Recently we received an unusual request from a haulage company owner in Lancashire, to treat the cab of a HGV for a bedbug infestation.

One of the most feared and misunderstood pests known to man is the bed bug (Cimex lectularius).

How many of us dozed off to sleep at night as children with the words of our parents in our ears ‘sleep tight and don’t let the bed bugs bite’?

Bed bugs may have started to feed on man at about the time we moved into caves, the ‘bat bugs’ Cimex pilosellus and Cimex pipistrella primarily feed on bats and it is probable that bat feeding species of bug evolved to dine on human blood when our ancestors started living in bat infested caves.

Until the invention of DDT in the early 20th century bed bugs were common non-paying guests in much poor quality homes. The later part of the 20th century experienced pest control companies dealing with very few bed bug problems indeed, their presence being largely confined to inexpensive vacation camps and student lodging etc.

Many people confuse dust mites, which are not visible to the unaided eye, with bed bugs which certainly are. Adult bedbugs are reddy-brown, about a quarter of an inch in size and greatly swollen after a meal of human blood. They grow by an incomplete metamorphosis which means that the babies are just smaller versions of the adult, they don’t have a maggot stage like a flea or flies.

Bed bugs regularly feed on human blood every 7 – 10 days, coming out in the hours before dawn and sensing their host target by detecting the exhaled carbon dioxide from our breath and when nearing in on their target, infra red body heat. In the absence of a regular human host to feed on they can remain dormant for periods of up to 18 months. Signs of a bed bug problem are spots of blood on bedding and on the base of mattresses and many people can react badly to their bites.

The early 21st century has seen bed bug numbers increase across the world, the easy availability of global travel and economic migration have both been blamed for the increase. What is sure is that they are now making a major comeback not only in poor quality dwellings but high class hotels, schools and often hospitals. One London borough reported a doubling of bed bug jobs each year from 1995 – 2001. Just one night away in an infested hotel is all it takes, they hitch a ride in your suitcases or bags. Pest control firms are also now reporting cases of transport related bed bug infestations on tubes, trains and buses so a single journey to town on an infested tube or train can be enough to spread 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 crawl into any nook and cranny conveniently close to a sleeping human, beds, electrical sockets, televisions, bed-side bed side telephones etc and eradication is both difficult and time consuming. They have even been found living beneath the toe-nails of infirm persons and in the creases of flesh on grossly over-weight people. They are not a pest that can be eradicated by an amateur and a professional will almost certainly be needed.

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