Of all the beasties i have had to cope with, Bedbugs have got to be the most nauseating. I hate the little blighters! There are many species of Bedbug but this article will deal with the Common Bedbug ( Cimex lectularius ), as it is the most plentiful, being found in most temperate climates around the globe.

The Common Bedbug feeds off human blood and doesn't discriminate between blood groups. The adult has a flat reddish-brown oval body and measures roughly 4-5mm in length. During feeding, their stomach fills up with blood and expands leaving the bug resembling an apple seed with legs.

Bedbugs are much less widespread than they used to be but have been making a little bit of a comeback recently. Whilst big infestations may still happen, it is more customary to handle infestations of tiny numbers of bugs.

Bedbugs are nocturnal, so the first sign that you've a predicament, unfortunately, is when you're bitten. A revealing Bedbug bite is a string of bites close together and blood spots on the bed sheet. The Bedbug doesn't truly bite, as it does not posses biting mouthparts, more precisely it uses two hollow tubes and injects its victim with an analgesic and an anticoagulant. Bites often occur in a little row.

Eliminating Bedbugs or treat bed bugs naturally is kind of challenging for the untrained beginner, so we'll first look at prevention. In contrast to popular misconception, the cleanliness of your home has no effect on whether or not you are in peril from a Bedbug infestation. Should Bedbugs find their way into your residence, they will look for shelter sometimes in the stitching of mattresses, sofas and curtains. Regular vacuuming of these locations can remove the tiny suckers. A cheap anti-bug barrier can be built by wrapping double-sided sticky tape around each leg of the bed. This would need replacing often as settling dust will scale back the adhesiveness over time, so a better solution is to place each leg of the bed into a small pot, cup or similar container of mineral oil to form a moat-effect. This should stop the bugs from crawling onto the bed from the floor but will not put them off from dropping down onto the bed from a higher shelf or from the wall, as an example.

You can deal with the mattress with a conveyable steam cleaner that are to be had from many outlets. Pay precise attention to any seams and around the spring buttons and totally vacuum the mattress after letting it air for a couple of hours. If you can dismantle your bed frame, do so, as this can show up any hiding bugs. After de-bugging your bed and sanitizing your bedding, the last thing you would like is for stray bugs re-infesting from that gap behind your wardrobe. So use this as an excuse to carry out a severe spring-cleaning of your room. Trust me, the idea of these tiny sweetcorn from hell crawling under the covers to suck your blood in the dead of night should be inducement enough to snatch a duster and apply some elbow grease! Remove drawers from any cupboards and dressers and give them a thorough cleaning. Seal any cracks and holes in the fabric of the room with an appropriate sealant - a caulking gun and silicon gel is perfect for this purpose.

So what about the pros ' should you take the simple route and pay for them to resolve your problem? Well if you do, they will come along and tell you to strip the bed so they can start using isopropyl alcohol for bed bugs to the mattress and bed frame / divan base. If they're intensive and know their business, they should also look for possible harbourage throughout the room and treat these areas too. You're still going to need to deal with sanitizing your bedding, so you need to weigh up whether you would like to pay for the spray or the cost of a steam cleaner.