Bedbug

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Bedbug
Cimex lectularius
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Arthropoda Class: Insecta Order: Hemiptera Suborder: Heteroptera Family: Cimicidae Latreille, 1802
Genera & Species
Genus Cimex Cimex lectularius Cimex hemipterus (C. rotundatus) Cimex pilosellus Cimex pipistrella Genus Leptocimex Leptocimex boueti Genus Haematosiphon Haematosiphon inodora Genus Oeciacus Oeciacus hirudinis Oeciacus vicarius Genus Afrocimex Afrocimex constrictus

A bedbug (or bed bug) is a small nocturnal insect of the family Cimicidae that lives by hematophagy, or by feeding on the blood of humans and other warm-blooded hosts

[edit] Biology

The common bedbug (Cimex lectularius) is the species best adapted to human environments. It is found in temperate climates throughout the world and feeds on human blood. Other species include Cimex hemipterus, found in tropical regions, which also infests poultry and cats, and Leptocimex boueti, found in the tropics of West Africa and South America, which infests bats and humans. Cimex pilosellus and Cimex pipistrella primarily infest bats, while Haematosiphon inodora, a species of North America, primarily infests poultry.^[1]

Oeciacus, while not strictly a bedbug, is a closely related genus primarily affecting birds.

Adult bedbugs are reddish-brown, flattened, oval, and wingless, with microscopic hairs that give them a banded appearance. A common misconception is that they are not visible to the naked eye. Adults grow to 4–5 mm (1/8th – 3/16th of an inch) in length and do not move quickly enough to escape the notice of an attentive observer. Newly hatched nymphs are translucent, lighter in color and become browner as they moult and reach maturity. In size, they are often compared to lentils or apple seeds.

A recent paper by Professor Brian J. Ford and Dr Debbie Stokes gives views of a bedbug under various microscopes.

Bedbug 4 mm length 2.5 mm width (Shown in a film roll plastic container. On the right is the sloughed off skin, which this bedbug just recently wore during its nymph form)

[edit] Feeding habits

Bedbugs are generally active just before dawn, with a peak feeding period about an hour before sunrise. However, they may attempt to feed at other times, given the opportunity, and have been observed to feed at any time of the day. They climb the walls to the ceiling and jump down on feeling a heat wave (in wooden houses). Attracted by warmth and the presence of carbon dioxide, the bug pierces the skin of its host with two hollow tubes. With one tube it injects its saliva, which contains anticoagulants and anesthetics, while with the other it withdraws the blood of its host. After feeding for about five minutes, the bug returns to its hiding place. The bites cannot usually be felt until some minutes or hours later, as a dermatological reaction to the injected agents, and the first indication of a bite usually comes from the desire to scratch the bite site. Because of their dislike for sunlight, bedbugs come out at night.

Although bedbugs can live for a year or as much as eighteen months without feeding, they typically seek blood every five to ten days. Bedbugs that go dormant for lack of food often live longer than a year, well-fed specimens typically live six to nine months. Low infestations may be difficult to detect, and it is not unusual for the victim not to even realize they have bedbugs early on. Patterns of bites in a row or a cluster are typical as they may be disturbed while feeding. Bites may be found in a variety of places on the body.

[edit] Reproduction

A bedbug (Cimex lectularius) traumatically inseminates another.

All bedbugs mate via a process termed traumatic insemination.^[2][3][4] Instead of inserting their genitalia into the female's reproductive tract as is typical in copulation, males instead pierce females with hypodermic genitalia and ejaculate into the body cavity. This form of mating is thought to have evolved as a way for males to overcome female mating resistance.^[5][6] Traumatic insemination imposes a cost on females in terms of physical damage and increased risk of infection.^[7][8] To reduce these costs females have evolved internal and external "paragenital" structures^[7][8] collectively known as the “spermalege”.^[2][3][4] Within the true bugs (Heteroptera) traumatic insemination occurs in the Prostemmatinae (Nabidae) and the Cimicoidea (Anthocoridae, Plokiophilidae, Lyctocoridae, Polyctenidae and Cimicidae), and has recently been discovered in the plant bug genus Coridromius (Miridae).^[9]

