Manchester & Trafford Pest Control

Posts Tagged ‘bedbugs’

Pest control in Manchester, Lancashire & Cheshire 2009

Pest Control in Manchester and surrounding areas has seen a lively start in 2009.

Pest controllers were kept busy with the usual city centre rat problems throughout the winter of course, but the relatively early spring has seen ant infestation call outs a month earlier than usual.

The wet summers of 2007 & 2008 were not to the liking of the hymenoptera (sawflies, wasps, ants & bees) but 2009 looks like being a busy year for ant infestation work.

Frequently ants nest under the floors of houses and inside cavity walls causing a large number of foraging ants to visit kitchens & food cupboards.

However it is at mating time when they can be most distressing as they produce winged queens and males which then mate in flight.

The emergence of several thousand of these ‘flying ants’ inside houses can by traumatic indeed.

A relatively new pest has been especially troublesome this year, the Varied Carpet Beetle (Anthrenus verbasci).

It was rare for pest controllers in Manchester, Lancashire and Cheshire to encounter these pests until recent times but they seemed to arrive from nowhere in 2008 and already this spring has seen reports of varied carpet beetle in unprecedented numbers.

Having a similar life cycle to moths their larvae, known as ‘woolly bears’ can eat natural fibres and can do substantial damage to carpets and natural fabrics. They can be a difficult and persistent pest.

Bed bugs are continuing their resurgence in the Manchester area, frequently arriving as unwanted guests in the suitcases of returning holiday makers.

Often the first reaction of unfortunates who realise that they are infested with these blood-sucking insects is to destroy the old beds and buy new.

This is a costly mistake as despite their name bed bugs do not just live in beds and in an infested room will be found anywhere within about fifteen feet of the bed, in cupboards, drawers etc, even in electrical sockets and the new beds are quickly re-infested.

Many people confuse bed bugs with dust mite which are not visible to the naked eye.

Bed Bugs Bites

They dine exclusively on blood which they take form their sleeping victims. People often associate bed bugs with dirty conditions but nothing could be further from the truth, they don’t require dirt, they dine on you!

Until the end of April 2009 Harrier Pest Control are offering a 25% reduction on their guaranteed ant treatment.

The treatment which is guaranteed for three years, extendable indefinitely by a low cost re-treatment every three years can be carried out in most homes subject to free site survey

Contact Harrier Pest Prevention for details on 0800 019 8382

That concludes this article entitled Pest control in Manchester, Lancashire & Cheshire 2009

How Do You Check If Your Holiday Hotel Has Bed Bugs?

You arrive at your holiday hotel at 3.0am, tired and frayed after a long and arduous journey, flight delays, airport security, fractious children and surly passport control and now all you want to do is fall into bed and look forward to the morning and the first day of your vacation.

That could be most costly mistake you’ll make this holiday!

The bed bug (Cimex lectularious) is back with a vengeance and its food is you!

Bed bugs are small haematophagic insects about the size of an apple-pip.

They feed on the blood of warm blooded creatures and their favourite meal is human blood.

Having been virtually eradicated in the 20^th century they are back and spreading like wildfire, all over the world reports of massive increases in bed bug infestations are being made.

Some cite increased economic migration, availability of cheap travel and resistance to insecticides but whatever the reason, they are thriving and they love holiday makers!

They feed on human blood every 5 -10 days, emerging from their hiding places in the small hours when the tourist is likely to be in a deep sleep, perhaps aided by copious quantities of the local sangria.

They sense the presence of a host initially by tasting the carbon dioxide in exhaled breath but switch to infra-red sensing of body heat when closing in on the target.

They pierce the body of their target with a needle containing two tubes, with one they insert saliva which contains both an anaesthetic and an anti-coagulant and with the other they draw blood.

In a heavily infested room it is possible to receive up to 500 bites per night.

So how do you check if your room is infested?

Start by stripping the bed down to the mattress, turn the mattress over if possible and concentrate on the end nearest the headboard.

Look for dark coloured smears, live or dead insects and spots of congealed blood.

Look in the stitching around the edges of the mattress, under the edges of the carpet near the bed and pull out and invert any bed-side drawers.

Bed bugs are quite easy to see and move very rapidly when exposed. You can see photos of the bugs and their smear marks at

If you find or suspect bed bugs on no account stay in that room, or even that hotel, not even for one night or you will regret it, and certainly don’t unpack your cases in that room.

Get hold of your tour company representative immediately and insist on being moved to another hotel.

If you stay in a bug infested room you are very likely to transport them back to your own home as contrary to urban myth they can survive the flight home in your suitcase very easily indeed.

If you have problems with bedbugs call 0800 019 8382 or visit Manchester Environmental Services

That concludes this aticle entitled How Do You Check If Your Holiday Hotel Has Bed Bugs?

Pest Control in Blackpool & Other Seaside Holiday Resorts

Seaside pest control brings its own set of special circumstances which sometimes require a different approach to more inland towns.

Firstly the very logistics of working in a busy seaside holiday resort can be problematic, even the basics of parking your van near the customers’ premises can be difficult especially when equipment needs to be carried. This can lead to increased charges which have to be passed onto the customer.

In summer premises are often open seven days a week and even twenty-four hours a day thus leaving little opportunity for the pest controller to go about his work.

This may not cause too much difficulty in routine preventative inspection visits but can cause extreme problems when infestation is detected in that often pesticides require premises to be vacated for a period of time.

In winter the opposite situation may occur where premises are closed for several months leaving a pest infestation to develop undetected.

Seaside holiday resorts usually have a large number of takeaways providing food to eat on the go and often will be littered overnight with uneaten food scraps providing food for rats and seagulls.

Often daily waste collections mean that bagged food waste is put outside overnight thus encouraging rodents.

