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Key Features:
A once common pest of slum dwellings, the incidence of bed bugs is now much reduced by improved standards of hygiene. They still occur with some regularity, particularly in multi-occupancy buildings with rapid resident turnover, such as hostels, holiday camps and blocks of flats.
The adult bug resembles a small brown disc, about 3.5mm long – the size of a match head. It is wingless but the legs are well developed and it can crawl up most vertical surfaces, e.g. bed legs.
Bedbugs also produce a characteristic unpleasant smell.
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Biology:
The females produce 2 to 3 eggs every day throughout their lifespan, which can be several months. The elongated eggs are cemented in cracks or crevices close to the hosts. There is no larval stage; the young hatch as nymphs, mini versions of the adults.
There are 5 nymphal stages before the bugs reach adulthood and each requires a full meal of blood.
Fully-grown bedbugs can endure starvation for several months – infested rooms may have bugs under wallpaper or in crevices in the furniture and joinery. They emerge at night to feed. Bedbugs have well defined resting sites in which many individuals from all the different life stages are found.
Distribution:
Bedbugs are found all over the world, but most commonly in multi-occupancy buildings with a rapid resident turnover.
Significance:
Bedbugs are a significant pest to humans because they feed on blood. They emerge to feed mostly at night while their “hosts” are sleeping. Their bite can cause severe local irritation and itching; there is a possibility of secondary infection.
Where the infestation is very high there is a slight risk of anaemia for the human hosts. Bats, chickens and other domestic animals can also be affected.
