Travellers Itching To Stay

Newcastle Herald

Friday February 3, 2006

By TESS CAMPBELL

A TRAVEL bug is sweeping the Hunter and it comes in the form of a fast, rust-brown wingless insect.

Bed bugs are resurfacing and it is not just motels that are affected, pest controller Peter Lockwood said.

"They are turning up in homes, usually after occupants have returned from overseas, or hosted a traveller," he said.

"We've done five services this summer, which is the total number we treated in 2004.

"Until a few years ago, bed bugs were something you read about in the pest manual."

Bed bugs have not been a serious public health risk for 50 years but the problem is quickly gripping the Western world, according to medical entomologist Stephen Doggett.

An influx of overseas travellers and the growing number of Australians travelling to exotic destinations are two reasons cited for the infestations.

"They have been found everywhere from hostels to five-star hotels, it's virtually a worldwide epidemic," Dr Doggett said.

"They travel in luggage, clothing and have been found in cruise ships, trains, cafes, second-hand furniture and are extremely hard to treat."

BED BUGS

Scientific name: Cimex lectularius

Size: Oval shape, 4-5mm long fully grown.

Colour: Rust brown, changes to deeper redbrown

following a blood meal.

Life: 6-12 months. Each female lays 2-3 eggs a day.

Shelter: Dark locations, under mattresses,

floorboards, paintings and carpets, in walls.

Reaction: Large itchy, inflamed weals.

© 2006 Newcastle Herald

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