One of our most hated household pests is Cimex lectularius L., also known as the common bed bug.
Around for centuries, bed bug infestations declined rapidly in the 40s and 50s with the introduction of DDT (dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane), one of the first chemicals to be used widespread as a potent pesticide.
However, 60 years on, the bloodsucking parasite is making a comeback.
DDT was withdrawn from general use in the 70s by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) because of concerns about harm to the environment and human health. Unfortunately, though, with the advent of affordable travel worldwide for everyone making it easy for bed bugs to move from place to place, reports of infestations are multiplying year by year.
Permitted pesticides we can use today to prevent the spread of bed bugs are proving nowhere near as effective as DDT. The bed bugs have built up resistance and are making their comeback stronger every day, infesting homes and hotels, movie theaters, libraries, trains, the work place —and anywhere else that people congregate.
Cleanliness has nothing to do with infestations.
Bed bugs don’t discriminate and they’re not dangerous and they don’t spread disease. But their bites can cause intense itching and very uncomfortable, sleepless nights. Unlike cockroaches, rats or flies, who feed on filth, bed bugs only feed on blood. All they need is your nice, warm body.
Back in the 1800s and early 1900s, bed bugs were particularly troublesome to both the poor and the wealthy. Wealthy households discovered they could keep infestations in check with vigorous housecleaning. Of course, they had an abundance of domestic help to help.
For poorer families in crowded conditions, housewives began concocting homemade potions to get rid of the bugs. One of the most common methods they used was a mix of arsenic and mercury mixed with turpentine. The mix was then applied with a brush or rag to the mattress or wherever bugs were found. Sometimes, powdered sulphur and alcohol was placed in the center of the infested room and burned to fumigate the room. The process did kill all stages of bed bugs, but it smelled foul and could set the house on fire.
So for decades now, the resurgence of these bed bugs has continued — relentlessly gorging themselves with the blood of their victims and being transported in luggage or clothing to new places to colonize.
With the Christmas Holidays almost upon us and with most of the nation traveling from state to state and overseas too, being aware of how bed bugs can spread is vital. We can all do our bit to help stop these pests from thriving.
Experts say people can easily bring an infestation into their homes after visiting a place with bed bugs like hotels, buses, trains, cruise ships and the like. Bed bugs like to attach themselves to stuff. Stuff like luggage and clothing and shoes and socks.
Ryan Doerrfeld, owner of The Bug Depot on Mariner Boulevard at Seven Hills Plaza, said he’s seen an increase in customers trying to eradicate bed bugs from their homes.
“Sometimes I have between 10 and 12 custom ers a week,” he said. “The store carries several products that will help get rid of the bugs.”
Doerrfeld recommends packing clothes in airtight plastic bags if you’re going traveling and to avoid putting luggage or clothes on hotel beds and floors.
“One solution is to put your luggage in a large plastic bag so they can’t hitchhike a ride back to your place on it,” he said.
“On arrival back home, he explained, “avoid taking your luggage into the house. Bed bugs don’t like heat so it’s advisable to wash and dry your dirty laundry on high heat as soon as possible.”
Other tips include periodically put your pillows and comforters in the dryer for at least 30 minutes on high heat and make regular inspections of your mattresses in the home.
If you’ve been bitten in the night, it’s a good idea to check along the seams and between the mattress and your box spring as soon as possible the next morning.
Use a flashlight to also check behind the headboard and underneath the bed as well as baseboards and undersides of drawers. Regular inspections will help stop them spreading to other rooms or for you to take them to other people’s homes.
Studies say that bed bug infestations have reached epidemic levels in lots of big cities around the country and without an effective pesticide to kill them, the best weapon we have against bed bugs is education, especially if you travel regularly.
Eradicating bed bugs from a home can be very costly. Prevention is best to make sure you don’t bring these blood-thirsty pests back home with you.
For more information, Doerrfeld can be reached at 352-688-4757