Remarkably, in the genus Afrocimex both males and females possess functional external paragenitalia, and males have been found with copulatory scars and the ejaculate of other males in their haemolymph. Male-male matings may offer an unexpected, though subtle, benefit. Some of the sperm transferred in such encounters may later be "accidentally" passed along when the recipient male later mates with a female, as researchers have found. Instead of being adaptive, the beetles' homosexual mating may not be adaptive at all, but could instead be a byproduct of some other behaviour that is adaptive, such as a general readiness to mate.^[10]

[edit] Immature stages

Female bedbugs can lay up to five eggs in a day and 500 during a lifetime.^{[citation needed]} The eggs are visible to the naked eye measuring 1 mm in length (approx. two grains of salt) and are a milky-white tone. The eggs hatch in one to two weeks. The newly emerged nymphs begin feeding immediately. They pass through five molting stages before they reach maturity. They must feed once during each of these stages.

At room temperature, it takes only about five weeks for a bedbug to pass from newly emerged nymph to adult. They become reproductively active only as adults.

[edit] Predators

The Thanatus flavidus spider has been known for hunting bedbugs. [3]

[edit] Bites

In most observed cases, bites consist of a raised red bump or flat welt, and are often accompanied by intense itching. The red bump or welts are the result of an allergic reaction to the anesthetic contained in the bedbug's saliva, which is inserted into the blood of its victim. Bedbug bites may appear indistinguishable from mosquito bites, though they tend to last for longer periods. Bites may not become immediately visible, and can take up to nine days to appear. Bedbug bites tend to not have a red dot in the center such as is characteristic of flea bites. A trait shared with flea bites, however, is tendency towards arrangements of sequential bites. Bites are often aligned three in a row, giving rise to the colloquialism "breakfast, lunch and dinner." This may be caused by the bedbug being disturbed while eating, and relocating half an inch or so farther along the skin before resuming feeding. Alternatively, the arrangement of bites may be caused by the bedbug repeatedly searching for a blood vein. People react very differently to bedbugs, and individual responses vary with factors including skin type, environment, and the species of bug. In some rare cases, allergic reactions to the bites may cause nausea and illness. In a large number of cases, estimated to 50% of all people, there is no visible sign of bites whatsoever, greatly increasing the difficulty of identifying and eradicating infestations.

People commonly respond to bed bug infestations and their bites with anxiety, stress, and insomnia.^[11] Individuals may also get skin infections and scars from scratching the bedbug bite locations.

Most patients who are placed on systemic corticosteroids to treat the itching and burning often associated with bed bug bites find that the lesions are poorly responsive to this method of treatment. Antihistamines have been found to reduce itching in some cases, but they do not affect the appearance and duration of the lesions. Topical corticosteroids, such as hydrocortisone, have been reported to expediently resolve the lesions and decrease the associated itching.^[12]

Many patients also experience temporary relief of itching and inflammation with the application of hot water to the bite.^[13] The water should be quite hot (about 120 degrees F) because if it is not hot enough it may cause aggravation of the symptoms. The water should be hot enough to cause minor discomfort, but care must be taken not to burn the skin and this treatment should only be self-administered in order to reduce the risk of a burn. Itching and inflammation can be relieved for several hours by applying hot running water, a hot washcloth, or even using a blowdryer to heat the area of the bite, for 10 seconds to 1 minute (or longer if desired). There is disagreement as to why heat causes the symptoms to abate. Some hypotheses propose that heat overwhelms the nerve endings that signal itch, that heat neutralizes the chemical that causes the inflammation, or that heat triggers a large release of histamine causing a temporary histamine deficit in the area.

