Bedbugs

Getting rid of bedbugs

Small and sometimes difficult to see, these pests can cause serious discomfort but are rarely dangerous. We are only able to treat these pests in YHN properties.

Report this pest

What do they look like?

The adult bedbug is a flat, oval insect 5mm long by about 3mm wide. It is a reddish brown in colour.

Bedbugs do not fly so they must crawl or be transported in clothing, luggage, books, and furniture; in fact anything that provides them with a small place to crawl into.

Where do they live?

Bedbugs feed on blood and they can survive for long periods of time without feeding.

Bedbugs are usually associated with poor, overcrowded and unhygienic conditions but can be transported to any premises. Sometimes they can be transported via changing rooms in clothes shops.

In domestic premises most infestations are found in the bedroom. Their hiding places will be close to where their host sleeps - in the bed frame, mattress, bedside furniture, skirting boards or wallpaper, in fact anywhere that affords a dark hiding place during the daylight hours for these nocturnal creatures.

There are a number of factors that are helping to maintain the numbers of bedbugs including the increased use of central heating and the resultant warm conditions which stimulate continuous activity and feeding over the winter months and the movement of second hand furniture which may transfer bedbugs from one property to another.

What do they eat?

Bedbugs' habit of biting a person and feeding on their blood can cause severe irritation to some people.

The very thought of being preyed upon by such creatures is often sufficient to encourage immediate action to control them.

How much of a pest are they?

Bedbugs' blood feeding can cause severe irritation in some people. They are not known to carry disease.

The female bedbug lays pearly white eggs approximately 1mm long, which are 'glued' into cracks and crevices in bed frames, furniture, wallpaper and any dark places.

They will lay about 150 eggs which will hatch in 10 to 20 days and will reach adulthood in around nine weeks under reasonable conditions. This can be considerably longer if the temperature is low.

The adults live for up to 18 months, usually feeding weekly, but can survive for over a year without blood.

How can I get rid of pests?

Newcastle City Council provides pest control service for the treatment of Bed Bugs only in YHN properties, including details of treatment and post treatment advice.

If you do attempt treatment yourself, when using pesticides always follow the instructions on the label. Remember you might have to dispose of soft furnishing and mattresses in some cases.