UK cities face bed bug epidemic

Cities in Britain are facing a rise in bedbug infestations as a result of this summer’s multiple heatwaves, according to experts.

Describing it as an “epidemic”, Sky News says there’s been a “vast increase” in the number of reported infestations of the pest in the summer months. Experts have observed a steady increase in bedbugs in cities since the 1990s, the broadcaster says.

According to David Cain, owner of the extermination company Bed Bugs Limited, the reproductive cycle of the bugs shortens from 18-21 days to eight or nine day in higher temperatures, meaning the bugs can lay more eggs.

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The Daily Express says that bedbugs can be “difficult to spot for a number of reasons – one being that they crawl out at night and bite exposed skin”. They are also very small, according to the paper, with adult bedbugs only growing up to 5mm long – “a similar size to an apple seed”.

The Guardian reports that the problem is “compounded by social stigma” which often results in a reluctance to seek help. The paper also says that many people have no physical reaction to bedbug bites so may be unaware of an infestation.

Cain says the rise in bedbugs is not just a UK phenomenon. “The problem has been spreading globally since the late 1990s, and there is literally no country on the face of the planet that hasn’t had a bedbug problem,” he says.

Tony Lewis, head of policy at the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health, blames not just the higher temperatures for what he describes as a “persistent bedbug presence in the UK” but “people returning from holiday with bedbugs in their luggage”.

He said: “It doesn’t matter if they’ve been staying in a five-star hotel or a dingy B&B, the chances of encountering bedbugs are equal.”