One of the most hated and misunderstood pests known to mankind is the bed bug (Cimex lectularius). How many of us dozed off to sleep at night as youngsters with the parting words of our guardians in our ears “sleep tight and don’t let the bed bugs bite”?
Bed Bugs probably started to dine on human beings at around the period we moved into caves, the bat bugs Cimex pilosellus and Cimex pipistrella largely fed on bats and it is a fair chance that bat feeding species of bed bus 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 guests in most slum quality homes.
The later part of the 20th century saw pest control companies called out to very few bed bug problems indeed, their presence being mostly restricted to budget holiday homes and student accomadation etc.
A lot of people confuse dust mites, which cannot be seen by the unaided eye, with bed bugs which most certainly.
Adult bedbugs are reddish in colour, about a quarter of an inch in size and swollen after feeding on human blood.
Bed bugs typically feed on human blood every few days, emerging in the hours before dawn and finding their target by detecting the exhaled carbon dioxide from human breath and when close in on their target, they sense infra red heat.
Lacking a suitable human host to feed on they can lie in a period of dormancy for periods of up to a year or more.
The first signs of a bed bug infestation are spots of blood on bed clothes and on the base of mattresses and many people can react badly to the bites of these bugs.
The early the 21st century has seen bed bug reports explode everywhere on the planet, the easy availability of international and economic migration have both been argued as reasons for the resurgence.
What is certain is that that are now making a real comeback not only in cheaper quality housing but high class hotels, schools and even hospitals.
One London borough reported a doubling of bed bug problems every year from 1995 to 2001.
One night away in an infested hotel is all it requires, they hitch a ride in your suitcases or bags. Stretford Pest control companies are also now reporting cases of transport related bed bug infestations on all kinds of transport so a simple ride home on an infested tube or train can be all it takes to bring bed bugs to your own home.
They are an difficult pest to eradicate as contrary to popular opinion they do not just live in beds. They hide 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 revealed found living under the toe-nails of infirm people and in the folds of flesh on very overweight people.
They are not a pest that can be dealt with by an amateur and a pest control professional will almost certainly be required.
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