How common are bed bugs in the UK? How to get rid of them in the UK?

Bed bugs are common all over the world, though there are different types of them existing. Some of these types do not differ in terms of struggling with them, but it is good to understand the differences anyway. Some of these types can be met anywhere, while others live in a special region, such as South American and Asian countries, for example.

In this article you can find main information about bed bugs in United Kingdom. Which types of them are there? How to struggle with them? What is the situation with home insurance covering bed bugs issues in Great Britain?

The answers to all these questions can be found in this article. Though, a set of actions against bed bugs doesn’t really change a lot depending on the area of infestation, there are still can be some unique differences. Also, the situation with insurances is different across all the countries all over the world. The basic set of instructions to follow are being careful while travelling, especially in a low-budget hostels, taking care of your own hygiene and carefulness while choosing new clothes to buy.

How common are bed bugs in the UK?

A usual bed bug type (Cimex lectularious) is the native bed bugs type in Europe and UK, in particular. Unlike Australia, there is no other bed bug type in UK presented.

After WWII there was a report, which stated that 30% of houses in Britain were infested with bed bugs. Such an infestation boom took place due to the increase of usage of heating systems in houses, which made better conditions for bed bugs to live in. Also, the travelling itself became cheaper and easier, which is very good for bed bugs spreading.

Now the situation with bed bugs is pretty difficult in UK. In 2017 ‘The Sun’ published an article saying that the amount of bed bugs has tripled in the past five years. This is a really huge number, so bed bugs issue requires attention nowadays. One more point is that bed bugs have developed an immunity to different chemical, which were used to kill them in the past. That fact allows them to spread easier.

Related: Bed bugs in Australia

Speaking of the most infested areas in Great Britain, London Borough of Southwark takes a lead. It is infested not only with bed bugs, but with mice and cockroaches as well. In 2014 a research was held, which reported, that there was over 1800 cases of bed bugs infestation in that area during the year. Other cities with a bad bed bugs situation are Leicester, Cambridge, Newcastle and Glasgow.

By the way, Newcastle was named as the most infested city in UK in terms of all types of pests (such as bed bugs, mice, rats and cockroaches).

What do bed bugs look like in the UK?

There is only one type of bed bugs in UK, which is a standard one, Cimex lectularius. It can be met in Australia, USA, and different European countries mostly. Anyway, it is hard to understand which type of bed bugs you look at using only your naked eye.

Related: What do Bed Bugs Look Like?

It is enough to know, that bed bugs are small (around 5 mm), brown insects without wings, but with 6 legs. Their body is oval-shaped, but if they were fed recently, they start to look more like a balloon, and their size is increasing (it can reach up even to 9mm). If an insect is young, its color can be more yellow.

How do you get bed bugs in the UK?

Methods of getting bed bugs everywhere work in the UK as well. The most frequent one is unsecured travelling. Pay attention to the places you are travelling to make a check of a room you are going to live in all the time. If you will be able to make sure that there are no bed bugs close to you, the chances of getting them are decreasing rapidly.

One more common way to get infestation is to buy unsecured items, such as clothes and furniture, from second hands. Sometimes, there is a situation, where you can get them from public places, such as railway station, for example. Be careful, when you are attending such places.

How to get rid of bed bugs in the UK?

In case you have come across bed bugs in your spot in UK, you can follow this guide to get rid of them completely. It suits not only dealing with bed bugs in UK, but can be used to struggle them anywhere. Though, it is just a recommendation, and different situations require different approaches. It is always better to call to a professional pest control or buy bed bug killer products if you came across bed bug issue.

Related: How to Kill Bed Bugs?

Though if you want to cope with them by yourself, here is some tips to take into account. Firstly, when you spot a sign of infestation, inspect the surrounding area. Your main aim is to make sure, that your place is infested. It would be also good to find, where bed bugs are hiding, though it is not an easy task. Next step will be a using of a special anti-bed bug insecticide, which would kill them all. After that, you should perform a steam cleaning by a special chemical free cleaner. Also, you can make your own spray on natural ingredients, which would work as a bed bug insecticide.

Does home insurance cover bed bugs in the UK?

In depends mostly on insurance company. In overall, situation is that bed bugs issues are not included in the base insurance price. Though, sometimes the program can be enlarged, and the pest cover can be added as well. It will cover not only bed bugs infestation, but also infestation of rats, mice and grey squirrels will be taken into account.

The standard insurance program will cover damage caused by wild animals instead. Some of the companies also have connections with pest control professionals and can provide getting rid of bed bugs type services.