The holiday season is upon us and many of you will have taken a well earned hotel break either overseas or closer to home. The Olympics has bought tourists not only to our capital but also to major attractions such as Lincoln, staying in countless hotels along the way. So what’s the problem with that? I hear you cry.
After the Sydney Olympics there was an 8,000% upsurge in bed bug infestations in hotels and homes. With increased travel and more hotel breaks, the once rare bed bug is due for resurgence.
Whilst bed bugs were once common in our homes, by the mid 1900s due to the chemical DDT and a large campaign to educate the public, cases were falling rapidly. However in the past 15 years numbers have skyrocketed along with resistance to some insecticide pest controllers can use, and an increase in foreign travel.
Bed bugs drink blood from us whilst we sleep usually between 1am and 5am when we are less likely to wake up and detect them. They sense carbon dioxide, sweat and heat from our bodies and leave their nooks and crannies in which they hide to feed on our unsuspecting bodies. They are unlikely to crawl over us and prefer to feed from any limb lying next to the sheet often the face, arm or chest. After only a few minutes they are full and will scuttle away to the mattress, bedside table or skirting board to hide until they feed again.
An open suitcase, discarded clothing or even a book by the side of the bed could provide a suitable hiding place ready to hitch a ride back to your home. One pregnant bed bug in January could mean 500 in March and up to 31,000 in June. With central heating and carpets and furnishings the bedbugs will flourish in our modern homes and become quite a problem very quickly.
Adult bed bugs are the size of an apple pip. Most bed bugs will feed weekly if a human is available and will swell up considerably, however they can go a whole year without a blood meal. Before they hide in their cracks and crevices they deposit a droplet of digested blood to make them wafer thin again and hard to spot. Some clients have a reaction to the bites they receive whilst others can be bitten and show no reaction at all and this is where the trouble begins.
If you are bitten and do not react then you will have no idea that you have been in contact with bed bugs and could easily be sharing your bed with them. You are unlikely to see them unless you physically look for signs of an infestation and know where to look for those signs.
Bed bugs do not indicate poor hygiene or sub standard living conditions they can be found in homes, hostels, public transport and top class hotels. When a bed bug hitches a ride in someone’s belongings they do not know where they will end up. What is for certain is that they will be able to feed and multiply and spread as they have been doing across the world and in the UK.
Prevention is better and cheaper than cure so here are some quick tips to help.
On arriving in your room place your luggage on a rack or in the bathroom, not on or near the bed.
Check the mattress and headboard for any dark spotting left by bed bugs after feeding or shed skins which look like paper versions of the bugs themselves.
If you are happy that the room is clear unpack your luggage but keep the room tidy and clutter free for your stay.
If in doubt call in a professional ………Sleep Tight Don’t Let the Bed Bugs Bite.
