Bed bugs (Cimex lectularius) have been associated with humans for thousands of years. Proof of this is the remains of bed bugs that have been found in the tombs of Egyptian mummies.

Following World War II, there was a dramatic decline in bed bug numbers due to the use of synthetic insecticides such as DDT, as well as better standards of living, affordable housing etc.

The Bedbug populations stayed at a fairly low level for the next 50 years, though since the turn of the century, there has been a sharp increase in bedbug numbers across Europe, North America, Australia and Asia.

At Terminate Pest Control, we regularly have to deal with bed bug infestations.

This resurgence of this pest is likely due to a number of factors, including; treatment failures due to poor pest management practise, causing resistance to certain insecticides.

The successful control of bedbugs requires cooperation between all parties involved; the pest control technician, home owner, hotel, tenant, landlord etc.

The bugs themselves range from light yellowy/tan in colour and are about 1-2mm in size when new born, and grow to about 5mm and turn dark red/brown in colour when fully grown. An adult bed bug is about the shape and size of an apple seed.

They can reproduce quickly if given the right conditions. For example, if in an environment around 23 degrees C, a female can lay between 10-25 eggs, and the incubation time for the eggs would only be about 1 week. In colder climates, below 13 degrees C, the females stop laying eggs and the eggs that have already been laid cease to hatch, until the temperature raises again. These eggs can actually last for up to a year without hatching.

The females need to mate at least once every 5-6 weeks to maintain full fertility, though natural mating rates are believed to be much higher.

Bed bugs are very secretive by nature, so it is important to be able to recognise the signs of infestation. While a lot of the time bugs will set up home somewhere in the frame of the bed or the mattress when a bed is available, they are not necessarily confined to it. In fact, bedbugs can be found living in any part of a room, including; bedside tables, chests of drawers, wardrobes, desks, behind skirting boards, under carpets, behind pictures/posters, on curtains, among clothes, even inside plug sockets.

The obvious first signs of a bedbug infestation are usually the bites, which often occur late at night and not usually felt at first. Some people do not react at all to the bites, whereas other reactions may be slight itching to severe swelling where an allergic reaction takes place.

If you suspect beg bugs might be living in your home, the first place you want to check is you mattress and bed frame. These pests like to flatten themselves and hide in small cracks and crevices. The main thing to look for aside from the bugs themselves, are the fecal spots, which look like little dark red, brown, black spots, (similar to black spot mould), and are made from the congealed blood of their victim.

Common places to find these are; on the mattress piping where the slats meet the bed frame, behind the headboard (especially if it has material attached to the back), inside the divan frame and also any recesses for screws/fastenings, though as mentioned before, these can actually be found anywhere in the room.

If you find signs of a bed bug pest infestation it is recommended you contact a professional pest control technician.

Pre-treatment preparation usually involves clearing the room of most of the items except the furniture, meaning you must empty drawers and wardrobes of clothes, strip the bed, remove books and items from shelves and any clutter under the bed or anywhere else in the room.

It is recommended that you tie all items up in bags, so any bedbugs or eggs among clothes or items are contained safely. You should then wash all clothes and bedding at 60 degrees or above, for a minimum of 30 minutes or if possible, tumble dry them at the highest setting possible. 30 minutes at 60 degrees will kill all bedbug life stages.

You should also vacuum the room thoroughly, right up to the skirting boards and the vacuum cleaner should then be cleaned and the vacuum bag disposed of properly.

The pest control treatment itself is done with a residual insecticide, mixed with an Insect Growth Regulator (IGR).

The insecticide is sprayed into all cracks and crevices and possible harbourage points in the room. Once it has dried, it still leaves a residue of insecticide that should stay active for 2-3 weeks, though recent reports show that some strains of bed bugs show immunity to the dried insecticides. The IGR works by interfering with the bedbugs moulting process, stopping it from being able to shed its skin and grow, and stopping young insects from being able to reproduce.

After the treatment it is advisable to stay out of the room for a few hours and also not to sleep on the mattress that night if it is still wet from insecticide.

All insect eggs are immune to insecticides, so horrible as is sounds, it is also recommended that someone sleep in the bed the following night and thereafter, as the eggs and bugs need to detect the CO2 from your breath to hatch and become active. Remember, the quicker they hatch, the quicker they die!

Remember not to vacuum the room for 10-14 days, so not to remove the residual insecticide. Subsequent pest control treatments should be carried out every 2-3 weeks until the infestation is eradicated.

If removing any items from a room to dispose of, e.g. an old, damaged mattress, make sure it is wrapped up carefully in a plastic coating, so not to transfer the infestation to another part of the house, and render it unusable with a knife, so it is not picked up by anyone else.