[edit] Disease transmission

Bedbugs seem to possess all of the necessary prerequisites for being capable of passing diseases from one host to another, but there have been no known cases of bed bugs passing disease from host to host. There are at least twenty-seven known pathogens (some estimates are as high as forty-one) that are capable of living inside a bed bug or on its mouthparts. Extensive testing has been done in laboratory settings that also conclude that bed bugs are unlikely to pass disease from one person to another.^[14] Therefore bedbugs are less dangerous than some more common insects such as the flea. However, transmission of Chagas disease or hepatitis B might be possible in appropriate settings.^[15]

The salivary fluid injected by bed bugs typically causes the skin to become irritated and inflamed, although individuals can differ in their sensitivity. Anaphylactoid reactions produced by the injection of serum and other nonspecific proteins are observed and there is the possibility that the saliva of the bedbugs may cause anaphylactic shock in a small percentage of people. It is also possible that sustained feeding by bedbugs may lead to anemia. It is also important to watch for and treat any secondary bacterial infection.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] History

An 1860 engraving of parts of a bedbug. A. Intestines.—B. Antenna of the Male.—C Eye.—D. Haustellum, or Sucker, closed.—E. Side view of Sucker.—F. Under Part of Head.—G. Under Lip.—GG. Hair of the Tube, and outside Cases.—H. Egg-Bag.—I. Worm emerging from the Egg.

[edit] USA

Bedbugs were originally brought to the United States by early colonists from Europe. Bedbugs thrive in places with high occupancy, such as hotels. Bedbugs were believed to be altogether eradicated 50 years ago in the United States and elsewhere with the widespread use of DDT. One recent theory about bedbug reappearance involves potential geographic epicentres. Investigators have found three apparent United States epicentres at poultry facilities in Arkansas, Texas and Delaware. It was determined that workers in these facilities were the main spreaders of these bedbugs, unknowingly carrying them to their places of residence and elsewhere after leaving work.^[16] Bedbug populations in the United States have increased by 500 percent in the past few years.^{[citation needed]} The cause of this resurgence is still uncertain, but most believe it is related to increased international travel and the use of new pest-control methods that do not affect bedbugs.^[17] In the last few years, the use of baits rather than insecticide sprays is believed to have contributed to the increase.^{[citation needed]} With the advent of cockroach bait in the early 1990s, the use of residual insecticides and other liquid sprays were drastically reduced. As it turned out, pest control professionals had not realized that during their monthly treatments for cockroaches (particularly the German cockroach, which infests hotels as bedbugs do) they had helped in the control of bedbugs. This process may have started with the use of DDT but it is no coincidence that the dramatic rise in bedbug activity came approximately 10 or so years after professionals stopped spraying for cockroach activity.

[edit] New York City

New York City has been riddled with bedbug infestations since the early 21st century. Bedbugs have found their way into hotels, schools, and even hospital maternity wards. In 2004, New York City had 377 bedbug violations. However, in the five-month span from July to November 2005, 449 violations were reported in the city, an alarming increase in infestations over a short period of time. Exterminators and entomology experts believe this is because so many international travelers visit New York each day.^[18]

[edit] Global resurgence

Bedbug cases have been on the rise recently across the world. Prior to the mid-twentieth century, bedbugs were very common. According to a report by the UK Ministry of Health, in 1933 there were many areas where all the houses had some degree of bedbug infestation.^[19] Since the mid-1990s, reports of bedbug cases have been rising. Figures from one London borough show reported bedbug infestations doubling each year from 1995 to 2001. The rise in bedbug infestations has been hard to track because bedbugs are not an easily identifiable problem. Most of the reports are collected from pest-control companies, local authorities, and hotel chains.^[19] Therefore, the problem may be more severe than is currently believed.^[12]

As stated above, the most-cited reason for the dramatic worldwide rise in bedbug cases in recent decades is increased international travel.^[20] In 1999, four separate infestations throughout the United Kingdom alerted people to the possibility of an increase in the worldwide bedbug population, facilitated by international travel and trade. However, there is evidence of a previous cycle of bedbug infestations in the United Kingdom. The Institution of Environmental Health Officers maintained statistics for bedbug infestations -- data collected from reports and inspections. In the period 1985-1986, the Institution of Environmental Health Officers reported treating 7,771 infestations in England and Wales, and 6,179 infestations in 1986-1987. There were also reports of infestations in Belfast and in Scotland.^[21]

