Pest Control in Blackpool & Other Seaside Holiday Resorts

March 4, 2009 · Posted in Bed Bugs On The Rampage · Comment 

Pest Control in Blackpool & Other Seaside Holiday Resorts

Seaside pest control brings its own set of special circumstances which sometimes require a different approach to more inland towns.

Firstly the very logistics of working in a busy seaside holiday resort can be problematic, even the basics of parking your van near the customers’ premises can be difficult especially when equipment needs to be carried. This can lead to increased charges which have to be passed onto the customer.brown rat

In summer premises are often open seven days a week and even twenty-four hours a day thus leaving little opportunity for the pest controller to go about his work.

This may not cause too much difficulty in routine preventative inspection visits but can cause extreme problems when infestation is detected in that often pesticides require premises to be vacated for a period of time.

In winter the opposite situation may occur where premises are closed for several months leaving a pest infestation to develop undetected.

Seaside holiday resorts usually have a large number of takeaways providing food to eat on the go and often will be littered overnight with uneaten food scraps providing food for rats and seagulls.

Often daily waste collections mean that bagged food waste is put outside overnight thus encouraging rodents.

Seagulls are obviously a nuisance with their noise and fouling but often will take food stuffs up onto roofs and ledges causing a build up of rotten materials which produce flies and maggots.

Perhaps the most difficult aspect of seaside pest control is the resurgence of the bed bug which in recent years has seen numbers rise exponentially.

A high transient population of holiday makers often staying in inexpensive, high turnover accommodation means that the bugs can spread quickly throughout a resort and even expensive upmarket establishments are not exempt.

The very nature of a bed bug infestation means that it is difficult and expensive to cure and news of infestation is often of interest to local press who will often carry a story about a guest being bitten, thus ruining the reputation of the establishment.

Bed bug infestations require that the infested bedroom and those adjacent be treated thus losing revenue for the establishment.

A hotel or guest house could also find themselves liable for the cost of dealing with an infestation at the homes of their guests as the bugs are easily transported in luggage.

Pest Prevention carry out annual preventative inspections and treatment where necessary and can be contacted on 0800 019 8382 or

info@harrierpestprevention.co.uk



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Bed Bugs On The Rampage

January 25, 2009 · Posted in Bed Bugs On The Rampage · Comment 


Bed Bugs On The Rampage (Ken Chadwick)

Bed Bugs On The Rampage – One of the most feared and misunderstood pests known to man is the bed bug (Cimex lectularius). How many of us Bed Bugs On The Rampagehave dozed off to sleep at night as children with the words of our parents in our ears ‘sleep tight and don’t let the bed bugs bite’?

Bed bugs probably started to feed on man at about the time we moved into caves, the ‘bat bugs’ Cimex pilosellus and Cimex pipistrella primarily feed on bats and it is probable that bat feeding species of bug evolved to dine on human blood when our ancesters started dwelling in bat infested caves.

Until the advent of DDT in the early 20th century bed bugs were common non-paying guests in most poor quality housing.

The later part of the 20th century saw pest control companies dealing with very few bed bug infestations indeed, their presence being largely confined to cheap holiday camps and student accomodation etc.

Bed Bugs On The RampageMany people confuse dust mites, which are not visible to the naked eye, with bed bugs which certainly are.

Adult bedbugs are reddish-brown, about a quarter of an inch in size and decidely swollen after a feed of human blood.

They have an incomplete metamorphosis which means that the young are just smaller versions of the adult, they do not have a pupal stage like a flea or a fly.

Bed bugs typically feed on human blood every 7 – 10 days, coming out in the hours before dawn and sensing their prey by detecting the exhaled CO2 from respiration and when nearing in on their target, body heat.

In the absence of a convenient human to feed on they can lay dormant for periods of up to 18 months.

Signs of a bed bug infestation are spots of blood on bedding and on the underside of mattresses and some people can react badly to their bites.

The early 21st century has seen bed bug numbers explode across the globe, the cheap availability of global travel and economic migration have both been blamed for the resurgence.

What is certain is that thet are now making a major comeback not only in poor quality housing but high class hotels, schools and even hospitals.

One London borough reported a doubling of bed bug infestations every single year from 1995 – 2001.

A single night away in an infested hotel is all it takes, they hitch a ride in your suitcases or bags. Pest control companies are also now reporting instances of transport related bug infestations on tubes, trains and buses so a simple journey to work on an infested tube or train can be enough to spread the infestation to your home.

They are an expensive pest to eradictate as contrary to popular opinion they do not just live in beds. They infest any nook and cranny conveniently close to a sleeping human, beds, electrical sockets, televisions, bed-side telephones etc and eradication is both difficult and time consuming. They have even been found living under the toe-nails of infirm people and in the creases of flesh on grossly over-weight people.

They are not a pest that can be eradicated by an amateur and a professional will almost certainly be needed.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ken_Chadwick

Ken Chadwick B.A. (Hons) is a Pest Controller and author on pest control issues. For further information please visit http://www.waspgo.co.uk

That concludes this article entitled – Bed Bugs On The Rampage


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