Bed bugs have become an increasingly problem due to increased travel making it easier for the bugs to travel and find hosts. They feed off the blood of a human host and so are found where people rest and sleep, causing understandable distress.

APPEARANCE

Adult Bed bugs look like small brown discs, up to 6mm in length but in the early stages, they are much smaller, making it harder to detect.

CAUSES

Bed bugs can attach to luggage, bags and clothing which means that they may be transferred during travel as well as second hand belongings.

SIGNS OF INFESTATION

Red irritating bites in rows on your neck, shoulders, back legs or arms.

Small blood-smears on the bed linen or head-board.

Clusters or dark spots that look like ink dots on the bed frame of bottom side of the mattress.

Bed bugs tend to hide in crevices in the bed, furniture around beds, behind skirting boards, under loose wall-paper, behind pictures and sometimes in plug sockets.

Read here for more advice on how to prevent and tackle Bed bug infestations