Lurking in the bunk beds, a silent menace
Did you know that not all vampires are charismatic heartthrobs who are trying to save us from their dangerous thirst for blood? There are some that will lurk in the darkness and as we sleep at night slip silently under our covers and drink from our blood without any kind of sense of remorse or concern for our wellbeing. These nocturnal creatures lay in waiting until we least expect them and when they strike we are left powerless against the bites that accumulate each night on our bodies. Sound like the stuff of pop culture and teenage fiction? Guess again, because right now there could be bloodthirsty bed bugs hiding in your mattress or within the frame of your kids bunk beds.
Bed bugs are revolting parasites that seek to drink from your flesh each night and they get their devious name from their practice of living within your most intimate resting places. The bite that they can inflict can cause sores, rashes and even psychological side effects. Although this seems like an unstoppable menace, bed bugs were actually almost rendered extinct at one point after serious efforts were undertaken back in the 1940s. After the war was over DDT was used and by the 80s there was nearly no trace of the insects in the developed world.
Then in the mid 1990s an outbreak pushed the spread of bed bugs back into the mainstream and now we have cities who are reaching epidemic levels in regard to the numbers that are invading and populating homes. There are many people now that are waking up in the morning to find that they have been bitten not just once, but countless times.
A prime example of just how bad this is getting is an article that was published in the British paper the Guardian about a family that was suffering from an attack. It is important to note that having bed bugs doesn’t mean that you are unclean, it just means that you have been in contact with someone who has an infestation and it has spread to you and your home.
Two of the family’s children where becoming overwhelmed with bug bites during the night to such a point that the school called just to find out what was going on. It got to such a stressful point that the family was beginning to loose sleep. As a result they hired an exterminator and used a chemical agent to destroy the insects.
After this had taken place the father decided he wanted to check out the children’s bunk beds and took them apart to see inside. He laid out white sheets so he was able to see what would fall out and he was horrified to find that over 40 bed bugs were inside the bunk beds. They were fat with blood from his children the night before. The sheets became blood stained after he destroyed them and his daughter was horrified by how much blood was produced. He could not bring himself to tell her that the blood was actually hers.
It doesn’t matter how much you clean your home, bunk beds, or mattresses, contact is the critical element to keep in mind when it comes to prevention. Then, if you become infested, call a professional.