One of the most feared and misunderstood pests known to mankind is the bed bug Cimex lectularius. Most of us fell asleep to sleep at night as children with the words of our parents in our ears “sleep tight and don’t let the bed bugs bite”
Bed Bugs may have started to feed on human beings at about the period we moved into caves, bat bugs Cimex pilosellus and Cimex pipistrella largely feed on bats and it is likely that bat feeding species of bug evolved to dine on human blood when our ancestors commenced living in bat infested caves.
Before the arrival of DDT in the early 20th century bed bugs were common guests in most poor quality homes.
The later part of the 20th century saw pest control professionals dealing with very few bed bug call outs indeed, their presence being generally restricted to cheap holiday camps and student lodgings etc.
Most people mistake dust mites, which can’t be seen by to the naked eye, with bed bugs which certainly are.
Adult bedbugs are reddish, about a a few milemetres in size and very engorged after dining on human blood.
Lacking a suitable human host to feed on they can lie dormant for long periods of up to 18 months.
The initial signs of a bed bug problems are oftenspots of blood on sheets and on the seems of mattresses and some people can react very badly to their bites.
The first decade of the 21st century has seen bed bug numbers explode across the entire globe, the cheap availability of international travel and economic migration have both been blamed for the resurgence.
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 hide in your clothing or bags. Pest control operatives are also now finding 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 all it takes to spread the infestation to your own home.
They are an expensive pest to eradicate as contrary to popular opinion they do not just hide in beds. They hide in any nook and cranny conveniently close to a sleeping human being, beds, electrical sockets, televisions, bed-side telephones etc and clearing them is both tricky and time consuming. They have even been revealed 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 tackled by an amateur and a pest control professional will almost certainly be required.
Phone Manchester Pest Control now on 01257 230637