This page is dedicated to information, observations, speculations and questions about bed bugs and their eradication.
I will be inserting case histories and interesting events and questions that I find in my ongoing battle against this modern plague of vampires, but am also looking to those out there who may have had experiences both good and bad, that would be of interest to others, to submit to this forum so, hopefully, we can expand our knowledge and therefore our ability to better eradicate bed bugs from our lives.
Please email your information to info@abedbugspecialist.com.au and I will insert appropriate information as it is recieved. Please indicate if you would like your name added or remain anonymous.
REACTIONS TO BITES: This area has been quite confusing and I will say that my conclusions are merely hypothetical based on my experience. Right from my first involvement with bed bugs and there devastating effects on peoples lives, I found it remarkable that someone could be sharing a bed with a partner and one is getting mauled by bed bugs and the other isn't experiencing a bite. Are bed bugs so discerning that they would feed on one person yet ignore another body right beside it. The other dilemma were rental apartments that on inspection, after new tenants have been savaged by bed bugs, harbour extremely high populations of bed bugs yet the previous tenants never mentioned any problems. It soon became apparent that some people were reacting to bites yet others, perhaps the majority, showed no reaction and therefore were oblivious to the fact that they are the main meal.
An occurance recently, perhaps further exposed the anomoly of bite reactions. I went to treat a house where the female occupant was living alone as her partner was working extended periods away and her adult child had moved out. The infestation, though limited to one room, was extensive and had obviously been there for at least a year. When I asked the woman how long she had been bitten, she said about two weeks! Now there was no other occupant and bed bugs don't not feed when someone is present so it was obvious that this woman had been the food source yet had only recently started to react to the bites. Perhaps someone can give a different opinion but my hypothesis is that many people are able to cope with the anti-coagulant in the saliva of the bed bug that causes the reactions, however, I think with increased populations the body reaches a critical limit and then begins to not deal with it and reactions to bites begin. This is similiar in every way to food allergies and explains many of the anomolies of Bed Bug bites. I hope to further pursue this theory and would appreciate feedback or any evidence for or against.
MISTREATMENTS AND THE CONSEQUENCES: I have just completed treating a resort which highlights the need for correct Bed Bug treatment. This resort discovered a small infestation in one room and had their regular pest controller treat it. When this failed I was called in and, after a standard treatment and inspecting of the two rooms either side, was happy that the infestation was eradicated. This was just before the cold months of Winter and I was surprised to be called back once, then twice and on the third recall discussed the issue with the manager who had been absent. On this occassion staff had discovered, as I suspected, a bug in a room adjoining but on the rear of the original room. This was on the side facing the sun and the weather was just starting to warm up. On inspection, I discovered three rooms on this side with small infestations. It was very apperant that the initial treatment was with a product that forced the Bed Bugs into the wall cavity from whence they made sojourns back to the initial room but had now, with the warmer weather, started to spread through the entire resort. We were fortunate to catch this very early and I then treated the effected rooms and all the nescessary "entrances" which will resolve this problem. Had they not been looking carefully for signs of spread, no one had complained of bites, the consequences and costs of treating a fully spread, major infestation would have been prohibitive. (twelve months on and this resort is still free of bed bugs so success can be claimed)
THE BED BUG VAN: An interesting problem when I was contacted by a guy who, wanting to travel around Australia, had bought a van in Sydney then headed west only to start itching and scrathing two weeks after he started sleeping in the van. The inspection soon uncovered the problem
S0, van was stripped with everything going into sealed containers and away we went.. Due to the amount of inaccessable hiding places I resprayed the van a week later and, hopefully, our travelling tourist can have a more peaceful stay!
SOCIAL PROBLEMS: A major concern I am now seeing for Australia, as is being experienced in other countries, is the spread of bed bugs to lower socio-economic groups. These people are usually unable to afford any pest control, let alone effective treatments, live in very close proximity to others, increasing the likelyhood of infestation spread, and often, due to the smaller accomodation size, have a cluttered environment. All this points to a major social problem that is developing here and now. Government and social groups are, understandably, shy to confront this issue but it will only get much bigger and will, at some time, have to be delt with. Accomodation providers have a duty to provide sanitary facilities and need to plan for inevitable infestations to minimise trauma and costs.
EDUCATION: Another major problem is the education of government workers. I recently inspected a motel where someone had complained of being bitten and a health department inspector had stated that the room was infested. My inspection showed a completely bed bug free room and I found the speck, which was identified as a bed bug, was a bit of detritus. Such errors can be very costly (the manager had called for me to just come and fix it) and adversely effect the good reputation of an accomodation provider.
HEALTH RISKS: A quick search of bed bug chat rooms will quickly highlight the various social and health risks of bed bug infestations. One that stands out to me is of an elderly woman in Canada who, after the discovery and failed treatment of bed bugs, became socialy isolated due to her family and friends refusing to visit and, to try and get relief and some sleep, started taking sleeping pills and sleeping in a chair. Fortunately, the eventual and, probably predictable, overdose did not kill her as she was discovered in time and given medical treatment but things could have been much worse. BED BUGS CAN AND DO CAUSE MAJOR HEALTH RISKS. Mine workers work long enough shifts without the sleep loss and irritation bed bugs can cause, and the associated risks of on the job accidents. Airline staff, another high risk career for bed bug infestation, carry huge responsibilities and a lack of concentration could be catastrophic. Elderly, mentally ill and infirmed people are all susceptible to terrible effects of infestations and more should be being done to help resolve bed bug problems.
DO IT ONCE DO IT RIGHT AND DON'T LET THE BED BUGS BITE
S0, van was stripped with everything going into sealed containers and away we went.. 
Due to the amount of inaccessable hiding places I resprayed the van a week later and, hopefully, our travelling tourist can have a more peaceful stay! 