Claims extracted
23
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
17%
4 of 23 hedged
("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
68/100
BBC News's corrections and
hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Science
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
- Published
A scientist has chosen to sleep with bedbugs for the past five years - and says the bites "don't bother him at all".
asserted
bites → publish → him
Entomologist Dr Richard Naylor breeds thousands of bedbugs to test pest control products from all over the world and allows himself to be the test subject.
asserted
himself → breed → world
On a "feeding day", which happens around twice a week, he straps some of his 50-60,000 bugs to his arm and gets on with his work.
asserted
he → happen → work
He then sleeps with them on nights when he needs to test out new devices or repellents.
asserted
he → sleep → devices
"I must have been bitten millions of times by now, so I stopped reacting a long time ago.
asserted
I → bite → times
I get a red patch on my arm after the bugs have fed, but it disappears after about half an hour," he said.
asserted
he → get → hour
Naylor explained that he needed to sleep with the bugs to test if new sprays and repellents worked.
asserted
sprays → explain → bugs
"If there is no-one sleeping in a bed, the bedbugs just sleep, they just go on standby.
asserted
they → be → standby
And so I can't test anything in the test bedrooms without there being a host in there," he added.
asserted
he → test → bedrooms
Naylor runs a not-for-profit called the Bed Bug Foundation and has a research laboratory set up in a self-contained two-bedroom suite in his garden in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire.
asserted
laboratory → run → Dean
He breeds the bugs and sends them all over the world, often to canine detection teams who help hotels spot infestations.
asserted
hotels → breed → infestations
Naylor also uses the insects to help businesses test products before they come to market.
asserted
they → use → market
Bedbugs have become resistant to modern insecticide sprays, which makes them very difficult to kill and having an infestation can have long-lasting effects, according to Naylor.
uncertain
having → become → Naylor
"I don't know of any other pest that has the same level of emotional and psychological impact on people.
asserted
that → know → people
"It can leave people with lasting PTSD-type symptoms," he added.
asserted
he → leave → symptoms
Naylor said it could be difficult to deal with infestations and he advised anyone who suspected they had one to contact a professional.
uncertain
they → say → professional
"A key sign you have bedbugs is the inky black spots the bugs leave behind, often in the shape of an x.
"They don't hide in the bedding, they want to hide nearby in a little dark crevice.
asserted
they → leave → crevice
It would probably be somewhere down the back of the bed or around zips and the piping around the edge of a mattress," he said.
asserted
he → say → mattress
The Bed Bug Foundation gives the following advice to anyone who suspects they may have bad bugs:
Declutter around the bed (helps you to spot bedbugs that try to run away)
Remove bedding and other soft furnishings and put in bin bags for washing
Inspect the mattress and bed frame, especially near the head of the bed
Use silica dust and vacuum thoroughly
Fit bed isolation devices to stop the bedbugs coming back
Ade Williams, lead pharmacist at Bedminster Pharmacy in Bristol, said bedbug bites tended to be clustered in a group, or be spread out in a line.
uncertain
bites → give → line
"Outside of the immense discomfort they cause by itching, they don't usually carry any health risks", he said.
asserted
he → cause → risks
However, Williams advised people to try not to itch bites as they could become infected, and said antihistamine tablets and emollient creams could help.
uncertain
tablets → advise → bites
The NHS says a severe allergic reaction to bedbugs is possible, external but rare.
asserted
reaction → say → bedbugs
It advises putting something cool, like a clean, damp cloth, on the affected area to help with the itching and any swelling and to keep the affected area clean.
asserted
It → advise → area
The Aporia
