Good Night, Sleep Tight
Posted by Owen Jones in Uncategorized, tags: animals, bed bugs, bedroom, disease, family, health, home, home improvement, insects, other, outdoors, parenting, pests, Uncategorized, vacationJust about every household had bed bugs before the Second World War, which meant that lots of people were bitten each night and hence the popularity of that rhyme. The Baby Boomers never saw bed bugs when they were children and so were the first generation for 400 years not to suffer from bed bug bites.
Fifty years on and the bed bugs are back and some big cities are in dismal straights because the pesticide that works best on bed bugs, DDT, is prohibited in most countries in the world. This means that the predicament will get worse until researchers come up with something to replace DDT.
So, how would you know if your household has fallen victim to the spread of this superbug? It is not as simple as you would think, because bed bugs are fairly shy for insects. not just that, but they shun daylight and their dark skins blend into the shadows.
The first thing is to check for bites. The bites are usually a quarter of an inch in diameter, round and pink to red, if they show up, because they do not show up on every individuals. Likewise, some feel an itch but others do not; some will get a swelling, others will not. Not only that, but some individuals get an immediate reaction and others suffer a deferred reaction.
There is no confusing a bed bug bite with a mosquito bite although it can look like a flea bite. There are often five or six of these bites in a line, nut not necessarily a straight line. If you see these marks at bath time, it is time to check the bed for conclusive proof.
Pull the bed clothes back and look at the sheets and the mattress. It will be easier there because thy are usually light in colour. Look for red and brown smears. The red smears are blood, where the insect has eaten too much and vomitted up a bit and the brown is faeces of digested blood.
If you see those marks, you have got them, so now you have to get rid of them and that is not an simple task. If you rent your house tell the landlord instantly, because he might be liable for eradicating them. If you have funds, call in the exterminators. Otherwise, you have a great deal of of work to do.
If you cannot move out whilst you are debugging the house at least you can decontaminate the bed so that you may have a decent night’s sleep.. Remove the bedding and mattress and steam clean the bed (you can hire a steam cleaner). Then sew up any tears in the mattress and steam clean that.
Stand the legs of the bed in small bowls of oil and put the mattress and pillows in bed bug proof mattress covers. Boil the sheets and blankets and replace, but do not let them hang on the floor at night. Put a mosquito net about your bed for further protection.. Then you require advice on denugging the house.
Owen Jones, the writer of this piece, writes on many subjects, but is at present concerned with Bed Bugs Treatment. If you want to know more, visit our website now at Pest Management at Home.
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