Bed Bug (Cimex lectularius)

Our treatment for bed bugs:- Domestic properties -3 visits recommended. Commercial premises the number of visits and cost will be dependent upon a survey. Phone us today on 0118 972 4895 or 0800 781 4059 for a quotation and to arrange an appointment. We are based in Berkshire/South Oxon, check to see if we cover your area, for a fast response?

I am sure you will have heard the saying "Sleep tight and don't let the bed bugs bite" but mention the bed bug today and most people will think you are talking about house dust mites, such has been the relative demise of the one and the ascendancy of the other both in reality and in the publicity attached to them. This is quite a remarkable turn about in knowledge and awareness when one considers that in the late nineteenth century more than 70% of Britain’s housing stock was infested by bed bugs. Bed bugs are large enough to see, look particularly under the mattress and in the seams, in and around the bedframe, and along any cracks or peeling paint in the wall or picture frames. Check in the cracks of any wooden furniture. You can also spot bed bugs droppings, which may be tinged with blood.

They are excellent hitchhikers and are usually unknowingly transported in or on luggage, clothing, or other belongings that are carried by people as they travel. Current outbreaks have been traced to increased domestic and international travel. This is a particular problem for hotels where turnover of occupants is always constant. Bed bug Infestations can also occur inadvertently by bringing bed bug infested furniture, mattresses, or used clothing to one's household. Bedbugs may also travel between flats in blocks of flats after being brought into the building by one of the aforementioned routes. Bedbugs may wander between adjoining flats through voids in walls and along pipe/cable runs.

Bed bugs are active mainly at night. During the day they hide in cracks and crevices in walls, floors, beds and furniture. When only a few bed bugs are present, they lie close to human sleeping areas; when numerous, they can be found in many rooms of the house. A characteristic “bed bug odour” is frequently present in a home infested with bed bugs.

Bed bugs are oval, reddish brown, wingless and are flattened from top to bottom. Adult bed bugs measure about 4-7mm in length. The female will lay up to 200 plus eggs in small batches of about half a dozen a day attaching them to the surface as she moves along. The species requires a minimum temperature of at least 11degrees C to hatch successfully. Bed bugs show an incomplete life cycle; that is when the eggs hatch, a small nymphal form of the bed bug emerges. Bed bugs grow by moulting several times. Nymphs look very much like the adults except they are smaller and not sexually mature. There are five nymphal molts and each nymph must have a blood meal to be able to moult to the next size. Adults feed once a week on average, but feed many times during their four months or longer life span.

Bedbugs are extremely difficult to eradicate. That is why we recommend three visits.