The Daddy Longlegs; Bedbugs

The Scene
It was meant to be the happiest day of her life; she was about to bid spinsterhood farewell, it’s her wedding day, it’s time to tie the nuptial knot.
The couple had taken time to choose a snow-white costume, (the wedding gown and the 3-piece suit) extensively white that a speck of dust would be spotted on them ten miles away! The proud father walked into church in elegant strides tenderly holding his girl’s hands. They had travelled half way into the ethereal atmosphere of the Cathedral when a middle aged lady suddenly shouted from behind ‘idun’! ‘idun’!! ‘idun’!!! (Yoruba language designation for bed bug)
The bride froze, the woman ran forwards pointing at two jocund jumpy bugs on her dress, she snapped them off the bride’s dress, squeezed them with exasperation, expunging their characteristic repulsive fluid which odour could be perceived in the immediate environment. The countenance of the bride dropped, her dad tried to uplift her spirit but her steps kept wobbling, the embarrassment was overwhelming, her D-DAY was ruined!

What it is
Bed bugs are small oval parasitic insects of the cimicid family that feed exclusively on blood. Cimex lectularius, the common bed bug, is the best known as it prefers to feed on human blood; other Cimex species specialize in other animals, e.g., bat bugs, such as Cimex pipistrelli. The name bed bug derives from the preferred habitat of Cimex lectularius: warm houses and especially near or inside beds and bedding or other sleep areas. Bed bugs are mainly active at night, but are not exclusively nocturnal. They usually feed on their hosts without being noticed, but when they are, it’s a distressing machination. Before a blood meal they are flat, after, their bodies swell and become reddish.

They are crafty
Bedbugs may enter the home undetected through luggage, clothing, used beds, couches, and other items. Their flattened bodies make it possible for them to fit into tiny spaces. They tend to live in groups in hiding places. Their initial hiding places are typically in mattresses, boxes and bed frames where they have easy access to people to bite in the night. Over time, however, they may scatter through the bedroom, moving into any crevice or protected location. They may also spread to nearby rooms or apartments. Because bedbugs live solely on blood, having them in the home is not a sign of dirtiness. You are as likely to find them in immaculate homes and hotel rooms as in filthy ones!

Like a thief in the night
Bedbugs are active mainly at night and usually bite people while they are asleep. They feed by piercing the skin and withdrawing blood through an elongated beak and inject saliva with anticoagulants and painkillers. The bugs feed from 3- 10 minutes to become engorged and then crawl away unnoticed. Most bedbug bites are painless at first, but later turn into itchy welts. Their bites are on any area of skin exposed while sleeping (eg face, neck and arms). Although under certain cool conditions adult bed bugs can live for over a year without feeding, under typically warm conditions they try to feed at five- to ten-day intervals, and adults can survive for about five months without food while the vulnerable newly hatched first instars can survive for weeks without taking a blood meal. DNA from human blood meals can be recovered from bed bugs for up to 90 days, which mean they can be used for forensic purposes in identifying on whom the bed bugs have fed.

The Proliferation
Bed bugs thrive on incest and are able to genetically withstand the effects of inbreeding quite well. Male bed bugs sometimes attempt to mate with other males and pierce their abdomens. This behaviour occurs because sexual attraction in bed bugs is based primarily on size, and males mount any freshly fed partner regardless of sex. All bed bugs mate by traumatic insemination (the mating practice in some species of invertebrates in which the male pierces the female’s abdomen with his penis and injects his sperm through the wound into her abdominal cavity) Female bed bugs possess a reproductive tract that functions during laying of eggs, but the male does not use this tract for sperm insemination. They have five immature nymph life stages and a final sexually mature adult stage.
Signs of Infestation
If you wake up with itchy areas you didn’t have when you went to sleep, you may have bedbugs, particularly if you got a used bed or other used furniture around the time the bites started. Other signs that one may have bedbugs include; -Blood stains on the sheets or pillowcases -Dark or rusty spots of bedbug excrement on sheets and mattresses, bed clothes, and walls -Bedbug fecal spots, egg shells, or shed skins in areas where bedbugs hide -An offensive, musty odor from the bugs’ scent glands -Positive identification of the adult bug
Negative outcomes
A number of adverse health effects may result from bed bug bites, including skin rashes, psychological effects (as feeling of inadequacy), and allergic symptoms.

What to do
Eradication of bed bugs frequently requires a combination of non- pesticide and pesticide approaches. If your mattress is infested, you may want to get rid of it and get a new one, but take care to rid the rest of the home of bedbugs or they will infest new ones. Consult a professional for appropriate eradication method.