Since 1999, infestations have been reported in the United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, Australia, Canada, India, Israel^[22] and the United States. Two separate studies in Tuscany, Italy offer further correlation of international travel with a resurgence in bedbug infestations. In case 1, in summer 2003 a seven-year-old boy developed a number of papulae that caused severe itching on his lower legs. His parents suspected insects in the boy’s room, and found several in the folds of his mattress. Two specimens were identified as C. lectularius and the room was treated with an insecticide. The house had never been infested with bedbugs before. However, one month earlier, two family friends had flown from Nepal to stay with the family for ten days. In Case 2, a forty-eight-year-old man traveled by car to Pisa, Italy from Prague, Czech Republic in June 2003 and stayed in a rented house with three friends. After several days, the man noticed several bullous eruptions in linear patterns of three on his upper and lower extremities. The man found several insects in his room that were identified as C. lectularius. The rented house was well kept and had never had a bedbug infestation. However, a group of Germans had rented the house a few weeks before the Czech group arrived.^[20]

Bedbugs had nearly been eradicated by the widespread use of potent insecticides such as DDT.^{[citation needed]} However, many of these strong insecticides have been banned from the United States and replaced with weaker insecticides such as pyrethroids. Many bedbugs have grown resistant to the weaker insecticides.^{[citation needed]} In a study at the University of Kentucky bedbugs were randomly collected from across the United States. These “wild” bedbugs were up to several thousands of times more resistant to pyrethroids than were laboratory bedbugs.^[23] New York City bed bugs have been found to be 264 times more resistant to deltamethrin than Florida bedbugs due to nerve cell mutations.^[24] Another problem with current insecticide use is that the broad-spectrum insecticide sprays for cockroaches and ants that are no longer used had a collateral impact on bedbug infestations. Recently, a switch has been made to bait insecticides that have proven effective against cockroaches but have allowed bedbugs to escape the indirect treatment.^[19]

The number of bedbug infestations has risen significantly since the early 21st century. The National Pest Management Association reported a 71% increase in bedbug calls between 2000 and 2005.^[23] The Steritech Group, a pest-management company based in Charlotte, North Carolina, claimed that 25% of the 700 hotels they surveyed between 2002 and 2006 needed bedbug treatment. In 2003, a brother and sister staying at a Motel 6 in Chicago were awarded $372,000 in punitive damages after being bitten by bedbugs during their stay. These are only a few of the reported cases since the turn of the 21st century.^[25]

[edit] Infestations

Bedbug (shown on writing paper)

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There are several means by which dwellings can become infested with bedbugs. People can often acquire bedbugs at hotels, motels, or bed-and-breakfasts, and bring them back to their homes in their luggage. They also can pick them up by inadvertently bringing infested furniture or used clothing to their household. If someone is in a place that is severely infested, bedbugs may actually crawl onto and be carried by people's clothing, although this is atypical behaviour — except in the case of severe infestations, bedbugs are not usually carried from place to place by people on clothing they are currently wearing. Bedbugs may travel between units in multi-unit dwellings, such as condominiums and apartment buildings, after being originally brought into the building by one of the above routes. Bedbugs can also be transmitted via animal vectors including wild birds and household pets^[26].

This spread between sites is dependent in part on the degree of infestation, on the material used to partition units and whether infested items are dragged through common areas while being disposed of, resulting in the shedding of bedbugs and bedbug eggs while being dragged. In some exceptional cases, the detection of bedbug hiding places can be aided by the use of dogs that have been trained to find the insects by their scent much as dogs are trained to find drugs or explosives. A trained dog and handler can detect and pinpoint a bedbug infestation within minutes. This is a fairly costly service that is not used in the majority of cases, but can be very useful in difficult cases.

