THE recent reports of bed bugs on public transport and invading our homes is enough to give you sleepless nights.
Commuters have been living in fear of the critters after reports they were hitching a lift on the Eurostar from Paris and ending up on London public transport.
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The pest swelled with blood after gorging on his armCredit: Channel 5
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Scientist James let a bed bug bite him live on airCredit: Channel 5
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Professor James claims he was bitten by one of the creatures on an aeroplaneCredit: Rex
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For the documentary, he allowed a bed bug to bite him on the armCredit: Plank PR
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The critter swelled with his blood ‘like a sausage’Credit: Plank PR
Meanwhile pest-control company Rentokil has reported a 65 per cent increase in call-outs to deal with the blood-sucking bugs.
In new Channel 5 documentary, The Big Bed Bug Invasion, stricken householders reveal how their lives have been blighted by the unwelcome visitors – with Paul, from Watford, opening up about his two-month infestation.
“It’s murder, absolutely murder,” he says. “You see them crawling up your arm, you see them crawling all over your bed, making you itch like mad. Once you’re bitten, your arm’s swollen up and it hurts.
“And with them laying eggs every two seconds, they’ve been breeding all the time.”
A female adult can lay up to 10 eggs a day – up to 500 eggs in their lifetime – and exterminators reveal it can cost up to £5,000 to cleanse your home of them.
“It’s worthy of calling it an epidemic, it’s certainly out of control,” says David Cain, founder of Bed Bugs Ltd.
“And I think we have to be honest with ourselves and say, if we don’t do something, it’s just going to get worse and worse.”
Professor James Logan, of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, who also appears in the scratch-inducing documentary, tells The Sun he was bitten by a bed bug on a flight to the US – and the little blighters can be hiding anywhere.
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Bed bugs can inflict dozens of bites as a person sleepsCredit: Plank PR
“I do sit down on the Tube because it’s very unlikely you’re gonna get bitten on public transport – although I was bitten on an aeroplane and I caught the culprit,” he says.
“But aircraft can be infested, along with trains, buses, cinemas. Bed bugs can be anywhere but that doesn’t mean they ARE everywhere.
“It just means as long as it’s warm and there are people who are in one position for long enough, bed bugs can come out, feed and go back to hiding.
“It only takes a couple of minutes, so you could be sat on the bus for 10 minutes and be bitten and not even know about it.”
Evolving to feed on us
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The bugs have evolved to bite us without us realising until after they’ve fedCredit: Getty
Bug scientist James admits he does grudgingly respect the creatures.
He even lets one suck his blood during the documentary – creating the incredible spectacle of the flat, pale insect becoming dark red and “round as a sausage”.
As she attacks his skin the female releases a cocktail of chemicals that contains an anticoagulant to stop the blood clotting, and an anaesthetic so James can’t feel the bite.
“They’re perfectly evolved to be able to seek us out, steal our blood without us even knowing,” he says.
“But they are an increasing problem and weapons against them are failing.
“What we’ve seen is a gradual increase over time, largely driven by the fact that they are resistant to insecticides, so the chemicals that kill them are no longer working.
“Also people travel more nowadays, especially post pandemic, and that’s how bed bugs get around.
“At the same time you’ve got climate change, which is making weather conditions better for bugs.
“Normally we’d have very cold winters which would wipe out insects, but warmer weather is really good for any bug because they breed quicker and survive for longer.”
Psychological harm
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The critters have been taking up residence in UK homesCredit: Getty
In the documentary, sufferer Barbara reveals she brought back the bugs from a holiday in Portugal – but after her pest control ‘expert’ placed poison round her room, he told her she would have to sleep in the bed as “human bait” so they would “come to the poison”.
“The idea that there were bugs everywhere and I had to stay in the room with the bugs so they would come to me was terrifying,” she says.
In response, James said: “That’s really bad practice in my opinion and an unacceptable way to control bed bugs because it’s causing more distress than necessary.
“They can can heat up the room or freeze the room which will kill the bugs. It’s unacceptable to ask somebody to sleep in a bed with bed bugs.”
Unlike mosquitoes, bed bugs don’t transmit disease, so are unlikely to make people seriously ill.
But while physical reactions to the bites can vary, causing discomfort, itching, pain and swelling, the psychological effect of an infestation in your home can do much more damage.
A third of people who suffered infestations developed long term insomnia and a study found 81 per cent of people who suffered an infestation went on to display symptoms often associated with post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
“I’ve had a really big reaction to the bite I had on the film and I’ve still got a scar two weeks on,” says James.
“But some people will be bitten thousands of times in one night, so it can be debilitating and the more bites you have the greater the risk of infection.
“There’s also the mental health aspect. If you have an infestation, you can become paranoid and anxious.
“If you already have mental health issues it could exacerbate that and some people develop delusional parasitosis, a condition where you believe that you’re always infested with something, even when you’re not, so it can be really traumatic.
“Also there is a sort of stigma associated with it because people believe they are attracted to dirty homes, which is not true. Bed bugs can be found anywhere from youth hostels to five star hotels.”
On the case
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Commuters have seen the bugs on the Victoria lineCredit: TikTok /@lassogold
With many of the bloodsuckers thought to be travelling from overseas in bags and suitcases, James has sound advice to keep your luggage bug free.
“The best thing is to not put your suitcase on the bed or on the floor,” he says.
“Use the luggage rack which is off the ground and keep your suitcase or bag zipped up.
“I never unpack in a hotel. I’ll keep everything in my suitcase apart from shirts that I hang in the wardrobe. I never use the drawers because you don’t know what’s potentially hiding in there.”
If you suspect you have stayed somewhere with bed bugs, James recommends checking your luggage before you leave – and taking precautions when you get home.
“They’re very hard to spot, so if you’re really concerned I would suggest unpacking in the garden, because if they get out in the garden, they’ll die,” he says.
“Then wash your clothes at high temperature or, if you can, stick everything in a freezer for a few days, because extreme temperatures will kill them.”
Because they breed so quickly – doubling their population in 14 days – early detection is key to fighting back.
“What tends to happen is that people only recognise they’ve got a bed bug infestation when it’s too late,” he says.
“By that point, the bed bugs have probably bred, and that makes infestation much harder to treat because they’ll be hiding in all sorts of places and you’ll have to tear the room apart to get to them.
“Look out for telltale signs, like little brown spots on the bed sheets, which is where they defecate.
“People imagine they’re crawling around on the mattress but that’s quite rare. They’re usually either inside the mattress, along the seams or more likely in the bedside table or under the carpet.
“I’ve seen bed bugs in the back of televisions and behind electric sockets. They can be pretty much anywhere.”
James’ company Arctech has developed a trap, BugScents, which uses pheromones to attract them and help identify the presence of the bugs and is very effective. Home remedies for elimination, on the other hand, are no match for the professionals.
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“As soon as you know you have bed bugs, get the pest controller in,” he says.
“If it is going to be a couple of weeks before they can come around, the traps can keep numbers down and you can buy insecticide powder or spray, but that usually will not deal with the problem.”
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Once the bugs have invaded somewhere they are hard to get rid ofCredit: Getty
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