Bedbugs are exclusively blood sucking insects that bite and feed
on man among other warm blooded animals. A typical adult bedbug sucks 0.5ml
of blood to get engorged each night it attacks the victim posing a great risk
of anemia for occupants of heavily infested premises. Bedbugs and their bites
present huge psychological torture commonly portrayed as illusionary
parasitosis, an unsettling situation where one frequently and involuntarily senses
an insect crawling or biting him even when nothing like that is transpiring (at
least 70% of a students in an infested residence in Makerere area experience
this condition). Clinical risks like transmission of drug resistant bacteria (i.e methicillin-resistantStaphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium (VRE) ) and a parasite called T. cruzi which causes Chagas disease, a disease that erodes the heart. Over 40 microorganisms that cause diseases to humans
have been detected in bedbugs. The bites also potentiate secondary infections
like Hepatis B Virus (an infection that accounts for over 70% of liver cancer
cases) from their feces or when an infected bedbug raptures on ones skin in its
feeding event. As mentioned earlier, anemia has been reported in the elderly
and very young in cases where homes are heavily infested. Asthma has also been
linked to the presence of bed bugs in homes. The public health impacts of toxic pesticides often massively applied
indoor have not been well assessed either but I believe it is accounting for a
good portion of your hospital visits as it lowers the efficiency of your body
and immune system. Economically, CBS
reported in 2010 that more than US $ 250 million a year is spent fighting
bedbugs in USA. In Uganda, it is hard to gauge the approximate revenue due to
many smart players who have swallowed all the risks never to register their
firms but the few pest controlling firms I consulted confessed experiencing
more than double rises in their revenues from bedbug control alone as heavy
bedbug explosion drills and wrecks the rich and the poor as if it were the day
of judgment and also the number of pest control companies (registered and
unregistered) rising by over 50% to take lucrative free shares of national
economy through the calamity. Bedbugs are some of the hardest pests to eradicate once they invade an
accommodation due to many factors including their inherent nature of fast
development of resistance to insecticides, feeding regiments in that they can
go for days without feeding so may not be exposed for killing by contact
chemicals whenever that service provider sprays and their body structure which
allows them hide deep in cracks and crevices that the chemical may never
penetrate. These all combined present
enormous financial impact on the victims as one need two or more frequent
expensive visits of the pest control service provider for a success story to
yield. Infestation of bedbugs is socially believed to be an infestation of the
in-hygienic and the poor and thus for bedbug to be spotted on once dress, shirt
or possession especially in public is a massive embarrassment with due
reduction in self-esteem to the victim. Having bed bugs may restrict the social
lives of people. Sufferers avoid visiting friends and family and often throw
away belongings, at great cost, and minimal benefit. Tenant-landlord disputes
over who is responsible continue to take place and these battles can be
damaging to both parties. The infestations of bedbugs also
have direct impact of lowering residential and accommodation markets. A study
conducted at Makerere, Kampala showed highly infested premises either having
unrented rooms or charging 30-50% less than the “bug-free” residences. Hotels,
apartments and tourism sector even have a better side of the experience in that
clients may not only regret ever coming to your premise but will probably
provide the official denouncing services for your premise more loudly via
social media platform and the wipe out costs are often appreciable.
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