The numerical size of a bedbug infestation is to some degree variable, as it is a function of the elapsed time from the initial infestation. With regards to the elapsed time from the initial infestation, even a single female bedbug brought into a home has a potential for reproduction, with its resulting offspring then breeding, resulting in a geometric progression of population expansion if control is not undertaken. Sometimes people are not aware of the insects and do not notice the bites. The visible bedbug infestation does not represent the infestation as a whole, as there may be infestations elsewhere in a home. However, the insects do have a tendency to stay close to their hosts, hence the name "bed" bugs.

[edit] Locations

Blood-fed Cimex lectularius

Bedbugs travel easily and quickly along pipes and boards, and their bodies are very flat, which allows them to hide in tiny crevices. In the daytime, they tend to stay out of the light, preferring to remain hidden in such places as mattress seams, mattress interiors, bed frames, nearby furniture, carpeting, baseboards, inner walls, tiny wood holes, or bedroom clutter. Bedbugs can be found on their own, but more often congregate in groups. Bedbugs are capable of traveling as far as 100 feet to feed, but usually remain close to the host in bedrooms or on sofas where people may sleep.

[edit] Detection

Slide of Cimex lectularius

Bedbugs are known for being elusive, transient, and nocturnal, making them difficult to detect. While individuals have the option of contacting a pest control professional to determine if a bedbug infestation exists, there are several do-it-yourself methods that may work equally well.

The presence of bedbugs may be confirmed through identification of the insects collected or by a pattern of bites. Though bites can occur singularly, they often follow a distinctive linear pattern marking the paths of blood vessels running close to the surface of the skin. The common bite pattern of three bites often around the ankle or shin close to each other has garnered the macabre colloquialism "breakfast, lunch & dinner."

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A technique for catching bedbugs in the act is to have a light source quickly accessible from your bed and to turn it on at about an hour before dawn, which is usually the time when bedbugs are most active. A flashlight/torch is recommended instead of room lights, as the act of getting out of bed will cause any bedbugs present to scatter before you can catch them. If you awaken during the night, leave your lights off but use your flashlight/torch to inspect your mattress. Bedbugs are fairly fast in their movements, about equal to the speed of ants. They may be slowed down if engorged. When the bedroom light is switched on, it may temporarily startle them allowing time for you to get a dust pan and brush kept next to the bed and sweep the bugs into the pan then immediately sweep them into a cup or mug full of water where the bugs drown quickly. Dispose of the water down the sink or toilet. Disinfect the mattress, skirting boards and so on regularly.

Glue traps placed in strategic areas around the home, sometimes used in conjunction with heating pads or balloons filled with exhaled breath offering a carbon dioxide source, may be used to trap and thus detect bedbugs. This method has varied reports of success. There are also commercial traps like 'flea' traps whose effectiveness is questionable except perhaps as a means of detection. Perhaps the easiest trapping method is to place double-sided carpet tape in long strips near or around the bed and check the strips after a day or more.

[edit] Control & Elimination of Bedbugs

• Pesticides

With the widespread use of DDT in the 1940s and '50s, bedbugs mostly disappeared from North America in the mid-twentieth century.^[27] Infestations remained common in many other parts of the world and in recent years have also begun to rebound in North America. Reappearance of bedbugs has presented new challenges for pest control as they have developed resistance to various pesticides including DDT^[28]. Some bed bug populations in the United States still exhibit very high levels of resistance to DDT^[29].

Another reason for their increase is that today more pest control services use gel-based pesticide baits for control of cockroaches and ants, the most common pests in structures, instead of residual sprays. When residual sprays were used to kill the more common insect pests, they resulted in the collateral control of bedbug populations. The gel-based insecticides primarily used today to control cockroach and ant populations do not have any effect on bedbugs, as bed bugs are not attracted to baits.

