh of very 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 required.
Phone Manchester Pest Control now on 01772 837727
This entry was posted on Monday, August 30th, 2010 at 3:35 am and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.