Bed Bugs Whitefield, Prestwich and Swinton.
One of the most detested and least understood pest insect species known to civilisation is the bed bug (Cimex lectularius). How many of us dozed off to sleep at night as youngsters with the parting words of our parents in our ears “sleep tight and don’t let the bed bugs bite”?
Bed Bugs most probably started to feed on people at about the time we moved into caves, the bat bugs Cimex pilosellus and C pipistrella mostly feed on bats and it is a fair chance that bat feeding species of bed bus evolved to feed on man when our forebears started sleeping} in bat infested caves.
Up to the production of DDT in the early 20th century bed bugs were commonplace stowaways in most poor quality homes.
The later part of the 20th century saw pest operatives dealing with very few bed bug infestations indeed, their presence being largely restricted to low quality holiday camps and student accomadation etc.
A lot of people mistake dust mites, which aren’t visible to the naked, with bed bugs which certainly.
Adult bedbugs are reddy-brown, about a quarter of an inch in size and swollen after feeding on human blood.
Bed bugs usually feed on our blood every seven to ten days, emerging in the early hours of the morning and homing in on their target by sniffing the exhaled CO2 from human breath and when close to their target, body heat.
Lacking a suitable human host to dine on they can lie dormant for periods of up to 18 months.
Often the first sign of a bed bug problem are spots of blood on sheets and on the corners of mattresses and a lot of people can react badly to their bites.
The early part of this century has seen bed bug infestations multiplying everywhere on the planet, the easy availability of international and economic migration have both been argued as reasons for the resurgence.
What is sure is that that are now making a real comeback not only in cheaper quality housing but top class hotels, schools and even hospitals.
One London borough reports a doubling of bed bug infestations every year from 1995 to 2001.
One night away in an infested hotel is all it needs, they catch a ride in your suitcases or bags. Stretford Pest control companies are also now reporting cases of transport related bed bug infestations on tubes, trains and buses so a simple trip to work on an infested tube or train can be enough to spread these bugs to your own home.
They are an tricky 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 being, 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 folds of flesh on very overweight people.
They are not a pest that can be eradicated by an amateur and a pest control professional will almost certainly be required.
Telephone us on 0161 930 8814
