One of the most reviled and misunderstood pest species known to civilisation is the bed bug (Cimex lectularius). How many of us fell asleep to sleep at night as youngsters with the words of our parents in our ears “sleep tight and don’t let the bed bugs bite”?

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

Until the arrival of DDT in the early 20th century bed bugs were commonplace stowaways in most poor quality homes.

The later years of the 20th century saw pest controllers called out to very few bed bug infestations indeed, their presence being generally restricted to cheap holiday hotels and student lodgings etc.

Most people mistake 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 very swollen after feeding on human blood.

Bed bugs usually feed on our blood every seven to ten days, coming out in the early hours of the morning and homing in on their target by smelling the exhaled carbon dioxide from human breath and when closing in on their target, body heat.

Lacking a suitable human host to feed on they can stay dormant for periods of up to 18 months.

Bed Bugs

The first signs of a bed bug presence are spots of blood on bed clothes and on the corners of mattresses and many people can react badly to their bites.

The early the 21st century has seen bed bug numbers explode everywhere on the planet, the easy availability of overseas and economic migration have both been argued as reasons for the resurgence.

What is sure is that that are now making a real return not only in lower quality housing but top class hotels, schools and even hospitals.

One London borough cited 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 companies are also now reporting cases of transport related bed bug infestations on tubes, trains and buses so a simple ride home on an infested tube or train can be enough to bring the infestation 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 tricky and time consuming. They have even been revealed found living under the toe-nails of infirm people and in the folds of flesh on grossly over-weight people.

One way of dealing with bed bug infestation is to fit your bed with bed bug moats.

Bed bugs moats stop bed bugs from gaining access to your bed.

Visit to the Bed Bug Moat site for full details.

They are not a pest that can be eradicated by an amateur and a pest control professional will almost certainly be needed.

Contact us on 01204 689361