Bed Bugs And Environmental Health

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Bed Bugs And Environmental Health Bed bugs have almost certainly been bothering people for ever, particularly in warmer countries. In fact Aristotle wrote about them in 400 BC, but they were not widespread in the United Kingdom until after the Great Fire of London in 1666. People believed that bed bugs lived in timber because the bed bug plagues only started after 1670. It is believed that the bed bugs that had come in with wood imported to rebuild London. And they have been there ever since, except for about fifty years between the 1940's and 1995. A similar pattern can be seen in most of the developed Western world, because after the Second World War there was a determined effort to clear out the old bomb-damaged city ghettos and begin again. As they went through the cities clearing and washing they used tons of DDT which virtually wiped out bedbugs and some other common household insects. The powers that were in the United States also ran amok with DDT with a comparable result. Then something occurred and we can be fairly specific about the date: in 1995 reports of bedbug infestations started pouring in again. One area of London reported infestations of bedbugs doubling each year from 1995 to 2001 and the US National Pest Management Agency reported a 71% increase in bedbug cases between 2000 and 2005. A pest control firm in North Carolina said that a quarter of the hotels it surveyed between 2002 and 2006 had a bedbug problem. Bedbugs feed by inserting two tubes through the host's skin, one squirts in a type of spittle containing anticoagulant and anaesthetic and the other sucks blood. This saliva can result in a reaction in some people in the form of swellings, which may or may not itch. Having plenty of bites may cause anaemia. The greatest risk most people run is secondary issues from scratching with dirty finger nails. In 2008, the World health Organization gave the opinion that there was some evidence that bedbugs may cause asthma and that being bitten often may make the victim more prone to other illnesses. Bedbugs have all the right apparatus and behavioural patterns to be able to spread illnesses, but there have been no known instances to date. However, knowing that there are bedbugs around may cause some people to be paranoid about them, which often leads to insomnia and irritability. If you find bedbugs in your hotel, you ought to report it to the manager and if you stay in rented accommodation you should tell the landlord. If it is your own place you ought to seek advice from the local Environmental Health Agency attached to the council, because bedbugs can spread from one home to the next very quickly. Numerous old terraced houses are not entirely separated off from one another enabling bedbugs to roam and set up new colonies. Bedbugs can also be carried home


from hotels in your suitcase or clothing. Bedbugs are a matter for public concern, but they are not life-threatening. Owen Jones, the author of this piece, writes on lots of topics, but is currently concerned with How To Test For Bed Bugs. If you want to know more, visit our website now at Pest Management at Home.


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