Learning about Bed bugs

Bed bugs art tiny insect that feeds on human blood. It lives in hidden places such as inside boxes and clothing, between the seams of mattresses and baggage, hidden corners of luggage, under-edges of beds and any other place where they can stay unnoticed. They crawl out at night to bite and feed on human blood, leaving itchy bite marks that may cause skin irritation.

Bed bugs are very resilient survivors, as they can stay for up to ten days without a blood meal. The scientific name of bed bug is Cimex lectularius.

Life Cycle of a bed bug

Bed bugs reproduce rapidly. A single female bed bug can lay up to 500 eggs over the course if its life, producing at least 5-7 per week. They lay their white oval eggs in hidden places mostly at temperatures of 80 degrees F, and the eggs hatch in 6 to 10 days. The newborn bed bugs begin their search for blood almost immediately.

Health Implications

It is true that bed bugs do not transmit any disease, but they can cause annoying inconvenience and health issues.

Some of the health implications of bed bug infestation include:

• Skin irritation and consequent skin infection as a result of scratching the itchy bite marks
• Minor lesions and allergic reactions that may need to be treated with medications
• Increased stress, Insomnia and general discomfort

Other Facts about Bed Bug

How to Successfully Tackle Bed Bug Infestation in Schools: Seeing bed bugs crawling on the body or cloths of a child in school does not necessarily mean that the bed bug came with the child from home. Bed bugs can easily transfer itself from one place to the other, and they may hide for a long time in a place without being seen. Therefore, it is possible that the bed bug crawled onto the child’s body from the school desk or any other surface they may have come in contact with in school.

Below are some steps that should be taken if bed bugs are seen in school.

• Remain calm
• Make an action plan immediately
• Educate the kids and staff about bed bugs
• The presence of one or two bugs doesn’t mean the whole place is infested
• If a classroom is infested, notify the parents and fumigate the class immediately
• EPA recommends the use of IPM as it is a sensitive, smart and suitable approach to controlling pests.