Description: Adult bedbugs are 4-5 mm in length, wingless and uniformly mahogany in colour. They have well developed walking legs with efficient tarsal claws for clinging onto the host during feeding.

Female bedbugs lay eggs throughout their life. They generally produce around 2 to 3 per day and since they can live for many weeks, indeed months, each female could produce 400-500 eggs during their lifetime. Eggs are deposited all around the environment in which they live and are small and white or whitish/yellow about 1 mm long.

The close association of bedbugs with human beings means that they can cause substantial nuisance through their blood feeding habit. They feed at night on the human hosts as they sleep.

If the infestation is high there can be a risk of anaemia being suffered by the human hosts, although this is rare. The nuisance and itching caused by the bites and the possibility of secondary infection is more common. Cats, chickens and other domesticated animals may also be attacked.

How to control bedbugs: A thorough inspection should be made to determine the extent and source of the infestation. All harbourages should be treated with a residual insecticide. A very thorough treatment is needed as harbourages are diverse and difficult to detect.