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<\/p>\nSneaky bed bugs are lurking in our wardrobes during the day before launching night-time attacks under the duvet.<\/p>\n
By the time we wake up the dastardly critters will have scurried off back to \u2018dark crevices\u2019 around the room, a bed bug boff said. Professor Mary Cameron, of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, issued the warning as the UK sees a surge in the beasties.<\/p>\n
The warm weather means the typical hatching time is just two days, with a "doubling of the population every couple of weeks".<\/p>\n
READ MORE: Brits face mutant 'super' bedbugs as Parisian pests know how to beat insecticides<\/b><\/p>\n
For the latest news and updates on bed bug horrors, click here.<\/i> <\/b><\/p>\n
Prof Cameron said: "Although they\u2019re called bed bugs, they come into the bed to bite you when it\u2019s dark, but then they scurry away into cracks and crevices within the bedroom.<\/p>\n
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"So you wouldn\u2019t find them so much in the bed, you\u2019d probably find them inside bedside cabinets, in cracks and crevices, or behind the headboard or in wardrobes, because they like to be in dark places during the day.<\/p>\n
"So, after you\u2019ve got up, it\u2019s unlikely that you\u2019ll see them in your bed unless you\u2019ve got a really bad infestation, and you\u2019ll be aware of it then because you\u2019ll have lots of bites."<\/p>\n
One of the worst things is trying to get rid of them as there\u2019s widespread resistance to most insecticides, she said. And because the psycho insects stay hidden away it\u2019s unlikely they\u2019ll "get a lethal dose".<\/p>\n
The academic said: "So you really need a professional person to go in to do the control, because it could be that they have to dismantle furniture, go behind skirting boards, and they\u2019ll have better equipment to be able to reach the bedbugs that are hiding.<\/p>\n
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"And it\u2019s also likely that it\u2019s not going to be a one-fix solution – it will possibly require a professional pest controller to go to your house a couple of times to get rid of them."<\/p>\n
People also won\u2019t notice they\u2019ve brought back a female bug from a hotel until it\u2019s too late, she added. She said: "You probably wouldn\u2019t be aware of it until after she\u2019s laid her eggs and all the nymphs have hatched.<\/p>\n
"They\u2019ll then take a blood meal and rapidly multiply, but you\u2019d only be really aware of it when you\u2019ve got a heavy infestation." British pest firms say they are the busiest they\u2019ve ever been as the infestation is getting worse.<\/p>\n
They fear the pests are spreading on public transport or are being carried back from holidays to bed bug hotspots such as Paris. Jamie Ramsey, of Pests of London, said: "We\u2019re snowed under with bed bug inquiries at the moment.\u201d<\/p>\n
One firm, covering London, Herts, Beds and Bucks, said it\u2019s handling up to 25 call-outs a week, up from one or two a month ago. Another claimed 90% of calls between London and Luton involved the bugs.<\/p>\n
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