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Risk/Damage Bed bugs are not regarded as disease carriers, but due to their feeding habits of blood from their hosts, this can cause severe irritation resulting in loss of sleep, lack of energy and listlessness. They do not damage fabrics, furniture etc. as they are parasites. [back to top]
Biology and Behaviour Bed bugs cannot fly. They must either crawl or be passively transported. Most common means of transportation are second-hand furniture and luggage, after staying in hotels etc. In addition, in an age of increased use of central heating, this allows continued feeding and proliferation during winter time. Bed bugs can harbourage themselves in any little nook and cranny such as back of head boards, behind skirting boards and in the cracks and joins of furniture. [back to top]
Life Cycle Bed bug adults can live in normal room temperature conditions (approx 20oC) for 9-18 months with incubation taking 10-20 days and the complete cycle 9-18 weeks. Nymphs tend to feed at 10 day intervals and adults weekly. However, both nymphs and adults can survive longer periods without food and adults can survive up to a year under cooler conditions (13oC). Egg laying is almost continuous at about 3 per day and are cemented to harbourages in large numbers. The length varies from 0.8-1.3mm by 0.4-0.6mm wide and will be an opaque, pearly white. [back to top]
Control Although bed bugs are thought to be a result of bad hygiene, this is not necessarily the case. Good housekeeping is unlikely to provide an adequate method of control although will reveal the presence of bed bugs at an early stage, making control and source identification easier. It is probably best to employ the services of a professional pest controller, who will treat the premises thoroughly with suitable insecticides, including the beds, other furniture and harbourages in the infested rooms. It is likely that a repeat treatment may be required more than once, depending on the severity of infestation. [back to top]
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