What's In My House?: Bedbugs!

What's in My House?

That's right, we've finally deduced what's wrong with Mr Bill!

Mr Bill was ill from the bed bugs, found in the bedroom, which cause: numerous bites in a line, intensely itchy welts, bloodstained sheets and reddened skin.

Bedbugs can live in the small cracks in your bed, particularly in the bed frame joints and in the seams of your mattress!

The worst part? Bedbugs can easily crawl and manoeuvre themselves around your house as soon as they enter your home - whether by you, or by someone else.

Once an infestation is found, you should call the British Pest Control Association to deal with your little creatures!

But, if you're adamant that you can dispose of them yourself, then the NHS recommends these steps:

• if clothes or bedlinen have become infested, wash them at 60C, or put them in a dryer on a hot setting for 30 minutes to kill the bugs
• dismantle your bed and furniture, and closely inspect every seam, crevice and joint using a bright torch
• use a vacuum cleaner with a hose to suck up any bugs you can see, but bear in mind you may not be able to find them all – dispose of the contents of the vacuum cleaner in a sealed bag
• to kill any remaining bugs, use insecticide spray specially designed for bedbugs – always read the label and never use this directly on clothing, linen or your mattress
• be prepared to throw away a mattress if it appears to be heavily infested

The only other things left to do? Treat the bites. You can do this by being prescribed some mild steroid creams, or by taking antihistamine tablets - recommended by your pharmacist.

Avoid the bedbugs! Keep your bedroom tidy! Avoid clutter! And finally, don't buy second hand mattresses.

What will Mr Bill have next?

- Geeker