Image: insects, bed bugs
More In This Article
Once a pest of the past, bedbugs now infest every state in the U.S.. Cimex lectularius—small, flattened insects that feed solely on mammalian and avian blood—have been living with humans since ancient times. Abundant in the U.S. prior to World War II, bedbugs all but vanished during the 1940s and '50s thanks to improvements in hygiene and the use of pesticides. In the past 10 years, however, the pests have staged a comeback worldwide—an outbreak after the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney was a harbinger of things to come. This revival may be the worst yet, experts say, due to densely populated urban areas, global travel and increasing pesticide resistance—something to consider as the summer travel season gets underway.
"By every metric that we use, it's getting worse and worse," says Coby Schal, an entomologist at North Carolina State University in Raleigh. Health authorities and pest control operators are regularly flooded with calls, and the epidemic may not have yet peaked. And because bedbugs are indoor pests, there are no high or low seasons throughout the year, he adds, only continual bombardment. "It's just the beginning of the problem in the U.S.," Schal says.
Spreading rapidly with the bedbugs is a mass of misinformation about their biology and behavior. Straight from the experts, here are the facts behind some of the most notorious myths about the diminutive bloodsuckers.
Myth 1: Bedbugs can fly
Bedbugs lack wings, and therefore cannot fly. That is unless you put a blow dryer behind them, says Stephen Kells, a bedbug researcher at the University of Minnesota. Then they'll fly about 1.2 meters. On their own, bedbugs crawl about a meter a minute, he says.
Myth 2: Bedbugs reproduce quickly
Compared with other insects, bedbugs are slow to reproduce: Each adult female produces about one egg per day; a common housefly lays 500 eggs over three to four days. Each bedbug egg takes 10 days to hatch and another five to six weeks for the offspring to develop into an adult.
Myth 3: Bedbugs can typically live a year without a meal
Scientists debate this point, but evidence suggests that at normal room temperature, about 23 degrees Celsius, bedbugs can only survive two to three months without a blood meal. But because they are cold-blooded, their metabolism will slow down in chillier climates, and the insects may live up to a year without feeding.
Myth 4: Bedbugs bite only at night
Although bedbugs are generally nocturnal, they're like humans—if they're hungry, they'll get up and get something to eat. "If you go away to visit a friend for a week and you come back and sit down on the couch, even though it's daytime the bedbugs will come looking for you," Schal says. Keeping a light on, then, unfortunately does not keep these tiny vampires away.
Myth 5: Bedbugs live exclusively in mattresses
"'Bedbug' is such a misnomer," Kells says. "They should also be called pet bugs and suitcase bugs and train bugs and movie theater bugs." Bedbugs spread away from beds into living areas and can be seen on any surface, he says, including chairs, railings and ceilings.
Myth 6: Bedbugs prefer unsanitary, urban conditions
"Bedbugs are terribly nondiscriminatory," Schal says. Bedbugs can be found anywhere from ritzy high-rises to homeless shelters. The prevalence of the bugs in low-income housing is therefore not a result of the insect's preference, but of dense populations and the lack of money to pay for proper elimination strategies. "Any location is vulnerable," Kells says. "But some people are going to have a harder time getting control of them because it is such an expensive treatment."
Myth 7: Bedbugs travel on our bodies
Bedbugs do not like heat, Kells says. They therefore do not stick in hair or on skin, like lice or ticks, and prefer not to remain in our clothes close to our bodily heat. Bedbugs are more likely to travel on backpacks, luggage, shoes and other items farther removed from our bodies.
Myth 8: Bedbugs transmit disease
Bedbug bites can lead to anxiety, sleeplessness and even secondary infections, but there have been no reported cases of bedbugs transmitting disease to humans. They do, however, harbor human pathogens: At least 27 viruses, bacteria, protozoa and more have been found in bedbugs, although these microbes do not reproduce or multiply within the insects. Canadian researchers announced (pdf) in the June issue of Emerging Infectious Diseases that bedbugs isolated from three individuals in a Vancouver hospital carried methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, aka MRSA. Still, there have been no reported cases that the bugs actually transmit human disease.
Myth 9: We should bring back DDT
When the controversial pesticide DDT was banned in 1972, most bed bugs were already resistant to it, Schal says, and today's populations are even more widely resistant thanks to the use of a new class of pesticides. Pyrethroids, the main class of pesticides used against bedbugs today, targets sodium channels in bedbug cells, just like DDT. Consequently, as bedbugs develop resistance to pyrethroids, they also become cross-resistant to DDT.
Myth 10: You can spray bedbugs away
Thanks to pesticide resistance, those cans of spray at your local hardware store simply will not do, Schal says, adding: "Relying strictly on chemicals is generally not a good solution." The most effective solutions are fumigation and heat treatments, but these can cost a cool $2,000 to $3,000 apiece for a single-family home. Scientists are diligently pursuing other strategies, including freezing and bait similar to that used for cockroaches. In the October 2010 issue of the Journal of Economic Entomology Schal and colleagues at the U.S. Department of Agriculture published a technique that employs inexpensive infrared and vibration sensors to track bedbug movement, which could be applied to the development of automated traps that detect the pests.
View a slide show about bed bugs
See what we're tweeting about
15 Comments
Add CommentCan't we use the same method that we use to get rid of Japanese Beetles...a plastic bag that is really slick inside, to keep them from crawling out, with a bait?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIf they track us by CO2 and heat- that might be tricky... you'd probably need to sleep elsewhere until they were all caught as well because they'd probably prefer the real thing to anything fake we could create.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this... this article has made me feel itchy.
