If the long delays at Britain's airports weren't enough, there's one more thing for travellers to worry about this summer - a global epidemic of bed bugs.
Cimex lectularius, to give them their Latin name, were a bane of pre-WWII life. But improved hygiene and the widespread use of pesticides saw the nocturnal bloodsuckers almost eradicated by the end of the 1960s.
Now, however, thanks to the banning of DDT, increased travel and rising global temperatures, the Count Draculas of the insect world are making a sensational comeback.
Outbreaks have been reported all over the US and there has been a rash of lawsuits against hotels from customers who have been bitten.
In Europe, bed bugs are literally crawling out of the woodwork. In Britain, Rentokil report a 52 per cent rise in complaints over the past year.
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Worldwide, bed bugs are suddenly crawling out of the woodwork, says neil clark |
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My wife and I experienced the charms of cimex lectularius on a recent visit to Germany. We never felt a thing while under attack; bed bugs are wily operators, anaesthetising their unsuspecting victims with their saliva before beginning their bloodfest.
The good news is bed bugs don't transmit disease; the bad news is you'll be itching for the best part of a month. Moreover, if you bring them back, you'll have to spend a fortune fumigating your home.
Don't think that booking into a five-star hotel will offer you protection. Earlier this year, a US lawyer sued a luxury hotel in London after he and his wife had been badly bitten. A better - and cheaper - alternative is never to go anywhere without a lavender oil spray: apparently, it's the one thing the little bastards can't stand.
FIRST POSTED JULY 11, 2007 |
