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Bed Bugs Stockport, Cheadle and Gatley.
May 30, 2010
One of the most hated and misunderstood pests known to the world is the bed bug (Cimex lectularius). How many of us dozed off to sleep at night as kids with the parting rhyme of our guardians in our ears “sleep tight and don’t let the bed bugs bite”?
Bed Bugs probably started to predate on man at about the period when we moved into caves, the bat bugs Cimex pilosellus and C pipistrella largely feed on bats and it is likely that bat feeding species of bed bus evolved to feed on human beings when our forebears started sleeping} in bat infested caves.
Before the invention of DDT in the early 20th century bed bugs were commonplace stowaways in most low quality homes.
The later part of the 20th century saw pest control companies having very few bed bug problems indeed, their presence being mostly restricted to budget holiday camps and student lodgings etc.
Many people confuse dust mites, which aren’t visible to the unaided eye, with bed bugs which most certainly can be seen.
Adult bedbugs are reddish brown, about a few milemetres in size and swollen after a feed of human blood.
Bed bugs usually feed on our blood every seven to ten days, appearing in the early hours of the morning and finding their target by detecting the exhaled carbon dioxide from human breath and when close to their target, they sense body body heat.
Lacking a suitable human meal to dine on they can lay in a period of dormancy for periods of up to 18 months.
The first signs of a bed bug problem are spots of blood on bed clothes and on the base of mattresses and many people can react badly to the bites of these bugs.
The early part of the 21st century has seen bed bug infestations multiplying all over the planet, the easy availability of world travel and economic migration have both been argued as reasons for the resurgence.
What is known is that that are now making a real resurgence not only in poor quality housing but first class hotels, schools and even hospitals.
One London borough reports a doubling of bed bug problems 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. Stretford Pest control companies are also now reporting cases of transport related bed bug infestations on tubes, trains and buses so a simple journey home on an infested tube or train can be all it takes to bring the infestation to your own home.
They are an expensive pest to deal with as contrary to popular opinion they do not just live in beds. They hide in any nook and cranny anywhere close to a sleeping target, 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 creases of flesh on flabby people.
They are not a pest that can be dealt with by an amateur and a pest control professional will almost certainly be needed.
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