April 19th, 2023 by Shauna Hammond

Bed bugs have slowly become a common problem in homes in the UK, especially in heavily populated areas or homes with frequent travellers. While they do not pose too much of a health risk they can be a nightmare to get under control and are incredibly difficult to spot. In this blog, we will discuss how to spot them and the best ways to treat them.

What are bed bugs?

Bed bugs are small, flat and brown insects that feed on human blood. They are incredibly common and can be found anywhere in the UK and many other countries. It can be tricky to catch a bed bug infestation before it is too late since these little pests are excellent at hiding and will generally only come out at night. Bed bugs will hide in any dark nook or cranny including skirting boards, cupboards, mattress seams or even cracks in walls – basically, anywhere they can get that will keep them well obscured, so you are very unlikely to catch sight of them unless you are really looking for them! Bed bugs also do not need to.

Bed bugs also do not need to feed frequently with one blood meal keeping them fed for 10 days so it’s easy to think that no new bites mean no infestation. Bed bug infestations are also tricky to handle due to their swift reproduction rate with a female bed bug laying up to 7 eggs a day on one feed – so that can be as many as 70 eggs from one single meal. These eggs pose another issue – since most products are unable to penetrate through the egg to kill the larvae before they hatch so this means that even if you were to get rid of the adults’ chances are the infestation will reoccur again in around 6-10 days when the eggs begin to hatch.  

Do Bed Bugs Pose Health Risks?

Fortunately, bed bugs are not considered to pose a health risk in the same way that similar pests such as fleas and ticks can carry and pass diseases to their hosts. Of course, it is also worth noting that each bite is different and people react differently to bed bug bites with symptoms ranging from no reaction at all, to reed bite marks or in some cases allergic reactions which can, of course, pose a bigger health risk.  It is fairly normal to show signs of a bite and these can be itchy – however, if you noticed swelling, excessive pain, or in the worst cases shortness of breath this can be a sign of an allergic reaction and it is important to seek medical assistance.

How to Spot an Infestation

So, as you can see spotting an infestation can certainly be tricky, but that doesn’t mean it is impossible! There are a few things to look out for – the first and most obvious are bite marks on areas of exposed skin – these will usually appear overnight and will present as red marks these are large when compared to flea bits and will usually group together in a line. You may also notice that there are blood spots in your bed which can be because of the bites or the bugs being crushed during the night. Finally, you may also notice dark brown speckles and marking on seams that are caused by bed bug faeces. If you spot these signs it is highly recommended to begin treatment, however, if you are still uncertain we recommend placing some bed bug traps around your bed – these sticky traps will attract bed bugs but hold them in place when they walk along their surface – this will help you to confirm the presence of bed bugs.

What Causes Infestations?

It is a general misconception that bed bugs are a sign of a dirty home or poor hygiene – so if you suspect you have a bed bug problem do not hesitate to seek advice as this is nothing to be ashamed of. In fact, the most common source of bed bugs comes from travelling! So, if you are someone in your home who happens to travel a lot for pleasure, work or school bed bugs can hitchhike into your home this way. So, it is possible for any home to fall victim to a bed bug infestation regardless of cleanliness.

How Do I Get Rid of Bed Bugs?

So, we know that dealing with a bed bug infestation is tricky, it is far from impossible. However, it is important to understand that patience is required and, in most cases, re-treatments are necessary. There are no instant quick fixes. We recommend a four-step treatment process to deal with an infestation, which should be followed up with a repeat treatment 10-14 days later. The process we recommend requires the use of several different insecticides combined with heat treatment.

Start treatment by placing insecticide dusting powders around areas where bed bugs may hide such as bedframes, skirting boards, electrical sockets etc. Follow this process by using fumers (also known as a smoke bomb) before using a smoke bomb we also recommend opening any cupboard or drawers where they can hide. Smoke bombs are an instant-kill insecticide that will cover an incredibly large area in order to effectively kill hatched bed bugs. These methods unfortunately will not kill any eggs as these are incredibly difficult to penetrate – this is why we recommend following up this next step with insecticide surface sprays such as Protector C Super, this product can be safely applied to any surface and will create a barrier that will kill any bed bugs that come in to contact with it while inhibiting their growth and preventing them from laying any further eggs.

For the fourth and final step – where possible we recommend using heat treatment on fabric such as pillows, duvets, carpets and mattresses. This will effectively kill any bed bugs and the eggs too that may be hiding in these areas where insecticides cannot reach them. You can do this by steam-cleaning these items and also washing and then tumble-drying clothing on high heat (50° is required to kill all stages) Please note we recommended placing any fabric you are removing into bins bags and sealing them before removing them from the room in order to prevent any hidden bed bugs spreading to the rest of the home. It is also important to repeat treatment around 10-14 days after the initial treatment.

Protector C Super Insect Killer Spray and Growth Regulator 500ml

Price: £10.99

Buy Now

Can I Stop Them from Coming Back?

Unfortunately, there are no sure-fire ways to prevent bed bugs from coming back into your home, but there are some precautions you can take for example after travelling and visiting hotels be sure to thoroughly wash clothes in high heat. It is also beneficial to fill any cracks in nooks where bed bugs can hide around your home. Regularly steam cleaning mattresses and carpets can also help to pre-emptively stop infestations before they take hold.

We hope that you found this blog helpful and informative. As you can see, bed bugs are not just a nuisance but are also difficult to deal with. If you think that your home might be infested with these pests, it's important to act sooner rather than later.