You’ve probably seen the lurid stories about bed bug infestations overtaking Paris and the hysteria that some elements of the press are whipping up about them coming over here. The truth is bed bugs have been with humans since we arrived on the planet. We live an almost symbiotic life, so, while we may wish to not have them, it is their life’s mission to find a way into our homes.
We’ve noticed a worrying trend in the last year – the rise of the bed bug. Comparing the same periods in 2021 and 2022, we have seen a 24.6% increase in callouts for bed bug treatments.
A housing association called Cleankill Pest Control to a small block of seven flats in North London that was suffering a major infestation of bed bugs. The property has a long history of bed bug problems, and the majority of the flats are infested. Part of the problem is some residents are not bothered at all by living with bed bugs. This creates a problem for those residents who complain as soon as they see a bed bug.
The Cleankill team was called in to solve a serious bed bug problem in one of the largest blocks of flats in London.
Thirty out of 600 flats in the block in South London had been infected and it was a case of finding the source of the problem before treatment could start.
Cleankill staff searched the flats and found an extremely serious infestation in the very last one they checked.
When Cleankill was called to a bed bug problem in South Kensington, London, technicians found one of the worst infestations they had ever encountered.
The building they were called to was made up of bedsits which all had sitting tenants. One of the bedsits (an area of approximately 14 feet by 16 feet) was occupied by a man in his mid-70s who lived in one room with his bed, wardrobe and armchair – all of which were heavily infested.
Last month I wrote about the problem of identifying who was at fault in cases of rented property and bed bug infestations. During the blog I alluded to the problem of ‘phantom biters’, something every pest controller has had to deal with at some time or other, and I thought this might be a good topic as Halloween approaches.
Those of you who have been following my blog for some time will know I have a particular dislike for bed bugs. In March 2016, I wrote a long blog about how I’d noticed bed bugs has been taking over the news. To read that blog, click here.
