October 16th, 2023 by Shauna Hammond

Amidst the fears of an influx of Bed Bugs after the recent outbreak in France and worries surrounding a possible increase in London after a viral TikTok video revealed a brown bug crawling up the leg of a passenger on the Victoria Line – many of us are looking for ways to prevent an infestation from entering our homes. In this blog, we will take a look at what Bed Bugs are how to prevent them and how to treat them if you suspect you may have these unwelcome creepies crawlies in your home.

What Are Bed Bugs?

Let’s first take a look at what these little critters are so that you can successfully identify them, that way you can quickly and easily identify and deal with the issue as quickly as possible if you should, unfortunately, find yourself host to these unwanted guests.

As you may know, Bed Bugs are small brown insects that are around 5-7mm in size when they have not recently fed they will appear fat and oval, however, if recently fed they will appear more reddish brown and round.  Bed Bugs are more often nocturnal and spend the day time hiding in dark nooks and crevices – they can also hide in the seams of mattresses and inside bedframes.

Bed Bugs can be very difficult to get rid of once they make themselves at home since they reproduce relatively quickly and the eggs are quite difficult to kill. Female Bed Bugs can lay between 1-5 eggs a day, these eggs will hatch within 10 days and will reach full maturity within 37 days – so if you don’t find and treat the problem quickly then a full infestation can take hold in just over a month.

Do Bed Bugs Pose Health Risks?

One of your biggest concerns when it comes to Bed Bugs may lay in concerns over your own health – the good news is that while their bites may leave a mark and become itchy, bed bugs are not known to carry disease. However, infections can develop as a result of bites, just as some people may have more severe reactions than others so it is important to care properly for any bites and to seek medical help should you notice anything out of the ordinary. Bed bug bites will usually appear on exposed areas of skin such as ankles and legs they will appear as slightly raised red bumps and will usually appear in line or zig-zag in small clusters.

Why Are Bed Bugs So Difficult to Get Rid Of?

One of the largest issues with bed bugs lies with how difficult they can be to get rid of from your home once an infestation occurs. This is for a few reasons:

Resilience

Bed bugs are pretty resilient critters, they can withstand fairly low temperatures and high temperatures too, they can also go for long periods of time without feeding (between 20-400 days depending on other factors such as temperature). Bed bug's eggs are also very hardy too – so while some products will hatch bed bugs the egg will remain intact later hatching and starting the whole process again.

Rapid Reproduction

As mentioned bed bugs have a fairly fast reproductive system with females laying between 1-5 eggs a day which will hatch and reach maturity in around 37 days – so new generations can quickly replace the original generation that infested your home and since the eggs can be difficult to kill its hard to keep the infestation under control without repeat treatments.

Good at Hiding

Another hurdle when dealing with bed bugs is that they are incredibly good at hiding – you may not realise that you have bed bugs until they have already well-established a home within your home. This is further made difficult because they are nocturnal so, you may never even see a bed bug during infestation.

Easily Spread

Finally, bed bugs are adept at hitching rides in luggage, on clothing or furniture – this means they can be easily spread from room to room or even home to home. It can be tempting to empty a room of furniture, clothing fabrics etc to try and find the bed bugs however this just gives them the opportunity to move rooms and spread throughout the whole home. This also means it can be relatively easy to contract bed bugs if you travel or use public transport with some frequency.

Spotting the Signs of Bed Bugs

While it can be tricky spotting the initial infestation – it isn’t impossible and with diligence, you can hopefully get on top of it before it gets out of hand. Here are a few signs to look out for that may indicate the presence of bed bugs.

Bite Marks

The most obvious sign of bed bugs is the presence of bite marks, these appear as small red bumps that will usually present themselves in a zig-zag line. These bits may be itchy, and will often appear on areas of skin that are exposed while sleeping such as ankles, legs, arms etc.

Dark Marks on Mattress and Bedding

Another sign that is relatively easy to spot is the presence of dark smears and marks on the mattress and bedding this is because they can be accidentally crushed during the night leaving behind blood stains likewise they also leave rust-coloured faecal stains on bedding and mattress seams this will appear as dark brown smudges or dots.  

Musty Odour

The pheromones produced by bed bugs often create a musty odour that is often compared to the smelly of damp and mildew or wet laundry. If you notice some of these signs but are still not certain if you have a bed bug problem, you can purchase sticky traps that can be placed around the room, these will attract bed bugs and when they walk across them they will become stuck this will allow you to visually identify the presence of bed bugs.

Treating Your Home for Bed Bugs

So, how do you treat your home for bed bugs? There are a couple of options, you can call in a professional to treat the issue using pesticides – this while effective can be costly especially since a professional treatment will also likely still require re-treatment. The second option is to treat the problem yourself.

If you choose to treat a bed bug infestation yourself it is important to understand there is no quick fix and you should create a treatment routine and stick to it to best deal with the issue as quickly as possible. It is best to use a couple of different products to treat a bed bug infestation. At HSD we recommend using a fumer or ‘bug bomb’ this is an instant kill product that will kill any bug it comes into contact with, to make the most of this you should be sure to open all drawers, doors, boxes – anywhere that may make a good hiding spot. This will help to kill a large majority of the hatched bed bugs however it will not penetrate eggs, in order to treat this, we recommend retreating with a smoke bomb around 10 days after initial treatment. We also recommend following up with Protector C Super – this water-based spray creates a barrier that will be absorbed by bed bugs when they cross over, resulting in death, the special formula also contains a growth regulator that will prevent bed bugs from reaching maturity and preventing them from being able to lay any eggs this will help to stop the infestation at the root. This should again be repeated as necessary.

Steam cleaning mattresses, carpets and curtains and washing clothes on high heat will also help to remove any little critters hidden away in these hard-to-reach areas. Try to bag up any fabrics that will be left in the room to prevent bed bugs from spreading to other rooms. You should use temperatures of 45˚ upwards to ensure both eggs and adults are killed.

Can You Prevent Infestation?

If you are concerned about bed bugs and are looking for ways to prevent them, there are a couple of extra precautions you can take, for example washing clothes at a higher temperature especially if you frequently travel on public transport, regularly steaming mattresses and carpets – you can also apply products such as Protector C as the barrier will remain for up to 4 weeks this will help to stop one or two-bed bugs turning into an infestation. Try to reduce clutter, while the cleanliness of a home is no reflection on the likelihood of getting bed bugs, lots of clutter or places to hide creates the perfect environment for bed bugs to hide and will make it difficult to spot infestations earlier. Use the above-mentioned traps so you can be sure to spot the presence of bed bugs early too.

We understand that it can be quite concerning with increasing reports of bed bugs, but it is important to remain calm, take precautions and educate yourself about bed bugs and it should be easy to prevent or remove bed bugs from your home. If you should have any questions or need further assistance do no hesitate to contact our team who will be happy to provide information on some of the best products to use.