One of the most hated and misunderstood pests known to science may be the bed bug (Cimex lectularius). How many of us dropped off 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 probably started to dine on human beings at about the period we moved into caves, the bat bugs Cimex pilosellus and Cimex pipistrella primarily feed on bats and it's also likely that bat feeding species of bugs evolved to nourish themselves on human blood when our forebears started dwelling in bat infested caves.
Before the arrival 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 largely restricted to budget holiday homes and student accomadation etc.
Many people mistake dust mites, which cannot be seen by the unaided eye, with bed bugs which certainly.
Adult bedbugs are reddish brown, about a few milemetres in size and engorged after dining on the blood of humans.
Bed bugs usually prey on our blood every week or so, coming out in the early hours of the morning and finding their target by sniffing the exhaled carbon dioxide from human breath and when closing in on their target, body heat.
Without a suitable human host to feed on they're able to remain dormant for periods as much as 18 months.
Signs of a bedbug presence are spots of blood on bedding and on the edges of mattresses and many people can react badly to bed bug bites.
The early the 21st century has seen bed bug reports multiplying across our world, the easy availability of international and economic migration have both been blamed for the resurgence.
What is sure is that they are now making a real fightback not just in lower quality accomodation but first class hotels, schools and in many cases hospitals.
One London borough reports a doubling of bed bug infestations yearly from 1995 to 2001.
One evening stay in an infested bed is all it requires, they catch a ride in your suitcases or bags.
Pest management companies are also now confirming cases of transportation related bed bug infestations on tubes, trains and buses so a straightforward trip to work on an infested tube or train might be enough to spread bed bugs to your own house.
They are an expensive pest to eradicate as contrary to popular notion they do not just live in beds. They infest any nook and cranny suitably close to a sleeping human, beds, electrical sockets, televisions, bed side telephones etc and dealing with them is both tricky and time consuming. They have even been discovered 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 a novice and a pest control professional will definitely be crucial.