Bed bugs: advice and information

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Advice and information.

Signs of a bed bug infestation can often go unnoticed at first, as bites are attributed to other things like mosquito bites or allergic reactions and as the insects are nocturnal. They are attracted by exhaled carbon-dioxide and body heat and not dirt. Bites alone, without further evidence, do not necessarily mean you have an infestation.

Look for these signs and if you're unsure seek professional help:

• Red, irritating bites, typically in rows on your neck, shoulders, back, legs or arms
• Small reddish-brown clusters or dark faecal spots (about 1mm wide) that look like an ink dot are usually found on the bed frame, upholstery, or the bottom side of the mattress.
• Small blood smears on the bed linen or headboard. 
• Bed bug moult skins, pale-white eggs, empty eggshells are quite small but still visible to the human eye.
• A musty odour, or the most obvious but not always the first sign you find - seeing the small brown insects themselves, in and around your bed frame or sleeping area.

The lifecycle of bed bugs develops in stages: egg, immature nymph stages and then adult and this process is called incomplete metamorphosis. Females lay 200-500 eggs over several months in batches of 10-50. The eggs are sticky and attach to items of furniture or fittings in clusters. Depending on conditions, eggs can hatch in about a week, and the newly hatched nymphs shed five times before reaching maturity. The typical lifespan of a bed bug is about ten months.

Eliminating bed bugs can be difficult. The key is to locate and treat all cracks and crevices including:

• folds and seams in mattresses
• bed frames and box springs
• behind skirting boards, floorboards, windows, door mouldings, pictures, electrical switch plates and loose wallpaper
• in the pleats of curtains and the upholstery of furniture
• the premises needs to be thoroughly vacuumed prior to treatment and all bed linen should be stripped and laundered at the hottest temperature possible. 
• a full treatment of the furniture and room by a professional pest control company is advised to ensure a full and safe eradication. 
• the standard treatment for an infested property is the application of a residual insecticide, either as a liquid spray or powder. Other treatments are available such as heat treatment, but this requires specialist equipment, and we are unable to provide this type of treatment.

Prior to any bed bug treatment, it is important that you do the following things:

• Clear all clutter or unwanted or used items such as toys, books, boxes, DVDs, posters, shoes, and so on. Ensure that any infected items you are disposing of goes into your bin or to a waste facility to prevent the possibility of contamination of other properties.  
• Items that cannot be either washed, tumble dried or sprayed with insecticide should, if appropriate, be put in a bag and then placed in the freezer for at least four days before returning them to the treated room.
• Drawers and wardrobes must be emptied, and every crack vacuumed. 
• Clothes can only be re-introduced to the rooms once they have been washed at 60°c.
• All items of bedding need to be washed at 60°c followed by a hot dry cycle for at least 30 minutes.
• Carpets and curtains must be cleaned/vacuumed.
• Mattresses must be vacuumed, including around every button if they have them.
• Headboards need to be removed and divan bases opened then every crack and piece of wood vacuumed.
• After vacuuming remove the vacuum bag and ensure that this thrown away immediately by placing in an outside bin.

If you think that you may have a bed bug problem, it is important that you do not ignore it or hope that it will just go away. You should act quickly and contact a professional pest control company to help you. Self-treatment with amateur pesticide products is unlikely to be successful, and failed treatments could occur if an accurate knowledge of the bed bug is absent. Another downside is that amateur products can, in many cases, cause the bed bugs to migrate to other rooms in the property so it's always best to use a professional pest control company.