A review of Bed Bugs in Bramhall, Cheadle and Poynton in 2010
One of the most hated and least understood pest insect species known to man is the bed bug (Cimex lectularius). How many of us dropped off to sleep at night as kids with the parting words of our parents in our ears “sleep tight and don’t let the bed bugs bite”?
Bed Bugs probably started to dine on man at around the period when we moved into caves, the bat bugs Cimex pilosellus and Cimex pipistrella mostly fed on bats and it is probable that bat feeding species of bed bus evolved to feed on human blood when our ancestors started dwelling} in bat infested caves.
Before the production of DDT in the early 20th century bed bugs were commonplace unwelcome guests in most slum quality homes.
The later part of the 20th century saw pest controllers having very few bed bug infestations indeed, their presence being generally restricted to low quality holiday hotels and student accomadation etc.
Most people confuse dust mites, which aren’t visible to the naked, with bed bugs which most certainly.
Adult bedbugs are reddy-brown, about a quarter of an inch in size and swollen after a feed of human blood.
Bed bugs usually feed on our blood every week or so, appearing in the early hours of the morning and finding their target by sniffing the exhaled CO2 from human breath and when close in on their target, they sense body body heat.
Without a suitable human meal to feed on they can lie in a period of dormancy for periods of up to 18 months.
The first signs of a bed bug presence are spots of blood on bed clothes and on the base of mattresses and a lot of people can react badly to their bites.
The early part of the 21st century has seen bed bug reports growing all over the planet, the easy availability of world travel and economic migration have both been put forward for the resurgence.
What is known 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 hitch a ride in your suitcases or bags. Pest control companies are also now reporting cases of transport related bed bug infestations on all kinds of transport so a simple ride to work on an infested tube or train can be all it takes to spread bed bugs to your own home.
They are an tricky pest to eradicate as contrary to popular notion they do not just live in beds. They live in any nook and cranny conveniently close to a sleeping target, beds, electrical sockets, televisions, bed side telephones etc and dealing with 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 tackled by an amateur and a pest control professional will almost certainly be required.
Telephone Harrier Pest Control on 0161 930 8814