Bed bugs bite as infestations increase


04 November 2006 10:16

Outbreaks of bed bugs in Norwich have increased by almost 50pc in the past year and our love of foreign travel and car boot sales could be to blame.

With two months of 2006 still left, a total of 32 cases have been reported to the city council's pest control department.

Last year, the number of cases reported during the whole year was only 24 and the unwelcome increase in the blood sucking creatures is being blamed on a number of factors.

The popularity of foreign travel has meant the unwelcome hitchhikers are catching a lift into the UK in people' s luggage and with car boot sales also growing in popularity, the creatures are transferred from home to home in second-hand furniture.

Elizabeth Kidman is a senior entomologist at the Medical Entomology Centre in Cambridge and has studied them in her labs. She confirmed incidents of bed bugs were steadily increasing.

“The thing is, a lot of people think they live in beds but they do not. They live in furniture close to beds,” she said.

“They exist there and come out to feed on you at night when you are asleep. You are their blood meal.

“Bed bugs can give you a nasty bite but they do not transmit disease. The only time you would end up in hospital is if you had a severe reaction.”

Many people wrongly believe beg bugs live in unclean houses, but this is a myth. Once there is a few in a home they will quickly develop into a full blown infestation as the females reproduce at a rate of two to three a day. Luckily they can be easily treated by experts such as the council's pest control officer.

A city council spokeswoman said: “Depending on the extent of the infestation, beds and furniture will be thoroughly treated with insecticide. While the treatment is carried out people may need to make arrangements to stay elsewhere. In extreme cases it may be necessary to dispose of furniture and other items.

“Infested items have to be carefully disposed of to avoid spreading the problem. The council will arrange this. We ask people not put things out for collection or dump them.”



Bed bug facts

Ü Bed bugs are small bloodsucking insects which can measure up to 5mm across.

Ü They thrive in warm surroundings and live in cracks and crevices, usually around beds where they have a ready source of food.

Ü An early sign of a possible problem is small specks of blood on sheets and pillows.

Ü A single adult female lays two to three eggs a day and will live for 18 months.

Ü Foreign travellers who lodge in hotels and guesthouses are prime targets for bed bugs, as are users of temporary accommodation.

Ü In the 1880s it was estimated that more than 75pc of British homes were infested with bed bugs. That level had fallen to a quarter by the start of the Second World War.

Ü Though bed bug bites can be nasty and some people can have an allergic reaction, there is no evidence they transmit disease.



To contact the council's pest control officer call the council on 01603 212212.

Have you suffered a serious infestation in your home? Contact reporter Dominic Chessum on 01603 772428 or e-mail dominic.chessum@archant.co.uk

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