Mind the bed bugs don't bite: Number of Bed Bugs between the UK sheets rises by 40%

[Pastor Dale Morgan]

Mind the bed bugs don't bite: Number of Bed Bugs between the UK sheets rises by 40%

By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 6:36 AM on 7th April 2011

There was a rise of nearly 40 per cent in the number of bedbugs found in people's homes last year after a plague hit the country.

Rentokil said it tackled 38 per cent more infestations of the little mites last year compared with 2009.

And they said that more than half of those cases were in homes, not just hotels and offices.

Increase: There was a 38 per cent rise in the number of bed bugs last year

People taking trips abroad has helped in the migration of bed bugs with people unwittingly bringing them back from their holidays in suitcases and on clothes.

The surge comes after predictions of a 'global pandemic' last year by the National Pest Management Association in the U.S., according to the Daily Express.

Savvas Othon, technical director, said: 'Bed bugs usually enter a property on clothing, inside bags or on second hand furniture.

 '(They) are able to get behind headboards, light switches and behind peeling  wallpaper as well as under carpets and skirting boards.

'High levels of hygiene and deep cleaning, including washing bed linen at a minimum 60C, will help to keep numbers under control along with the use of DIY products.

Last month Rentokil claimed that the average commuter train contained up to 1,000 cockroaches and seats could contain 200 bedbugs and 200 fleas.

They said that a bus was home to 500 cockroaches as well as dozens of fleas and bedbugs.

Their claim was not only disputed by Transport for London but the firm also made an apology, blaming its PR Agency for presenting figures that were based on a 'hypothetical worst case scenario'.