How To Recognize Bedbugs

I presume you already know that bedbugs have made a revival in the West. Bedbugs were practically totally eradicated in western Europe, the United States and Canada in the 1950′s, but have been resurfacing in ever larger numbers since around 1995. It is assumed that this is due to more numerous foreign holidays and increased immigration..

You see, bedbugs travel around by hitching a lift on people’s clothing and then jumping off when it gets quiet and warm enough again. The poor little creatures are actually quite shy, you know, which is why you could have a growing family of them in your house long before you become bitten. And bedbugs can go for six months without feeding.

Bedbugs are small, normally brownish beetles that look a bit banded, because of the hairs on their back. They have a long pointy beak for sucking blood and can move surprisingly quickly if disturbed. Some people say that they cannot be seen with the naked eye, but this only applies to those of us with very poor eyesight. A bedbug is about the size, colour and shape or an apple pip on legs.

In fact, you may never see a bedbug in your room, yet you might see remains of its activity. If you see brown stains on your sheets, they are bedbug droppings and if you see red streaks, that is your blood. You might also see black spots, which are also faeces and hollow insect cases, which is where they have shed a skin on their way to adulthood.

Those who have knowledge of bedbugs say that you do not have to see them, you can smell them. Apparently, their smell is very distinctive, but you would have to speak to quite an old person to describe it for you as most people under 60 will not have had many dealings with bedbugs, if any at all.

Bedbug bites have an effect on us in different ways. Some people react quite badly to the bites when others may hardly notice them at all. However, most of us notice some red marks that itch. A little like mosquito bites.

I suppose that you are asking yourself how you can be rid of these little bugs by now. Well, here is the bad news – bedbugs are notoriously difficult to be rid of. In fact, if you have an infestation of bedbugs, you ought to notify your landlord and the health authorities but if you own the property yourself, you will probably have to pay to get the exterminators in as pesticides and insecticides are practically useless against them.

The best manner to deal with bedbugs is not to let them get a foothold in your premises. Most of us pick up a bedbug while on holiday, staying in a hotel at home or while using public transport or in public places like cinemas.

So, examine your clothing, especially under the collar and in the pockets. The only surefire manner of killing bedbugs is the use of heat, so if you find one on your coat, put your garments in the tumble dryer on full heat to kill the bedbug, its friends and its eggs.

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