Bed bugs have been a known human pest for thousands of years.
They are small, wingless insects with a flat body that is ideal for hiding in cracks and crevices in headboards, mattresses, and box springs.
An adult bed bug is reddish brown in colour, flat and the same size as a sunflower seed. They have five-5 stages of development and need to suck blood at least once between each stage in order to develop and can only survive on blood. After a meal of blood, an adult bed bug can grow as large as an apple pip. Bed bugs need to eat to grow and reproduce. Females usually lay between 5 and 8 eggs per day. Nymphs in the primary stages have most difficulty surviving without blood, whilst adult bed bugs can survive without food for longer than a year by hibernating. It is almost impossible to starve a bed bug out.
In addition to itching, bed bugs can cause different types of rashes, including blisters, and in rare cases, severe allergic reactions. They can also cause insomnia, anxiety, and in the long run, Entomophobia (the phobia of insects).
Bed Bugs on the rise
The study analysed that 98% of reported cases had suffered from skin lesions (itchy bites), 37% said they had suffered from insomnia as a result and 37% claimed the presence of bed bugs had had a negative impact on their professional, family and social life.
Why?
Due to their increasing resistance to insecticide.
Source from: FORBES- August 1st 2020.