FLASH.....This report just in from medieval England
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisLocal well respected surgeon and blood-letter says "Still, there have been no reported cases that the 'rat fleas' actually transmit human disease."
Dogs are highly effective in scent tracking for any number of things when properly trained for the task, bedbugs are no exception.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thishttp://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/truecallingk9
Frank, the BedBugChaser here, you may want to Google "Alarming combo: Bedbugs with 'superbug' germ found" this story is scary, isn't it? Also, Avtron just finished our latest and greatest weapon in the war on BedBugs, go to http://www.avtronloadbank.com/lb_whatsnew.htm#Heater to see the what the future holds for the BedBug.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI would think an article titled Top 10 Myths is an article about Top 10 commonly held, but untrue beliefs.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisBut I guess MythBusters and this article should convince me otherwise:
FTA: Myth 3: Bedbugs can typically live a year without a meal
Scientists debate this point, but evidence suggests that at normal room temperature, about 23 degrees Celsius, bedbugs can only survive two to three months without a blood meal. But because they are cold-blooded, their metabolism will slow down in chillier climates, and the insects may live up to a year without feeding.
MYTH CONFIRMED!
Myth 8: Bedbugs transmit disease
Bedbug bites can lead to anxiety, sleeplessness and even secondary infections, but there have been no reported cases of bedbugs transmitting disease to humans. They do, however, harbor human pathogens: At least 27 viruses, bacteria, protozoa and more have been found in bedbugs, although these microbes do not reproduce or multiply within the insects. Canadian researchers announced (pdf) in the June issue of Emerging Infectious Diseases that bedbugs isolated from three individuals in a Vancouver hospital carried methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, aka MRSA. Still, there have been no reported cases that the bugs actually transmit human disease.
Wow. I think this is MYTH CONFIRMED, and almost literally nit-picking to insist otherwise, so I hope a biologist/MD can wander by and help me understand why SA is saying this is MYTH BUSTED.
Myth 11: **This should be myth number 1** Bedbugs are expensive and difficult to eliminate.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThis is something everyone needs to know! Don't listen to anyone telling you about an expensive or lengthy or difficult procedure to eliminate these horrible little pests. They infested my house last year and we were able to completely eliminate them using a few simple steps.
1: Vacuum everything, frequently. Dispose of your bag immediately.
2: After vacuuming, liberally dust all corners and areas and essentially everywhere they may be hiding with silica dioxide dust.
--To find this simply look for silica gel kitty litter crystals. It can be found at most major pet supply chain stores.
You will need to crush it down to a fine powder before you spread it. I recommend using gloves and a mask, the powder will cause your skin and lungs to dry out very quickly.
3. Repeat as necessary every few weeks. It only took us once, now we just do it every once and a while to prevent re-infestation.
It worked for me, good luck to everyone else.
A) You just made assertions about something said in some articles about bed bugs without including the qualifier typically used. That would be the word "MAY". As in, "In some instances bed bugs MAY live for up to a year without a blood meal". That qualifer is used to let us know they aren't making a set in stone pronouncement. I strongly suggest you read very carefully before you construct these straw men to tear down.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisSecondly, finding human pathogens in human blood in a parasite isn't evidence they transmit those diseases. It's evidence they fed off individuals who have them. There are a good many factors that come into play when one is talking about infection vectors. Is enough of the pathogen entering the body to cause infection? Believe it or not the numbers of pathogens matter. For example there is HIV in the saliva of infected individuals, but there is so little of it as to be non-infectious. It's highly unlikely bed bugs can spread diseases. Keep in mind that while they are just now making a combeback in the the states, they've been present in the third world pretty much all along. That would be the same third world with much higher incidences of blood borne pathogens and no recorded instances of bed bugs being the vector... Maybe you could take your fear mongering ways elsewhere?
Myth 1. Bed bugs can fly.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisYes, it is false, but the reason is not that the bed bug is wingless: The adult bed bug actually has wings. The front wings have evolved into pad-like structures, very similar to birds like the ostrich and emu that have short, stubby wings that render them flightless. In addition, bed bugs do not have hind wings like other winged insects. Immature insects (like bed bug nymphs) never have wings because wings are an adult structure. Some of my pictures were used in this story, but Megan wouldn't correct her written section to reflect the real reason for bed bugs not being able to fly, so I had to post this comment.
Just when you thought it was safe to go back to bed...
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI suggest to use the baby powder containing talc or talcum powder. Apply once a week for about a month and they should be gone. Easy and cheap and environmentally friendly... I saw method written in a local news article and used it on my infested apartment and it worked! Cheers.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisRe: The suggestions about spreading dangerous pulminary irritants as a preventative measure. Silica powders and talcum powders are serious pulminary irritants and are a deadly threat to small animals and small children or infants as well as asthmatic individuals. Risking fatality to get rid of a minor pest is moronic at best. Just vacuum daily and wash the bedding and upholstery regularly and you should be fine.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThanks for the great article, will use it for my school research in,<a href="http://www.bedbugbitetreatments.com/">Bed bug</a>
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisPlease don't advise people to crush up crystallized kitty litter into a powder and spread it through their home.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWhat you want to treat bedbugs is diatomaceous earth. Crystalline silicon dioxide WILL cause lung silicosis if inhaled in sufficient amounts. Diatomaceous earth does not contain crystalline silicon dioxide and is safe for use as a powdered indoor insect killer. It will kill many other bugs as well.
There is one Myth.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisMyth 11: There is no need for Pest Control Company for Bed Bugs
People usually try to deal with bed bugs themselves just to save money. But this people have wrong thinking and end up spreading this bed bugs to others.
Why not leave this problem to specialist like us only
Pastor,
http://www.brooklynpestcontrolservices.com/