Bed Bug infestations in Preston, Chorley and Leyland in 2010
One of the most feared and misunderstood pests known to mankind 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 possibly started to feed on man at around the time we started living in, bat bugs Cimex pilosellus and Cimex pipistrella largely fed on bats and it is possible that bat feeding species of bug evolved to feed on the blood of human beings when our ancestors started sleeping in bat infested caves.
Up to the invention 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 20th century saw pest control professionals called out to very few bed bug infestations indeed, their presence being largely confined to cheap holiday hotels and student halls etc.
Most people confuse dust mites, which aren’t visible to the unaided eye, with bed bugs which certainly are.
Adult bedbugs are reddy-brown, about a a few milemetres in size and very engorged after a feed of human blood.
Without a suitable human being to feed on they can stay dormant for periods of up to 18 months.
The initial signs of a bed bug infestation are usuallyspots of blood on sheets and on the seems of mattresses and some people can react extremely badly to bed bug bites.
The first decade of the 21st century saw bed bug infestations booming across the entire planet, the easy availability of international travel and economic migration have both been cited as reasons for the return.
What is definite is that that are now making a real comeback not only in low quality homes but high class hotels, schools and even hospitals.
A single stay in an infested premises is all it requires, they hide in your clothing or bags. Pest control operatives are also now reporting cases of transport related bed bug infestations on trains, tubes and buses so a simple trip to work on an infested tube or train can be sufficient to spread the these pests into your own house.
They are an difficult pest to eradicate as contrary to popular opinion they do not just live in beds. They infest any nook and cranny conveniently close to a sleeping human 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 of very fat people.
Bed bugs are not a pest that can be dealt with by an amateur and a pest control professional will almost certainly be needed.
Call Manchester Pest Control now on 01204 689361
