Bedbugs

BEDBUG FACTS

• Bed bugs are flat, oval, wingless (1/4 inch). They hunt for sleeping mammals and birds. They can spend a long time without feeding this could be up to a year, they feed at night and hide during day.

• They deposit eggs everywhere, hatching takes 1- 2 weeks and they mature in four weeks. Whenever the temperatures are high the maturing period is short.

• Bedbugs hide in cracks, bed creases, bed joint frames, chairs in bedrooms, suit cases, sofa sets, wall boards, behind pictures.

• Bedbug Bite Patterns: These bites are  small,raised bumps on the skin with  Redness, swelling, and itching tendincies.

• Some people get severe reactons when bitten  everywhere on the body but usually near skin vessels on neck, hands, arms, legs.

SIGNS OF A BEDBUG INFESTATION

• Dark/black stains

• Sweet scent

• Small dark spots

• Live insects

• Blood spots 

WHERE TO FIND BEDBUGS

• Bed frames and headboard crevices

• Mattress seams

• Carpets and underlay

• Skirting boards

• Between timber floorboards

• In cracked or broken plaster, behind peeling wallpaper

• Inside electrical sockets and fittings

• Drawers and cupboards

• Wardrobes

• Bedside cabinets

BEDBUG PREVENTION TIPS

• Isolate your luggage and clothing before laundry which is to be done at high temperatures .

• Treatment by a professional pest control expert.

• Vacuuming the items you suspect but ensure to use hot water while cleaning the vacuum.

• In hotels train your staff on how to identify bed bugs.

• Inspect adjacent rooms to identify if the bed bugs have spread

PHYSICAL APPEARANCE OF BEDBUGS

• Bed bugs are around 5 to 6mm long before a blood meal extending to about 7mm when fully engorged.

• Oval and flattened from back to underside with thick, well-developed legs. Bed bugs do not have wings.

• Their mouths are pointed for piercing and sucking.

• Adult bed bugs are rusty red-brown in colour.

• Eggs are whitish cream, getting darker as they hatch to larvae.

• Their shed skins are lighter brown and look like flaky exoskeletons.

LIFECYCLE OF BEDBUGS

Bed bugs lay 200 – 500 eggs over a 2 month period in batches of 10 to 50. The adult female must have a blood meal before egg-laying. The eggs are usually laid in cracks and crevices and can be attached to items of furniture or fittings in clusters by a transparent substance.

There are 7 stages to the lifecycle from egg to fully grown adult which can be from 45 days but may be up to a year. The typical life span of a bed bug is about 50 days to over a year depending on favourable conditions. They can survive for weeks to months without feeding.

BEDBUG HABITS

Bedbugs feed on human blood and are attracted to body heat and CO2 from sleeping humans. They inject an anaesthetic when they pierce the skin, so the bite can go unnoticed at first. They are found in cracks and crevices, headboards, behind peeling wallpaper, broken plaster, light switches, under carpets and skirting boards etc. so they are near to people for feeding. Bed bugs usually visit their host for a blood feed just before dawn. When alarmed they move quickly and emit an odour.