Seagulls are obviously a nuisance with their noise and fouling but often will take food stuffs up onto roofs and ledges causing a build up of rotten materials which produce flies and maggots.

Perhaps the most difficult aspect of seaside pest control is the resurgence of the bed bug which in recent years has seen numbers rise exponentially.

A high transient population of holiday makers often staying in inexpensive, high turnover accommodation means that the bugs can spread quickly throughout a resort and even expensive upmarket establishments are not exempt.

The very nature of a bed bug infestation means that it is difficult and expensive to cure and news of infestation is often of interest to local press who will often carry a story about a guest being bitten, thus ruining the reputation of the establishment.

Bed bug infestations require that the infested bedroom and those adjacent be treated thus losing revenue for the establishment.

A hotel or guest house could also find themselves liable for the cost of dealing with an infestation at the homes of their guests as the bugs are easily transported in luggage.

Pest Prevention carry out annual preventative inspections and treatment where necessary and can be contacted on 0800 019 8382 or

info@harrierpestprevention.co.uk

 Pest Control In Manchester & Other Large Cities by Ken Chadwick 

Big city pest control brings its own set of special circumstances which sometimes require a different approach to smaller and quieter towns.

Firstly the very logistics of working in a busy big city can be problematic, even the basics of parking your van near the customers’ premises can be difficult especially when equipment needs to be carried. This can lead to increased charges which have to be passed onto the customer and sometimes these can be substantial. 

Premises are often open seven days a week and even twenty-four hours a day thus leaving little opportunity for the pest controller to go about his work. 

This may not cause too much difficulty in routine preventative inspection visits but can cause extreme problems when infestation is detected in that often pesticides require premises to be vacated for a period of time.

 Big towns & cities usually have a large number of takeaways providing food to eat on the go and often will be littered overnight with uneaten food scraps providing food for rats, pigeons and seagulls which have now moved inland. 

Often daily waste collections mean that bagged food waste is put outside overnight thus encouraging rodents. 

Pigeons & Seagulls are obviously a nuisance with their noise and fouling but often will take food stuffs up onto roofs and ledges causing a build up of rotten materials which produce flies and maggots. 

Pigeons will often roost and nest in roof spaces for many years leading to a large build up of pigeon guano and often their droppings can make the walkways below slippery and dangerous.  

Most big cities have a varied ethnic mix with a variety of shops and restaurants supplying foods from all over the world. Often these foods are imported in bulk from countries where pests such as cockroaches are endemic and these pests are then brought into the U.K. hidden away in the goods and packaging. 

Perhaps the most difficult aspect of big city pest control is the resurgence of the bed bug which in recent years has seen numbers rise exponentially. 

A high transient population of visitors often staying in inexpensive, high turnover accommodation means that the bugs can spread quickly throughout a city and even expensive upmarket establishments are not exempt. 

The very nature of a bed bug infestation means that it is difficult and expensive to cure and news of infestation is often of interest to local press who will often carry a story about a guest being bitten, thus ruining the reputation of the establishment. 

Bed bug infestations require that the infested bedroom and those adjacent be treated thus losing revenue for the establishment.

Bed Bugs Are Biting

Bed Bugs Are Biting – One of the most hated and misunderstood pests known to man is the bed bug (Cimex lectularius). How many of us gone off to sleep at night as children with the words of our parents in our ears ‘sleep tight and don’t let the bed bugs bite’?

Don't Let The Bed Bug Bite

Bed bugs probably started to feed on man at about the time we moved into caves, the ‘bat bugs’ Cimex pilosellus and Cimex pipistrella primarily feed on bats and it is probable that bat feeding species of bug evolved to dine on human blood when our ancesters started dwelling in bat infested caves.

Until the arrival of DDT in the early 20th century bed bugs were common unwelcome guests in most poor quality homes.

The later part of the 20th century saw pest control companies dealing with very few bed bug infestations indeed, their presence being largely restricted to inexpenisve holiday camps and student lodgings etc.

Many people mistake dust mites, which aren’t visible to the unaided eye, with bed bugs which very definitely are.

Adult bedbugs are reddy-brown, about a quarter of an inch in size and greatly swollen after a meal of human blood.

They have an incomplete metamorphosis which means that the young are just smaller versions of the adult, they don’t have a maggot stage like fleas or flies.

Bed bugs typically feed on human blood every 7 – 10 days, coming out in the hours before dawn and sensing their target by detecting the exhaled CO2 from breath and when nearing in on their target, infra red body heat.

In the absence of a regular human host to dine on they can lie dormant for periods of up to 18 months.

Indications of a bed bug infestation are spots of blood on bedding and on the base of mattresses and some people can react badly to their bites.

The early 21st century has seen bed bug numbers increase across the world, the easy availability of international travel and economic migration have both been blamed for the increase.

What is sure is that thet are now making a real return not only in low quality housing but high class hotels, schools and even hospitals.

One London borough reports a doubling of bed bug infestations every single year from 1995 – 2001.

A single night away in an infested hotel is all it takes, they hitch a ride in your suitcases or bags. Pest control companies are also now reporting cases of transport related bug infestations on tubes, trains and buses so a single ride to town on an infested tube or train can be sufficient to spread the infestation to your home.

They are an expensive pest to eradictate as contrary to popular mythology they don’t just live in beds. They infest any nook and cranny conveniently close to a sleeping human, beds, electrical sockets, televisions, bed-side bed side telephones etc and eradication is both difficult and time consuming. They have even been found living beneath the toe-nails of infirm people and in the rolls of flesh on grossly over-weight people.

They are not a pest that can be eradicated by an amateur and a professional will almost certainly be needed.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Don’t let the bed bugs bite… (guardian.co.uk)
• Bedbugs return to British hotels (telegraph.co.uk)