As the days grow longer and warmer, it’s likely that a number of unwelcome visitors will turn up at homes and gardens around the country. We’re not talking about the in-laws here, rather domestic pests such as bedbugs, cockroaches and wasps. They may be small but Protectyourbubble.com warns that they can represent a health hazard as well as having the potential to cause damage that could cost hundreds of pounds to repair if left untreated.
Infestations of bedbugs are increasing at an alarming rate not just in the bedroom but in sofas, chairs and even in the tops of curtains. A severe infestation can lead to someone being bitten up to 500 times in one night. While there is no evidence to suggest they transmit diseases, as one bug can ingest up to seven times its weight in blood in a single sitting continued feeding could result in the victim developing anaemia.
While their bigger insect relative – the cockroach – isn’t quite so bloodthirsty, left untreated these robust critters can gather together in large numbers, contaminating food with their excrement and are known to carry dysentery, gastro-enteritis typhoid and food poisoning organisms. They give out an unpleasant odour and many people have been known to develop allergic skin reactions to them.
Wasps and hornets, on the other hand, can cause more damage to the home as they collect wood to construct nests so can damage fences, garden furniture and more importantly roof joists if they get into the loft. It’s easy to spot a nest, looking for foraging wasps flying either to or away from it, but removing a nest can be very dangerous.
Stephen Ebbett from Protectyourbubble.com says: “You can ignore the doorbell when people call, but real pests don’t tend to use the front door. It can be a shock to find a wasp nest in the loft or an infestation of cockroaches or houseflies. While you can buy off-the-shelf insecticides at your local DIY, some pests are best left to the professionals to deal with. Unfortunately, many people are reluctant to call in a pest control expert because of the cost – particularly in today’s belt tightening times. A home emergency policy is a cost effective way of getting access to emergency help. For just a few pounds a month, people are guaranteed a rapid response from professionals who are well used to dealing with getting rid of unwelcome visitors and making sure they don’t come back!”
Home emergency cover does not cover normal day to day home maintenance, but provides emergency assistance for sudden, unexpected events which expose people to risks to their health or require immediate action to render the home safe, secure, and avoid damage or further damage. It will cover the costs of removing rats or mice or wasp or hornet nests from a home or garden, and the cost of devices left to prevent future infestations.
Protectyourbubble.com is a new ethical insurer that provides policies designed to look after individual lifestyles. For every Home Emergency policy sold or renewed, Protectyourbubble.com donates £1 to the Missing People, the UK’s only charity that works with young runaways, missing and unidentified people, their families and others who care for them.
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Did you know…
- Bed bugs can’t fly themselves but often stowaway in clothing and luggage to find a new home
- Bed bugs deliver an anaesthetic when feeding so you won’t feel them – and also an anti-coagulant to help the blood flow!When feeding, bed bugs have been observed climbing on top of another that is feeding from a human, piercing that bed bug and feeding directly from it
- Cockroaches have been present on earth for around 400 million years and there are currently over 4000 different species – some of which can live up to nine days without their head!
- Wasps live in colonies that form self-contained communities similar to ants, each following a caste order of queens, males and workers
- Wasps feel equally at home in a garden shed, wall cavities, eaves and roof as they do in the ground or inside hollow trees and a single nest can hold around 2000 wasps
Potentially more worrying is the age of some of the offenders, as 58,000 crimes were committed by girls in the 10 – 17 age groups in 2007 to 2008, an increase of 10,000 on 2003 to 2004. It means it is no longer easy to guess who might have their eye on your belongings.
