A review of Bed Bugs in Manchester, Cheshire and Lancashire in 2010

One of the most reviled and lesser known pests known to man is the bed bug C lectularius. How many of us fell asleep to sleep at night as kids with the words of our guardians in our ears “sleep tight and don’t let the bed bugs bite”

Bed Bugs may have started to dine on people at about the period we started living in, bat bugs Cimex pilosellus and Cimex pipistrella primarily feed on bats and it is probable that bat feeding species of bug evolved to predate on our blood when our ancestors began living in bat infested caves.

Until the invention of DDT in the early 20th century bed bugs were common inhabitants in most poor quality homes.

The later decades of the twentieth century saw pest control operatives dealing with very few bed bug infestations indeed, their presence being usually confined to cheap holiday hotels and student lodgings etc.

Most people mistake dust mites, which aren’t visible to the unaided eye, with bed bugs which most definitely are.

Adult bedbugs are reddy-brown, about a a few milemetres in size and very engorged after a feed of human blood.

Lacking a suitable human host to feed on they can stay dormant for lengthy periods of up to 18 months.

Signs of a bed bug problems are usuallyspots of blood on bed-sheets and on the base of mattresses and many people can react very badly to their bites.

The first decade of the 21st century has seen bed bug reports explode across the whole planet, the cheap availability of international travel and economic migration have both been blamed for the resurgence.

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

One night away in an infested bed is all it requires, they secret themselves in your suitcases or bags. Pest control companies are also now seeing 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 enough to spread the these bugs into your own home.

They are an difficult pest to eradicate as contrary to popular belief they do not just hide 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 expensive 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 dealt with by an amateur and a pest control professional will almost certainly be required.

Phone Manchester Pest Control now on 01257 230637