Although people are severely affected by an infestation of bed bugs, the medical authorities declare that they are not a significant health hazard. Tell that to people who are suffering from bed bugs! Bed bugs are not known to transmit disease, that is a fact, but they instigate paranoia and insomnia which can have far ranging consequences.

On top of this, bed bugs are very problematic to get rid of from one’s home. The difficulty is that bedbugs are almost completely resistant to insecticides. This is because they have a thick waxy coat which prevents chemicals from attacking the insect. Bedbugs are like a cross between a beetle and a tick.

Unfortunately, it is almost impossible to eliminate an infestation of bed bugs on your own. Bedbugs are susceptible to heat, so you can steam clean your house to get rid of bedbugs, but the only guaranteed way is to call in specialized pest controllers.

If you think that you might have a bedbug infestation, there are a number of things that you must look out for. Firstly, the bugs themselves: if you have a great deal of clutter in your accommodation like heaps of newspapers, heaps of ironing or clothes, move them and be on the look out for insects running for cover. Bedbugs are actually fairly shy animals.

Look in your bed sheets. Look for flecks of blood – your blood – and excrement – the bedbugs’ excrement, which looks like russet smears. You may also see shed skins – skins that the bedbugs have shed as part of their growing process, like a snake does.

Bed bugs live in beds, clutter, clothing, cracks, torn wallpaper, broken plaster, under carpets and anywhere that is narrow and safe. They like to hide behind skirting boards, so sealing these up with mastic is a decent idea.

The best way to be clear of bed bugs is not to have them in the first place, but this is easier said than done, because there is a real epidemic of bedbugs in the West. Almost all western cities are experiencing a plague of bedbugs and have been since the mid-Nineties.

Bed bugs do not only live in homes. Bed bugs live everywhere: not just in poor homes, not only in dirty houses and not only in houses even. A bedbug can be picked from anywhere where people congregate, because bedbugs move about by hitching a lift on a human carrier. You can pick up a bedbug on a bus, in a taxi, at the cinema, in your doctor’s surgery or in a hotel.

This is quite frightening, because it means that you can not be safe from bed bugs. If you hang your coat up in a cloakroom or travel on public transport, you have a very high chance of picking up a bed bug and one bedbug can lay 300 eggs. Then you are really in trouble.

Not only that, but bedbugs can go without food for a year, like fleas can, so if you move into a ‘new’ apartment or house, these insects could be lying dormant waiting for you to give them a wake-up call.

Owen Jones, the writer of this article, writes on many topics, but is currently concerned with bed bugs spray. If you are interested in this, please go over to our website now at Picture Of Bed Bugs for more information.