'Good Night, Sleep Tight, Don't Let The Bed Bugs Bite' is something that people used to say regularly to their children in the first half of the 20th Century. Some parents still say it even now, but before they really meant it, because there were bed bugs - everywhere. Western cities were severely infested with them and had been for three hundred years or more.
Bed bugs were exterminated in the Forties and Fifties by the widespread use of DDT, which has since been prohibited. In 1995, reported cases of bed bug infestations rose sharply for the first time in fifty years. The number of bed bug incidents has been increasing ever since. Therefore, the saying 'Good Night, Sleep Tight, Don't Let The Bed Bugs Bite' has become pertinent again.
The problem is that it is very, very difficult to prevent them biting and it is almost as hard to eradicate them, because modern bedbugs have become almost totally immune to the insecticides that we have available to us these days.
Scientists in several companies are working on chemicals to eradicate bedbugs, but as of yet, there has not been much advancement. Pharaoh ant venom is lethal to bedbugs, but it is proving tricky to synthesize in sufficient volumes.
If you think that you have bed bugs, you will probably have seen a few bugs, have had a few bites or have seen bedbug faeces. Bed bugs are small, brown, wingless insects about three-sixteenths of an inch long and a little rounded on top although their general appearance is flattish.
Bedbug bites often show in bumps, which may come up up to nine days after you were bitten. Sometimes they are in rows of three like flea bites. They are usually itchy. Bed bug droppings are brown. They often resemble brown streaks on a mattress.
If you have bedbugs, there is not a lot you can do yourself. Bedbugs do not inevitably live in squalid conditions. However, they do like clutter, because it provides more hiding places. If you have had books, magazines or clothes lying in the same spot for weeks, move them to see if bedbugs come out.
If you are in rented accommodation, get in touch with your landlord. If you own your own home, you have a big problem. The first move should be to check with your local heath authorities for the phone number of a reputable, experienced, professional pest controller.
While you are waiting for them to call round, clear away all your clutter and strip your beds. Bedbugs, in all their guises, are killed by temperatures above 46C (120F), so either put your clothes on a boil wash or put them in the clothes dryer on a hot temperature.
A competent pest controller will check your property meticulously and give you a detailed report and a price tag. The report will include an action plan of how to get ready for treatment and prevent further infestation. The price of the clean-up should be based on this report, it should not be a flat fee.
Bed bugs were exterminated in the Forties and Fifties by the widespread use of DDT, which has since been prohibited. In 1995, reported cases of bed bug infestations rose sharply for the first time in fifty years. The number of bed bug incidents has been increasing ever since. Therefore, the saying 'Good Night, Sleep Tight, Don't Let The Bed Bugs Bite' has become pertinent again.
The problem is that it is very, very difficult to prevent them biting and it is almost as hard to eradicate them, because modern bedbugs have become almost totally immune to the insecticides that we have available to us these days.
Scientists in several companies are working on chemicals to eradicate bedbugs, but as of yet, there has not been much advancement. Pharaoh ant venom is lethal to bedbugs, but it is proving tricky to synthesize in sufficient volumes.
If you think that you have bed bugs, you will probably have seen a few bugs, have had a few bites or have seen bedbug faeces. Bed bugs are small, brown, wingless insects about three-sixteenths of an inch long and a little rounded on top although their general appearance is flattish.
Bedbug bites often show in bumps, which may come up up to nine days after you were bitten. Sometimes they are in rows of three like flea bites. They are usually itchy. Bed bug droppings are brown. They often resemble brown streaks on a mattress.
If you have bedbugs, there is not a lot you can do yourself. Bedbugs do not inevitably live in squalid conditions. However, they do like clutter, because it provides more hiding places. If you have had books, magazines or clothes lying in the same spot for weeks, move them to see if bedbugs come out.
If you are in rented accommodation, get in touch with your landlord. If you own your own home, you have a big problem. The first move should be to check with your local heath authorities for the phone number of a reputable, experienced, professional pest controller.
While you are waiting for them to call round, clear away all your clutter and strip your beds. Bedbugs, in all their guises, are killed by temperatures above 46C (120F), so either put your clothes on a boil wash or put them in the clothes dryer on a hot temperature.
A competent pest controller will check your property meticulously and give you a detailed report and a price tag. The report will include an action plan of how to get ready for treatment and prevent further infestation. The price of the clean-up should be based on this report, it should not be a flat fee.
About the Author:
Owen Jones, the author of this piece, writes on many topics, but is currently involved with how do you get bed bugs? If you are interested in this, please go over to our website now at Picture Of Bed Bugs for further details.
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