Skin problems health centre

Don’t lose sleep over bedbugs

Bedbugs – or cimex lectularius as bug experts call them - are sneaky and lurk where you least expect. Learn here how to spot them and get them before they get you.

Bedbugs - that pest from the old bedtime rhyme (night night, sleep tight, don't let the bedbugs bite) - are making a comeback. More of a nuisance than a health hazard, they are sucking blood from guests in hotels, university dormitories and hospitals.

Know the enemy

Adult bedbugs are wingless insects about 5mm long and oval in shape – similar to a lentil. Their colour is nearly white after moulting, then ranges from tan to burnt orange. After a blood meal, they'll appear dark red or black.

Their flat bodies enable them to hide in dark, cosy cracks and crevices in beds, skirting boards, sofas and drawers, and even behind wallpaper and electrical socket plates. That's where they nest during the day, typically not far from where they'll find their host - that's you - at night.

These little bloodsuckers dine on you without causing you to lose sleep. The next morning, you'll discover lesions that resemble the bite of a mosquito or other insect.
Bedbugs are not attracted to dirt, so having bedbugs doesn't mean a hotel, home or dorm is not clean.

Although they live on blood, adults can live for a year between meals, so just because a room hasn't been used for some time doesn’t mean it will be bug-free. They could just be dormant.

Bedbugs and public health

Bedbug bites can lead to itchy red bumps a day to nine days later.

These often happen on the face, neck, hands or arms, although not everyone has a skin reaction to a bedbug bite.

Bedbugs don't transmit any human diseases, but that doesn't mean they should be ignored. Females lay 200-500 eggs in two months, so you could have lots of unwanted company very quickly.

Getting rid of bedbugs

Because bedbugs live where you sleep, extra care is needed with pesticide to avoid over exposure where you sleep.

Getting rid of bedbugs is usually a job for professionals. Contact your local council or a member of the British Pest Control Association for advice.

Specially trained technicians can use hot or cold with steamers or rapid freeze systems to kill your bedbugs.

If you do decide to use special bedbug insecticide spray yourself, always read the label. Never use these treatments on clothing, linen or a mattress.

Hunting for bedbugs

Bedbug experts recommend the following steps for identifying the culprit:

• Search the bedroom. Look in folds and creases in mattresses and box springs, joints of bed frames, pleats of curtains, behind loose wallpaper, in spaces of wicker furniture, behind cove moulding, and in corners of drawers. You may notice dark brown or reddish faecal spots on bed linen, mattresses or walls near the bed.
• When you find an insect compare it with the image in this article, or put the bug a plastic bag or bottle to show to an expert.