Facts on Bed Bugs
Why are they a problem?
Bed-bugs are not regarded as disease carriers, but their blood feeding can cause severe irritation in some people, resulting in loss of sleep, lack of energy and listlessness, particularly in children. The bite often gives rise to a hard, whitish swelling which distinguishes it from the flea bite which leaves a dark red spot surrounded by a reddened area. Different individuals react differently to bites, some gaining immunity. Probably more important, however, is the distaste with which these insects are regarded. Bed-bug excrement gives a characteristic speckled appearance to their harbourages, whilst their "stink glands" confer a distinctive and unpleasant almond-like smell on infested rooms. In addition, the very thought of being preyed upon by such creatures is quite sufficient to make most people take immediate action to control them.
Distribution
As bed-bugs cannot fly, they must either crawl or be passively transported in clothing, or more probably in luggage, furniture, books and other objects used as harbourages. Their ability to withstand many months without feeding increases their chances of surviving such transportation and the insects' very wide distribution throughout the world demonstrates their success. Any household can be invaded by bed-bugs, but it is likely that infestations will only become established in premises with low standards of hygiene. Bed-bugs are therefore generally associated with poor, crowded and unhygienic conditions. Most bed-bugs infestations are to be found in domestic premises, usually in the bedrooms. Both juveniles and adults live similar lives, hiding away in cracks and crevices for most of the time and coming out at night, usually just before dawn, to feed on the blood of their sleeping hosts. Their hiding-places will be close to where their hosts sleep: in the bed frame or the mattress; in furniture, behind the skirting, behind the wallpaper -anywhere that affords a dark harbourage during the daylight hours for these nocturnal creatures.
Life cycle
The female bed-bug lays pearly white eggs approximately 1mm long, which are 'glued' into cracks and crevices in bed frames, furniture, wallpaper, in fact anywhere that provides dark harbourage during daylight. They will lay about 150 eggs over their lifetime which will hatch in 10 to 20 days and will reach adulthood in approx. nine weeks under reasonable conditions, but will be considerably longer if the temperature is low. There are 5 nymph stages between egg and adulthood. The adults live for up to 18 months, usually feeding weekly, but can survive for over a year without blood in cool conditions (13°C).