2 February 2006

Australia is in the grip of a bed bug pandemic with the Australian accommodation and tourism industry losing an estimated $100 million annually from bed bug infestations, according to medical entomologist Stephen Doggett of the Institute for Clinical Pathology & Medical Research (ICPMR), based at Westmead Hospital.

The influx of overseas travellers, especially backpackers, into Australia as well as growing numbers of Australians travelling to exotic destinations are two reasons cited for the exponential increase in bed bug infestations.

 

Stephen Doggett says the bed bug epidemic is horrifying and costly for all levels of the accommodation industry, from backpacker hostels to five-star hotels.

“Bed bugs haven’t been a serious public health problem in Australia for about 50 years prior to their current resurgence. Many people don’t know how to recognise them and research into modern control strategies has been virtually nonexistent,” Stephen Doggett said.

In the first few years of the 21st century however some Australian pest control operators reported a rise of over 1000 per cent in the number of bed bug treatments, according to a recent report prepared for the Australian Environmental Pest Managers Association (AEPMA).

 

Bed bugs are wingless brown insects, roughly oval in shape and 4-5mm long when fully grown. The two main species that bite humans are the common bed bug (Cimex lectularius) and the tropical bed bug (Cimex hemipterus). Bed bugs prefer dark locations close to where people sleep so they can feed on human blood at night. They usually nest in mattresses, particularly in the seams, under floorboards and carpets, inside bed frames and slats and behind skirting boards.

Blood spotting on mattresses and sheets is often a tell-tale sign of an infestation as are skin rashes and allergic reactions to bed bug bites.

As one of the few bed bug researchers in Australia, Stephen Doggett says many pest controllers need assistance in knowing how to successfully treat bed bug infestations.

In an effort to stem the spread of bed bugs in Australia, Stephen Doggett has prepared a draft Code of Practice (CoP) for the Control of Bed Bug Infestations by pest controllers. It is believed to be the first bed bug CoP developed in the world, incorporating a holistic approach to their eradication and management.