CASES of bedbugs in Southend have risen “drastically” in the last three months, a pest control service has revealed as it employs more staff to tackle the problem.

Southend City Pest Control has revealed bedbugs is becoming a common issue in Southend - following the ever-growing problem across parts of Europe.

The company claimed there has been at least a 30 per cent rise in Southend cases since August.

Kirk Day, managing director at Southend City Pest Control, said they have had to employ more staff, and increase working hours as bookings continue to rise.

However, he adds the rise in bedbugs is making their job “harder and harder”.

Mr Day said: “It has been very busy and has got even busier over the last few weeks.

“It has been going on for longer than what has been reported, as it has been increasing in the UK over the last couple of years but has increased dramatically in the past few months.

“We have had to take on new staff, and also work longer hours.

“It isn’t something we want to see. It makes our job harder because where you are getting so many places that are infested, sometimes in the same building you will have several all in a row, and the infestation goes backwards and forwards between the properties.

“Usually, we can deal with the issue in one or two visits, now it is more common to have three or four because infestations are larger.

“As a business we get more work, but it is not as nice because people aren’t getting quicker results because it is getting harder for us.

“It is also a higher risk for us bringing them home too.”

To put the rise into perspective, around five years ago, Southend City Pest Control would take on one bed bug case a month - now they are averaging between 60 to 100 a month.

Mr Day believes the rise is due to increased use of public transport, financial struggles and the rise in purchasing second-hand furniture.

He added: “It is never anyone’s fault that they get a bed bug issue. 1.5mm in size, it is light brown sometimes translucent, so the chances of spotting that is slim to none.

“You only need one bed bug which will create five new ones every day, and by the time you notice you could have thousands.

“I don’t think it is going to get better. I think it is going to be a larger issue until you start dealing with all the apartment blocks in the city.”