David Cain, a pest-control expert, told The Daily Mail he has received five times as many calls about bed bugs this year than last.

Cain said bedbugs now appear to be more of a problem of the rich, because they travel more. He said people also can pick them up on public buses and trains if they have the bad luck to sit where someone infested with the tiny bugs has been sitting.

The bugs were almost completely driven out of Britain in the 1950s. The worst problems now are in large cities such as London because residents are more mobile.

Bed bugs are small and reddish brown. They generally feed at night, biting humans and drinking their blood, while hiding during the day.