Bed bugs are small, brownish, flattened insects that feed solely on the blood of animals. They are active mainly at night. During the daytime, they prefer to hide close to where people sleep. Their flattened bodies enable them to fit into tiny crevices especially those associated with mattresses, box springs, bed frames and headboards. Bedbugs may be erroneously associated with filth in the mistaken notion that this attracts them. However, severe infestations are often associated with poor housekeeping and clutter. Bedbugs are attracted by exhaled carbon dioxide and body heat, not by dirt, and they feed on blood, not waste.
Bed bugs pose a threat to humans in as far as their bites to feed on blood causing scarring and itchiness. They adversely affect the comfort in sleeping, which can result in sleep deprivation in the long term.
Bed Bugs Facts
- Each female lays 200-500 eggs
- Travel = +/-5-20 feet
- Feeding takes 3- 12 minutes
- Need one blood meal to reach 6 life stages
- To produce, male & female must feed once every 14 days
- Survives as low as 7°Cand high at 45°C
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Cabin Crew Find Bed Bugs On British Airways Plane; Flight Delayed For 4 Hours
LONDON: A British Airways flight to Ghana was grounded at London’s Heathrow Airport for four hours after bed bugs were found crawling on the seats.
The cabin crew had walked out minutes before the scheduled take-off when they discovered the bed bug infestation, reported The Sun newspaper on Sunday (Jan 14).
A replacement plane was found and passengers were able to continue their journey only some four hours later.
A source told The Sun: “The cabin crew saw bedbugs crawling over the seats – visible to the naked eye.
In a statement to Yahoo News UK, an airline spokesman said: “The comfort of our customers is paramount, so as soon as this very rare issue was identified at Heathrow, we immediately took the aircraft out of service for treatment.”
This is the latest in a string of bed bug infestation incidents to hit British Airways in recent months.
In October last year (2017), a Canadian family complained of multiple bites from bed bugs after a nine-hour flight from British Columbia to Britain.
The airline later apologised and gave the family an upgrade for their return trip.
In end-December, British news portal Daily Mail reported that a man was covered in dozens of bed bug bites after taking a flight in British Airways business class.
The airline has also received flak for poor customer service and cutting perks, such as free in-flight meals and alcohol for domestic and short-haul trips in economy class. – The Straits Times/Asia News Network
source from: The Star Online
Woman Complains Of Bedbug-infested Coach Ride From Kuala Lumpur To Singapore
SINGAPORE: A woman who travelled by coach from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore allegedly suffered dozens of bedbug bites that left her itching all over her body.
Administrative executive Natalie Yap, 29, wrote on Facebook detailing her unpleasant experience onboard Starmart Express’ “first class massage coach” on Monday (Dec 26), and demanded that the company provide a full refund for her trip and medical expenses.
The Singapore permanent resident, who was in the Malaysian capital for the Christmas holidays, also uploaded photos of her bites and the bedbugs in the Facebook post, which went viral with close to 9,000 shares.
“I would like to state my utter disappointment on this unpleasant journey that caused me to be mentally and physically exhausted after enduring the long hours of bugs biting,” she wrote.She fell asleep almost immediately, but woke up an hour later as her whole body was itching. To her horror, she discovered bedbugs on her seat and clothes.
Yap then approached the bus driver to request to change buses, but was told there were no available ones due to the hectic festive schedule.
“He refused to admit there were bedbugs on the bus and implied that it was because my clothes were dirty. He also told me that if there were really any bedbugs, why was I the only one complaining while the rest of the passengers kept quiet,” said Yap, who paid about $70 ticket for a return ticket.
She said that she subsequently moved to a seat near the front of the bus that had no seatbelt, and was forced to endure an uncomfortable ride for the next four hours until the bus reached a rest stop.
It was there when she discovered that almost all the other passengers were also suffering from bedbug bites.
Ravindran, an assistant manager at Starmart Express’ Singapore office, told The Straits Times over the phone that the company has so far received four complaints about the incident.
He also stressed that customer complaints about bedbugs were uncommon.
“We are investigating and will decide if we should give refunds to the affected passengers who filed complaints with us,” said Ravindran. “The problem could have arisen because of a passengers’ belongings.”
He added that the bus in question has since been taken off service.
The bus arrived in Singapore at about 1am on Tuesday. Yap estimated that she suffered more than 30 bites on her arms, legs and upper body. She paid $64 to see a doctor, who gave her anti-itch medicine and cream.
Yap, who travels to Malaysia about once a month, said it was the last time she would be taking Starmart Express after her second bad experience with the company.
Last year, a Starmart Express bus she was on broke down several times, delaying her journey for hours.
She added: “I initially posted the bedbugs complaint on Starmart’s Facebook page, but they took it down. So I put it up on my page to warn my friends; I didn’t expect it to spread so fast.
“After it went viral, other Starmart passengers also told me of their experiences with bedbugs on their buses.”
According to its website, Starmart Express specialises in long distance express bus services between Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. – The Straits Times/Asia News Network
source from: The Star Online