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Bed bug infestation in Cambridge
What is a bed bug?
Bed bugs are parasites of the genus Cimex. In Canada, Cimex Lectularius is most common. They are small (~0.1cm), oval-shaped, and relatively flat with a red-brown colour.
With records going back to Ancient Egypt, the bed bug has been pestering humanity for millennia. They are present on every continent except Antarctica and most species either infest bats or humans.
The bed bug bites humans to drink their blood, and are most active at night, feeding while you are asleep. Although unable to jump, they are skilled climbers and are able to fit into tiny cracks and crevices throughout the home.
Bed bugs lay 2-4 eggs a day and can survive up to 300 days without food. These parasites are most comfortable at temperatures of 21-28 degrees Celsius, but are able to tolerate a wide variety of climates.
Bed bug removal
So you have bed bugs in your home. How do you get rid of them?
Unlike some household pests which don’t need professional treatment if the infestation is minor, any presence of bed bugs is a serious issue.
You cannot “starve-out” bed bugs. They can last ~300 days without feeding. Unless you vacate your home for nearly a year, it will have no effect.
Effective bed bug treatment often requires a multi-faceted approach. Pesticide sprays into cracks/crevices and shooting furniture with hot (dry!) steam using specialised machinery are common treatments. Other methods involve heat-treating an entire home, or sealing mattresses in a plastic liner that beg bugs struggle to climb.
The removal of beg bugs also requires co-operation on the part of the people living there. It is recommended that one puts all their clothes in the dryer on maximum heat and then seal them in plastic bags. Vacuuming the house and furniture is also an important thing to do prior to treatment.
Bed bugs and disease
While bed bug bites can be itchy, they are not known to cause disease. However, frass and bed bug shedding can cause health issues if left to accumulate.
While some people only receive a slight red swelling from bites, others can have more severe allergic reactions. This can include blisters or an intense itchiness.
A major issue relating to bed bug infestation in Cambridge is the psychological aspect. Having tiny creatures bite and crawl on you during your sleep, in a place as personal as your home can result in mental health issues. This can range from anxiety and insomnia to increasingly severe conditions such as delusional parasitosis. This specific condition often requires psychiatric attention as the sufferer becomes convinced that tiny things are crawling on them constantly, regardless of if anything is actually present.