The elderly man lived by himself in a low-income apartment near Cincinnati. But he was not alone. After dark the bed bugs would emerge from his recliner and tattered box-spring mattress to feed on his blood. Judging from the thousands of insects I found in his home, I would venture that it had been this way for many months. Imprisoned by poverty and infirmity, the man had nourished generations of these pests, enduring their bites night after night while their numbers swelled.

After largely disappearing for nearly 50 years thanks to the development of DDT and other broad-spectrum pesticides, the bed bug, Cimex lec­tularius, is making a disturbing comeback—and not just in crowded, urban locales. The parasite has infested upmarket hotels, college dorms, retail establishments, office buildings, theaters, hospitals, and the homes of rich and poor alike. Though widely dismissed as mere nuisances, bed bugs exact a toll that exceeds the itchy bites they may leave behind: in a 2010 survey of more than 400 individuals living in bed bug–infested dwell­ings, 31 percent mentioned additional symptoms, ranging from sleeplessness to depression, that they attributed to bed bugs. And a study published in 2011 discovered MRSA bacteria—which cause severe skin lesions—in bed bugs, although much more research will be required to determine whether bed bugs contribute to the spread of MRSA. Bed bugs also cause significant economic losses, as when a hotel has to temporarily close rooms to combat an infestation. One public housing building in Ohio spent about $500,000 on bed bug control, culminating in fumigation of the entire building after more conventional approaches failed to make inroads into the problem.

8 Comments

1. 1. macnosy 08:59 PM 1/19/12

   The link on the bottom of page 55 doesn't work.
   Do I have to be an online subscriber to get to that page ?
   The author make no reference to the recent research done in the UK and mentioned on page 78 (Jan 14, 2012 issue) of the Economist.

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2. 2. ronmitchell 10:07 PM 1/20/12

   Can you kill these bugs by putting the mattress, etc. into some type of low heat oven (250 degrees F) for a specified amount of time? This should not hurt the mattress but it would be above the boiling point for the bugs. Could you isolate the mattress, etc for a year or so to starve the bugs? Let's hear your thoughts!

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3. 3. plenum 01:57 PM 1/21/12

   Not original idea: An adhesive substance impregnated with the "aggregation chemical". Or, I envision something like a circular band-aid shaped disc sticky on both sides (one for application, the other for the critters) that has the central area impregnated/saturated with the aggregation chemical surrounded by a sticky surface (like what some rat traps are made of). People would stick them around the bottom of the bed, on the bed's legs, and between/under the mattress and catch them that way. Non-toxic, too.

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4. 4. Fugacity 02:08 PM 1/22/12

   I was surprised that under reasons for the recent proliferation of bed bugs, you didn’t mention the recent trend of washing laundry in cold water. I don’t know about hotel laundries, but in the name of energy conservation, in today’s household automatic washers, even at the “hot” setting, the water temperature gets no hotter than what used to be called “warm”, as cold water is mixed in to conserve the hot. I’ve read that the dryer gets hot enough to kill bed bugs, but only if someone does as you do, put dry clothes into the dryer. But when drying wet laundry, the temperature of the clothes won’t reach 50 C until close to the end of the drying cycle when all the water has been evaporated. And with many of today’s automatic dryers containing dryness sensors that turn the dryer off, the laundry isn’t at 50 C for very long. Since the thermal conductivity of water is much higher than that of air, I would expect water at a temperature lower than 50 C, but higher than the 40 C that present-day washers allow, would do a very efficient job of killing bed bugs. I think it would be worth doing the research to find this temperature and then allow washing machines to run at this temperature. True, it would sacrifice a little bit of energy conservation, but it would make gains in public health.

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5. 5. taffazull 12:55 AM 1/25/12

   I have easily exterminated bedbugs by spraying with a suspension of gamma benzene hexachloride (sold as a 50%water dispersible powder for agricultural purposes).

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6. 6. bsymon 02:05 PM 2/2/12

   It occurred to me that if bed bugs were exposed to a high level of microwave radiation from a "horn" antenna connected to a continuous wave microwave generator,their body temperature would rise very quickly, well beyond 50 degrees centigrade. This,I understand would be quite lethal, while being very simple and inexpensive to achieve. Has anything like this been tried? I have not had any encounters with bed bug infestation. Those who have might find this extermination approach,feasible and effective.

