Bed-bugs - Advice for identifying and controlling

What do they look like?

The adult bedbug is a flat, oval shaped insect approximately 3.5 mm long, reddish-brown in colour becoming purple after feeding.  They are nocturnal insects which feed at night. They are wingless but the legs are well developed and they can crawl up most vertical surfaces e.g. bed legs, or are also passively transported in clothing, luggage, furniture, books or other objects used as harbourage.  Fully grown bedbugs can endure starvation for up to a year in some cases which increases their chances of surviving long periods of transportation or storage.

How do you spot them?

Any household can become infested with bedbugs.  They are often associated with low standards of hygiene, however increased travel abroad has resulted in infestations in otherwise hygienic premises.  Infestations still occur regularly, particularly in buildings with rapid turnovers, for example, hostels, holiday camps and blocks of flats.

Infestations of bedbugs found in domestic premises usually occur in bedrooms.  Both adult and juveniles live together hiding in cracks and crevices most of the time. They generally come out at night to feed on the blood of their sleeping hosts (humans).  Bedbugs will normally hide close to where the host sleeps e.g. in the frame of the bed or mattress, in furniture, behind the skirting boards or wallpaper during daylight hours.

In the UK bedbugs reach peak numbers towards early autumn. Their activities decrease with the onset of colder weather, egg laying ceases and the development of the juveniles slow down.

How do they affect humans?

A property infested with bedbugs may be classified as being 'in a verminous condition' under the Public Health Act 1936.  Owners of these premises may be obliged to have them disinfested.

Bedbugs are not regarded as disease carriers, however their feeding can cause severe irritation in some people, which can result in loss of sleep and lack of energy.  The bite of a bedbug gives rise to a hard, whitish swelling and can cause severe local irritation.

Bed bugs have stink glands which produce a distinctive and unpleasant almond like smell in infected places.

The Life Cycle

The eggs are cemented in cracks or crevices close to the hosts (humans).  The young are around 1mm long, look similar to the adults and grow by moulting.  The young require one full blood meal before they proceed to the next stage.  Development from egg to adult and the duration of adult life varies according to temperature and the availability of food.  In mild or warm temperatures the nymphs feed about every ten days and the adults weekly, but if necessary both can survive long periods without food.  In colder temperatures, egg laying and feeding stops and the population declines as eggs and young nymphs die.

How do you control them?

The source of the infestation should be identified so that proper control measures can be taken.  The treatment to be taken would depend on whether the infestation is established and widely distributed throughout the premises, or recently introduced and likely to be more localised.

Treatment

It is unwise to attempt to try and treat an infestation yourself.

1. Strip all beds of linen and wash in very hot water.
2. Ensure the bedroom floor is clear, remove and destroy any rubbish that could contain insects.
3. The bed frames, skirting and floors of any affected rooms will be sprayed with a residual insecticide.
4. Cover any fish tanks and remove other pets from the house.  The treatment should take 2-3 hours but it is recommended that the house is left empty for 4 hours afterwards. 

North Shropshire District Council provides treatment for bed-bugs free of charge in domestic properties.