About Bedbugs
Bed bugs are one of the most difficult pests to eradicate. They reproduce rapidly, hide in cracks too small to see, and have grown increasingly resistant to consumer-grade chemical treatments. The good news: with professional treatment - especially heat treatment - even severe infestations can be cleared in a single day.
Bed Bug Lifecycle
Bed bugs hatch as nymphs from eggs and go through five stages of immaturity where they shed their exoskeleton before becoming a sexually mature adult on the sixth shedding. They increase in size each time, and it may be difficult to identify them until the fourth or fifth nymph stage if you are not practised in doing so. They can also live for up to a year without feeding, so do not assume that they have gone just because you have not seen them recently.
Particularly problematic for homeowners is the tendency for females to migrate after mating to avoid being hassled by males, thus spreading throughout the property and to nearby properties. This is why thorough heat treatments are usually recommended for most infestation cases.
Identifying Bed Bugs
Although there are different species of bed bugs, the likeliest species to have infested your home is the common or household bed bug (Cimex lectularius). Adult bed bugs and nymphs look more or less the same in terms of shape - they both have flat, oval-shaped bodies. Adults are light-brown to reddish-brown in colour, while nymphs are translucent and generally lighter. After feeding both turn darker.
Eggs can be difficult to spot unless you are looking for them - they are generally white in colour and about the same size as a grain of salt.
Quick Identification
- Adult: 4-5mm long, flat, oval, reddish-brown
- Fed: rounded and darker, like an apple pip
- Nymphs: tiny, almost colourless until they feed
- Eggs: pale white, 1mm long, often clustered
Hiding Places
- Mattress seams, box springs and bed frames
- Headboards, drawer joints and behind picture frames
- Skirting boards, carpet edges and curtain hems
- Sofas, armchairs and other upholstered furniture
Signs of Bed Bugs
History of Bed Bugs
Bed bugs have lived alongside humans for millennia. The story of human attempts to control them is long, and the pest is more persistent than people often realise.
Ancient and Pre-Modern
- 400 BC: First mentioned in Ancient Greece - thought to have medicinal value
- 1580s: Spread across Europe and arrived in England
- 1940s: Almost universal in the UK and Europe
- Post-war: Levels declined with powerful new pesticides
Modern Resurgence
- 1980s: Worldwide levels rose again - air travel a key factor
- 2010s: Chemical resistance widespread
- Today: Increasing problem in densely populated areas
- Now controlled with heat and specialist chemicals
Heat Treatments - The Modern Answer
Heat treatments are by far the most effective way of killing bed bugs, regardless of their maturity, as well as the eggs - which are usually fully resistant to most professional products. Thoroughly heating every affected room, as well as those adjacent or connected to them, avoids the use of hazardous chemicals and is often the only way to truly eradicate a bed bug infestation.
JG Pest Control's heat treatment is guaranteed: same-day eradication, single visit. Chemical and freeze treatments are also available where heat is not practical.