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7. 7. cfowler429 01:47 AM 10/28/12

   Bed Bugs can't walk on smooth plastic. Encase your mattress. Place a clear plastic sheet between the mattress and box spring. Plastic is on rolls at Osh hardware. The plastic overhang should be about 4 inches all around the boxspring. The Bed Bugs cannot get to you and will starve. Your bed must be a proper bed. No covers touching the walls, etc. Also this treatment works well with Subdued light.
   http://www.flickr.com/photos/52538874@N05/7318050308/http://www.flickr.com/photos/52538874@N05/7318050308/ If, you can kill the eggs at your bed, that is the key. If you determined heat treatment is too dangerous or expensive, now what ? The big picture is you have a ranch, your're raising Bed Bugs and using your bed as a corral. First, spray your bed or encase the bed to kill the eggs so you won't be overwhelmed. Second, Make sure there are no problems with your bed. Nothing about your bed can be allowed the touch the wall or floor, but the caster wheels. Third, the new corral for the Bed Bugs is a dim light going 24/7 where the Bed Bugs can be drawn to and removed with masking tape. Fourth, you spray the ceiling-wall line on two of the most distant walls from the dim light to move the Bed Bugs toward the light. Notes: Do not spray near the dim light or any other location, that will create a barrier to keep them from coming to the light. This dim light is most likely for life. As new Bed Bugs arrive at your home they will go to the light. Bed Bugs are drawn to you like Bees, by your Co2. A fan moving air near your bed will mix your Co2 evenly in your bedroom, making it hard for Bed Bugs to find you. Every other day a light spray on your bed caster wheels will protect you. Those in the Bed Bug business won't be needed anymore. Please beware of baised replies from them.This method seems to be the "Silver Bullet" for Bed Bugs. This lure will provide detection, control for the home and car. The poorest people will be able to handle their infestations. This DIY project can be done for a very small cost of parts. This is a very "Green" method. For all living places and whole house treatment, the hallways will become giant traps. The lights are there, a $5.00 dimmer switch is needed and spray. Lightly place DE on hall traffic areas where people put their foot down. Careful: My new kitten made a mistake, near the light. I moved the litter box there. Later I found a live Bed Bug in it. When the Bed Bugs stop coming to the light, they're gone, for now. If you have total control, you'll have complete relief. The Dim lights double for night lights and Bed Bug control. Bed Bugs are not exclusively Nocturnal. When light is used as a lure, this will lead to the downfall of Bed Bugs. Bed Bugs like darkness and subdued light. When you provide subdued light in the darkness they will go there. Search Google... Bed Bugs+ Subdued light. Bedbuggers Bed Bug forum is Overrun with Pest Control Operators who control the site to promote their Bed Bug Businesses. The web site is run by a host who has no knowledge of Bed Bugs and has sold her soul to them for information from them and to give herself credibility.Anybody who has any information to offer, that might interfere with Pest Control Operators ability to promote themselves will be surpressed to keep the information from being made available to the public. All treatments for Bed Bugs must be done by a professional and victims who suffer can do nothing to help themselves,is a lie. The public is being terrorized with false information. Persons making money from Bed Bugs,don't want, DIY Subdued lighting treatment, to be true. What is it? Has there been a cover-up? How could so many people in the Pest control business not know that Bed Bugs are attracted to light. Don't they look? Don't they want to know? How could they let so many people suffer? It's a scandal. How could reseachers not know? Is this how the World is? It's disgusting. Insects having negative phototropism show an identical reaction, but only when they are subjected to a rapid increase of light. The bedbug is, as we know, energetically photophobic; it hides in the darkest cracks and leaves only during the night. In the daytime, says Bohn, if an accident has brought it from the shade into the light, it immediately executes a rotation of 180 degrees, which brings it into the shadow. On a sheet of paper it walks away from the luminous rays and turns about immédiately when one holds a candle toward it. "It is very difficult," adds Bohn, "to make a bedbug which is on black paper pass over upon a piece of white paper. Anytime a Bed Bug is startled with a handheld candle or light of course it's going to run and hide. A Bed Bug chooses a white paper over other colors when not disturbed. Negative phototropism testing is flawed. Bed Bugs have Positve Phototropism. Vintage - "Bedbugs", US Dept of Agriculture, 1937
   Leaflet No. 146. Great 8 page, illustrated leaflet stating, "Bedbugs are normally nocturnal. When the lights are out they emerge from their daytime hiding places and seek to feed upon their host. Sometimes, when very hungry, they will feed during the daytime in subdued light. Their normally nocturnal habit is modified necessarily when they infest furniture in rest rooms in stores, theater seats, desks in offices, and similar situations that are not frequented by man throughout the night. In such places bedbugs often bite persons during the day." Bed Bug Statements:Bed bugs are nocturnal, but may feed during the day in areas with reduced lighting such as theaters when no hosts are present at night. Currently. Cornell University says, "Bed bugs can be enticed to bite during the day if light is subdued and they are hungry."

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8. 8. catysmith4 01:50 PM 11/8/12

   Bed bugs are the worst! It's like a nightmare from our childhood that is true! This person definitely needed some <a href="http://trulynolen.com/pest_control/bed-bug-control.asp">bed bug control</a>! How can someone not notice that their mattresses have these disgusting little critters crawling around in them!? It makes my skin crawl just seeing the picture!

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