Millions of bedbugs crawl out of mattresses and walls in huge outbreak

Millions of bedbugs were crawling out of mattresses in what a pest controller said was the worst outbreak he had seen in 38 years.

They were even in the walls and under the wallpaper, with the mattresses and bed frames needing to be incinerated.

Cardiff pest controller Gareth Davies had to wear full protection as his team tackled the problem in the Canton area of the city, using a specialist vacuum cleaner to collect millions of the bugs.

It came after they had tackled a large cockroach outbreak last month in a scene he likened to a horror movie.

"This house was just horrific," he told BBC Radio Wales Breakfast.

"Hundreds of thousands of them when you lifted the mattresses up.

"They were coming out of the wallpaper, it was horrendous."

Bedbugs can enter homes on clothes, luggage, or second hand furniture - and "hide" in mattresses or walls, according to the NHS.

Bites are the most common sign you have bed bugs - usually raised, itchy, in a line or grouped together.

On white skin the bites usually look red, while on black or brown skin they could be purple and harder to see.

Other things to look out for are spots of blood on bedding - if the bugs have been squashed - or small brown spots on bedding or furniture, which could be their faeces.

"You'll be bitten and you'll see blood spotting on the sheets," Davies said.

"As soon as you see them you need to act."

It can be difficult to get rid if bedbugs but there are steps that can be taken, including:

• Washing contaminated bedding and clothing on a hot wash and tumble dry on a hot setting for at least 30 minutes
• Putting the clothing or bedding in a plastic bag and put in the freezer for three or four days
• Clean the house regularly - bedbugs can be found in both clean and dirty places, but regular cleaning can help to spot them

Davies said at the recent outbreak his team first used specialist vacuum cleaners "to take as many {bed bugs] as we can out of the equation".

"Then we treat with a specialist insecticide, bag all the mattresses and frames and get them incinerated," he added.

"It was that bad."

Bedbugs most often enter properties attached to luggage, clothing or second-hand furniture.

Once inside they tend to hide close to where people sleep, including in mattresses, bed frames, furniture and small cracks and crevices.

Infestations are not the result of poor hygiene, according to advice from the NHS, which says bedbugs can be found in both clean and dirty homes.

Regular cleaning can help to spot them early, the advice adds.