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One of the most hated and misunderstood pest species known to science is the bed bug (Cimex lectularius). How many of us dropped off to sleep at night as children with the words of our guardians in our ears “sleep tight and don’t let the bed bugs bite”?

Bed Bugs probably started to feed on human beings at around the period we moved into caves, the bat bugs Cimex pilosellus and C pipistrella largely feed on bats and it is probable that bat feeding species of bugs evolved to feed on human blood when our ancestors started living} in bat infested caves.

Before the arrival of DDT in the early 20th century bed bugs were common guests in most low quality homes.

The later years of the 20th century saw pest operatives dealing with very few bed bug infestations indeed, their presence being largely restricted to budget holiday homes and student housing etc.

Many people confuse dust mites, which cannot be seen by the naked, with bed bugs which deinitely.

Adult bedbugs are reddish in colour, about a few milemetres in size and engorged after dining on human blood.

Bed bugs typically feed on a target’s blood every few days, appearing in the early hours of the morning and homing in on their target by detecting the exhaled carbon dioxide from human breath and when close to their target, the heat from the body of their intended target.

In the absence of a suitable human host to feed on they can lay dormant for periods of up to a year or more.

Bed Bugs

Signs of a bed bug problem are spots of blood on sheets and on the base of mattresses and many people can react badly to the bites of these bugs.

The early the 21st century has seen bed bug infestations growing across the planet, the easy availability of world travel and economic migration have both been blamed for the resurgence.

What is sure is that that are now making a real comeback not only in low quality housing but high class hotels, schools and even hospitals.

One London borough reports a doubling of bed bugs reports every year from 1995 to 2001.

One night away in an infested bed is all it takes, 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 home on an infested tube or train can be sufficient to spread these bugs to your own home.

They are an expensive pest to deal with as contrary to popular notion they do not just live in beds. They infest any nook and cranny conveniently close to a sleeping human being, beds, electrical sockets, televisions, bed side telephones etc and dealing with them is both difficult and time consuming. They have even been discovered found living under the toe-nails of infirm people and in the folds of flesh on grossly over-weight people.

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

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