Bed Bug infestations in Bury, Bolton and Radcliffe in 2010
One of the most feared and lesser known pests known to mankind is the bed bug C lectularius. Many of us fell asleep to sleep at night as kids with the words of our parents in our ears “sleep tight and don’t let the bed bugs bite”
Bed Bugs probably started to feed on people at about the period we started living in, the bat bugs Cimex pilosellus and Cimex pipistrella mostly fed on bats and it is possible that bat feeding species of bug evolved to feed on human blood when our ancestors commenced sleeping in bat infested caves.
Up to the invention of DDT in the early 20th century bed bugs were common inhabitants in most poor quality homes.
The later decades of the 20th century saw pest control professionals dealing with very few bed bug infestations indeed, their presence being mainly confined to cheap holiday camps and student halls etc.
Most people confuse dust mites, which can’t be seen by to the naked eye, with bed bugs which most certainly are.
Adult bedbugs are reddish, about a quarter of an inch in size and very swollen after feeding on human blood.
In the absence of a suitable human being to feed on they can lie dormant for long periods of up to 18 months.
The initial signs of a bed bug infestation are oftenspots of blood on bed-sheets and on the corners of mattresses and many people can react extremely badly to their bites.
The early 21st century has seen bed bug reports exploding across the entire globe, the easy availability of international travel and economic migration have both been blamed for the resurgence.
What is certain is that that are now staging a real comeback not only in low quality properties but high class hotels, schools and even hospitals.
A single away in an infested bed is all it takes, they hide in your clothing or bags. Pest control operatives are also now reporting cases of transport related bed bug infestations on tubes, trains and buses so a simple journey home on an infested tube or train can be sufficient to bring the these bugs into your own house.
They are an tricky pest to deal with as contrary to popular opinion they do not just stay in beds. They infest any nook and cranny conveniently close to a sleeping human, beds, electrical sockets, televisions, bed-side telephones etc and eradicating them is both difficult 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 fat 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 0800 019 8382