The most recent invaders in New York are living proof that New York does go to sleep from time to time, because that is when these little nightmares come out to get you. It used to be rats that plagued New York, now it animals small enough to live on rats in their dozens. I am talking about Cimex lectularius, the bed bug that specializes in preying on people.
Nobody really knows how many types of bed bugs there are, some say seventy odd others say a hundred and odd. A lot of them prefer animals, especially birds and bats, but a lot of them will drink human blood if there is nothing else around. Cimex lectularius is the only one which would rather have human blood and they have hit New York big time. They have literally got New Yorkers quaking in their beds.
The sad reality is that bed bugs were thought to have been eradicated in the United States in the 1950's. Long-haul travellers and immigrants have been held responsible for the sporadic outbursts of bedbugs in the past, but incidents of bedbugs has reached epidemic proportions. In 2004, there were only 82 attested outbreaks in New York, in 2009, just five years later, there were 10,985!
They are pretty swift creatures, preferring to live close to the host, they can make a withdrawal from your blood bank often within ten minutes, faster than you can make a withdrawal from an inner city ATM. The majority of bed bugs have drunk their fill within five minutes of finding you and they can find you very quickly. Bed bugs use body heat and CO2 emissions to locate their victims and then use pheromones to tell their friends and family where you are as well.
This is why a host is usually bitten a dozen times or more, not just once like when there is a single mosquito in your bedroom or three times, which is the feature of a flea. Similar to flea bites, bed bug bites are frequently in a row of three though.
Luckily for us, bedbugs carry no known diseases, although many bites can lead to anaemia and an impaired immune system, which could leave you open to other diseases. Victims sometimes develop obsessional behavioural patterns and insomnia, which also has its consequences.
Bedbugs are hatched from eggs, which are laid one, two or three a day. They take about ten days to hatch out into transparent nymphs about a millimetre or so long. These must also drink blood. As they grow, they shed their skins. After six moultings they are fully-grown bed bugs and can breed.
Bedbugs feed approximately every five days, during which time they rest in the dingy crevice that they call home and sleep it off. Their lifespan is between five months and a year, but they can become dormant for five months, if there is no food about. A female will lay about three hundred eggs in her life.
It used to be supposed that bedbugs lived in squalor, but this is not the case. However, they do like to be where humans congregate and they like dark crevices to live in: loose headboards, bed frames, skirting boards and architraves are firm favourites.
Nobody really knows how many types of bed bugs there are, some say seventy odd others say a hundred and odd. A lot of them prefer animals, especially birds and bats, but a lot of them will drink human blood if there is nothing else around. Cimex lectularius is the only one which would rather have human blood and they have hit New York big time. They have literally got New Yorkers quaking in their beds.
The sad reality is that bed bugs were thought to have been eradicated in the United States in the 1950's. Long-haul travellers and immigrants have been held responsible for the sporadic outbursts of bedbugs in the past, but incidents of bedbugs has reached epidemic proportions. In 2004, there were only 82 attested outbreaks in New York, in 2009, just five years later, there were 10,985!
They are pretty swift creatures, preferring to live close to the host, they can make a withdrawal from your blood bank often within ten minutes, faster than you can make a withdrawal from an inner city ATM. The majority of bed bugs have drunk their fill within five minutes of finding you and they can find you very quickly. Bed bugs use body heat and CO2 emissions to locate their victims and then use pheromones to tell their friends and family where you are as well.
This is why a host is usually bitten a dozen times or more, not just once like when there is a single mosquito in your bedroom or three times, which is the feature of a flea. Similar to flea bites, bed bug bites are frequently in a row of three though.
Luckily for us, bedbugs carry no known diseases, although many bites can lead to anaemia and an impaired immune system, which could leave you open to other diseases. Victims sometimes develop obsessional behavioural patterns and insomnia, which also has its consequences.
Bedbugs are hatched from eggs, which are laid one, two or three a day. They take about ten days to hatch out into transparent nymphs about a millimetre or so long. These must also drink blood. As they grow, they shed their skins. After six moultings they are fully-grown bed bugs and can breed.
Bedbugs feed approximately every five days, during which time they rest in the dingy crevice that they call home and sleep it off. Their lifespan is between five months and a year, but they can become dormant for five months, if there is no food about. A female will lay about three hundred eggs in her life.
It used to be supposed that bedbugs lived in squalor, but this is not the case. However, they do like to be where humans congregate and they like dark crevices to live in: loose headboards, bed frames, skirting boards and architraves are firm favourites.
About the Author:
Owen Jones, the author of this article, writes on many topics, but is at present involved with getting rid of bedbugs? If you are interested in this, please visit our website now at Picture Of Bed Bugs for more information.