Are Bed Bugs Biting You?

Just about the most feared and misunderstood pest insect species recognized to man stands out as the bedbug (Cimex lectularius). How many of us dozed off to rest at night as young ones with the parting rhyme of our guardians in our ears “sleep tight and don’t let the bed bugs bite”?

Bed Bugs probably started to dine on man at around the period when we moved into caves, the bat bugs Cimex pilosellus and C pipistrella mainly fed on bats and it is likely that bat feeding species of bed bugs evolved to feed on man when our ancestors started sleeping in bat infested caves.

Until the arrival of DDT in the early twentieth century bed bugs were commonplace guests in most slum quality homes.

The later part of the 20th century saw pest controllers called out to very few bed bug infestations indeed, their presence being generally restricted to low quality holiday homes and student housing etc.

Most people confuse dust mites, which aren’t visible to the unaided eye, with bed bugs which most certainly.
Adult bedbugs are reddish in colour, about a few milemetres in size and very swollen after feeding on human blood.

Bed bugs usually feast upon a target’s blood every seven to ten days, coming out in the hours before dawn and homing in on their target by detecting the exhaled CO2 from human breath and once close in on their target, they sense infra red heat.

Without an appropriate human host to dine on they’ll stay in a period of dormancy for periods of up to a year or more.

Signs of a bedbug infestation are spots of blood on bedding and on the edges of mattresses and a lot of people can react badly to their bites.

The early the 21st century has seen bed bug numbers multiplying all over the entire world, the easy use of world travel and economic migration have both been blamed for the resurgence.

What is positive is that they are now making a real comeback not just in cheaper quality accomodation but high class hotels, schools and in many cases hospitals.

One London borough reported a doubling of bed bug infestations every year from 1995 to 2001.

One night away in an infested bed is all it needs, they hitch a ride in your suitcases or bags.

Pest control businesses are also now reporting cases of transportation related bed bug infestations on all kinds of transport so a straightforward ride to work on an infested tube or train might be all it takes to bring the infestation to your home.

They are an tricky pest to deal with as contrary to popular belief they don’t just live in beds. They infest any nook and cranny conveniently close to a sleeping human, beds, electrical sockets, televisions, bed side telephones etc and dealing with them is both laborious and time consuming. They have even been discovered found living under the toe-nails of infirm people and in the creases of flesh on grossly over-weight people.

They are not a pest that can be eradicated by a novice and a pest control professional will definitely be needed.