Professional Pest Control Services for Households, Businesses and the Farming Community since 1988

Bed Bugs

Adult bedbugs are reddish brown, flat, oval and wingless. They grow to approximately 5mm long.

They are generally active at night and are attracted by body heat and carbon dioxide.

They feed on blood, which they obtain by biting humans. These bites become itchy and sore after a few hours and are often in a group or row. They feed every 5 to 10 days.

Bed bugs are not attracted by dirt of filth. They do survive more easily where there is some clutter due to the fact that there are more hiding places and cleaning is usually less intensive.

They have not been linked with disease transmission.

Visiting an infected property and carrying them home in luggage spreads them. Buying infected furniture or clothing and fabrics is also a common way of starting an infestation.

The usual retreat for bed bugs is between floorboards, behind architrave and skirting boards, in the frame of beds etc. The common factor of all these sites is that they are secure and difficult to disturb. The main infestation will be close to the feeding site (bed).

Often a small infestation will go unnoticed for many weeks. This makes tracing the source of the problem quite difficult.