Bedbugs

Treatment for bedbugs

Bedbugs are generally flat, oval shaped insects.   Although they are usually brown or reddish brown in colour, because they feed on blood this colour can change from very pale before feeding through to a dark mahogany or even purple colour afterwards.   The shape may change after feeding leaving them rather less flat than before.    The adult bedbug is approximately 6mm in length (and that is considerably larger than most people think – they are not microscopic – in fact they are often described as being of similar size to a ladybird)   - although they do have to develop through five growing stages to reach this size.   The speed with which bedbugs reach maturity depends upon ambient temperatures and food (ie. blood) availability.   Although the progression from newly hatched so called “nymphs” to the final growth stage of an adult can take anything from 6to 18 months, all stages are of similar shape and colour and all feed on your blood!

In practical terms, how do you know whether or not you have an infestation of bedbugs?   You may of course wake up in the early hours of the morning to find a bedbug feeding on you or simply walking across your duvet! In most cases the problem first becomes evident because you wake up in the morning to find that you have been “bitten” – these will usually be raised areas of skin of varying size that are paler in colour than the surrounding skin.  .  One bedbug may well bite you several times during one night.    You are also likely to notice otherwise unexplained blood spots on your bed linen.   If you look in the right places you will also find signs of eggs or egg casings and of dark spots of bedbug excreta.   Finally, a room infested with bedbugs has a characteristic and unusual odour, often referred to as sweet or sickly.

The first step in clearing an infestation is to identify the source and ensure that it is professionally treated.    The infested rooms must be thoroughly cleaned and checked for signs of bed bug activity.     Please do not dispose of any furniture (and please, especially do not dispose of the bed) until it has been treated.   If you replacing an infested bed without treatment of the room, you may have the luxury of not being bitten for a few days but in our experience, the problem will be back.   Bedbugs will not only be hiding in your bed and moving the bed or other items of furniture) will run the risk of (a) spreading the infestation to other parts of your home as bedbugs and eggs may fall off en-route to outdoors and (b) having removed a nesting site, the remaining bedbugs will now be dispersed and in consequence harder to find and treat. For similar reasons you should avoid moving any furniture or bedding between rooms at this time.     Remove all bedlinen and clothing from infested rooms.  If possible, wash (at a temperature above 60 degrees Celcius) or dry clean and then seal in plastic bags to prevent re-infestation.     Please leave your beds in their usual places.   Remove all articles and clutter from beneath and around the bed including bedside cabinets and tables.      Be ready to re-use infested beds as soon as possible after treatment, ideally the same night.