A review of Bed Bugs in Middlewich, Northwich and Weaverham in 2010
Posted on March 29, 2010
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One of the most feared and least understood pest insect species known to civilisation is the bed bug (Cimex lectularius). How many of us dropped off to sleep at night as youngsters 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 people at around the period we moved into caves, the bat bugs Cimex pilosellus and C pipistrella mainly feed on bats and it is likely that bat feeding species of bugs evolved to feed on man when our ancestors started sleeping} in bat infested caves.
Up to the arrival 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 operatives dealing with very few bed bug infestations indeed, their presence being largely restricted to low quality holiday camps and student housing etc.
Many people confuse dust mites, which cannot be seen by the unaided eye, with bed bugs which certainly.
Adult bedbugs are reddish in colour, about a quarter of an inch in size and very swollen after feeding on human blood.
Bed bugs regularly feed on a target’s blood every seven to ten days, emerging in the hours before dawn and locating their target by detecting the exhaled CO2 from human breath and when nearby their target, they sense infra red heat.
Lacking a suitable human host to feed on they can stay dormant for periods of up to a year or more.
The first signs of a bed bug infestation are spots of blood on sheets and on the base 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 across the planet, the easy availability of world travel and economic migration have both been blamed for the resurgence.
What is known is that that are now making a real comeback not only in lower quality housing but top class hotels, schools and even hospitals.
One London borough cited a doubling of bed bug infestations every year from 1995 to 2001.
|One night away in an infested hotel is all it requires, they catch 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 home on an infested tube or train can be sufficient to bring these bugs to your own home.
They are an difficult pest to eradicate 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 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 folds of flesh on very overweight people.
They are not a pest that can be tackled by an amateur and a pest control professional will almost certainly be needed.
Telephone Harrier Pest Prevention on 01257 230637
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