One of the most reviled and misunderstood pests known to man is the bed bug Cimex lectularius. How many of us fell asleep to sleep at night as kids with the words of our elders in our ears “sleep tight and don’t let the bed bugs bite”

Bed Bugs may have started to feed on people at around the period we moved into caves, the bat bugs Cimex pilosellus and Cimex pipistrella primarily fed on bats and it is probable that bat feeding species of bug evolved to predate on the blood of human beings when our ancestors began living in bat infested caves.

Before the popularity of DDT in the early part of the 20th century bed bugs were common inhabitants in most poor quality homes.

The later decades of the twentieth century saw pest control operatives called out to very few bed bug call outs indeed, their presence being usually confined to cheap holiday lodgings and student lodgings etc.

Many people confuse dust mites, which can’t be seen by to the unaided eye, with bed bugs which very definitely are.

Adult bedbugs are red-brown, about a a few milemetres in size and very engorged after feeding on human blood.

Without a suitable human meal to feed on they can stay dormant for lengthy periods of up to 18 months.

Signs of a bed bug infestation are oftenspots of blood on duvets and on the base of mattresses and many people can react very badly to bed bug bites.

The first decade of the 21st century has seen bed bug infestations boom across the whole world, the easy availability of world travel and economic migration have both been cited as reasons for the resurgence.

What is definite 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 premises is all it takes, they stowaway in your suitcases or bags. Pest control companies are also now seeing cases of transport related bed bug infestations on tubes, trains and buses so a simple journey to work on an infested tube or train can be sufficient to bring the these pests to your own home.

They are an difficult pest to deal with as contrary to popular notion they do not just stay in beds. They hide in any nook and cranny conveniently close to a sleeping target, beds, electrical sockets, televisions, bed-side telephones etc and eradicating 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 on grossly over-weight people.

They are not a pest that can be dealt with by an amateur and a pest control professional will almost certainly be required.

Call Manchester Pest Control now on 0800 019 8382

 

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