A review of Bed Bugs in Cheadle, Stockport and Gatley in 2010
February 7, 2012
One of the most reviled and least understood pest insect species known to the world is the bed bug (Cimex lectularius). How many of us fell asleep to sleep at night as kids with the parting words of our guardians in our ears “sleep tight and don’t let the bed bugs bite”?
Bed Bugs most probably started to predate 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 bed bus evolved to feed on human beings when our forebears started sleeping} in bat infested caves.
Until the production of DDT in the early 20th century bed bugs were common guests in most low quality homes.
The later part of the 20th century saw pest operatives dealing with very few bed bug problems indeed, their presence being largely restricted to cheap holiday homes and student accomadation etc.
Most people confuse dust mites, which aren’t visible to the unaided eye, with bed bugs which very definitely are.
Adult bedbugs are reddy-brown, about a few milemetres in size and very swollen after dining on human blood.
Bed bugs usually feed on our blood every week or so, coming out in the hours before dawn and homing in on their target by detecting the exhaled carbon dioxide from human breath and when nearby their target, they sense body body heat.
Lacking a suitable human meal to dine on they can remain dormant for periods of up to 18 months.
Often the first sign of a bed bug infestation are spots of blood on bedding and on the base of mattresses and a lot of people can react badly to bed bug bites.
The early part of this century has seen bed bug reports explode across the planet, the easy availability of international and economic migration have both been put forward for the resurgence.
What is certain is that that are now making a real resurgence not only in cheaper quality housing but first class hotels, schools and even hospitals.
One London borough cited a doubling of bed bug reports every year from 1995 to 2001.
|One night away in an infested hotel is all it requires, they hitch a ride in your suitcases or bags. Pest control companies are also now reporting cases of transport related bed bug infestations on transport of all kinds so a simple journey home on an infested tube or train can be all it takes to spread bed bugs to your own home.
They are an difficult pest to deal with as contrary to popular belief they do not just live in beds. They live in any nook and cranny anywhere close to a sleeping human, beds, electrical sockets, televisions, bed side telephones etc and dealing with them is both tricky 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 dealt with by an amateur and a pest control professional will almost certainly be required.
Phone Harrier Pest Control on 01772 837727