The National Pest Management Association, a US advocacy group for pest management professionals conducted a "proactive bedbug public relations campaign" in 2005 and 2006, resulting in increased media coverage of bedbug stories and an increase in business for pest controllers, possibly distorting the scale of the increase in bedbug infestations.^[30]

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• Food source isolation

Due to the difficulty in eliminating the bugs from the room or dwelling, the (suspected) bed is isolated, thus removing the insects' food source - humans. Bedbugs cannot cross petroleum jelly and have difficulty climbing metal or glass, hence each of the bed legs are put in a tin can (the bottom of which is thickly coated with petroleum jelly to avoid movement from the bed to the hiding places. Although bedbugs cannot fly or jump, they have been observed climbing a higher surface in order to then fall to a lower one, such as climbing a wall in order to fall onto a bed. Hence alternatively a double-sided sticky tape (such as carpet tape) is applied around each bed leg, or to keep each leg on a plastic furniture block in a tray of water.

• Domestic Treatment

Use of steam or by spraying rubbing alcohol on any visible insects is done to effectively rid bed frames of adult bedbugs and eggs, although it does not serve as a permanent treatment. Small steam cleaners have been very effective for local treatment.

A suspect mattress is sometimes protected by wrapping it in a disposable plastic sheeting, sealing, shutting all the seams and putting it on a protected bed after a final visual inspection.

Sanitization: In this method, bedding is sanitized by a 120 °F (49 °C) laundry dryer. Once sanitized, bedding is not be allowed to drape to the floor. Storing sanitized sleeping clothes in the bed during the day and bathing before entering the bed are observed to be effective to quarantine a protected bed.

Encasing mattress and box springs in impermeable bed-bug-bite-proof encasements after a treatment for an infestation is an alternative treatment which works better and is more comfortable whereas wrapping bedding in plastic causes sweating.

• Problems in elimination and remedies

Vermin and pets will complicate a barrier strategy. Bedbugs prefer human hosts, but will resort to other warm-blooded hosts if humans are not available. Some bedbug species can live up to eighteen months without feeding at all. A co-infestation of mice can provide an auxiliary food source to keep bedbugs established for longer. Likewise, a house cat or human guest might easily defeat a barrier by sitting on a protected bed. Such considerations should be part of any barrier strategy.

BBC1 aired a television program entitled "The One Show" about the growth of bedbug infestations in London. In the program a pest control officer claimed that the use of insecticides alone was no longer an effective method to control bed bugs as they had developed a resistance to most if not all insecticides that might be used legally in the UK. He stated that insecticide use in conjunction to freezing bedbugs was the only effective control. All items of clothing and upholstery (including curtains) in the affected household had to be deep-frozen for at least 3 days in giant freezers to ensure complete eradication. The exact temperature at which bedbugs must be frozen was not mentioned.

• Traditional method

Another method that might be useful in controlling bedbugs is the use of neem oil. It can be sprayed on carpets, curtains and mattresses.^{[citation needed]} Neem oil is made from the leaves and bark of the neem tree native to India. It has been used safely for thousands of years in India both as a natural, effective insect repellent and it is antibacterial. It has recently received US Food and Drug Administration approval for external use. It is also possible to incorporate neem oil into certain types of mattress. Such mattresses are currently being manufactured by a German company. Some may find the aroma of neem oil objectionable.

• Trendy methods

A recent trend in bed bug control is utilizing canine detection teams to pinpoint infestation areas, because hiding places can be very hard to find. The bed bug dogs are trained to find the bed bugs in what is known as a sweep. The dog sweeps through suspected infestation areas and alerts to the scent of bed bugs.

There are more frequent reports of success in controlling bedbugs by the use of diatomaceous earth as an environment friendly barrier to which the bedbugs cannot develop a resistance. The diatomaceous earth acts on the exoskeleton of the bedbug and indeed other insects in a way that dehydrates them and they die.

• House-hold Actions

The cleanliness of the environment has an effect on the control of bedbugs but, unlike cockroaches, it does not have a direct effect as they feed on their hosts and not on waste. Good housekeeping in association with proper preparation and mechanical removal assist in its control.

[edit] Travel tips

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Since most bedbugs are carried by travelers through contact with beds and hotel rooms in infected locations, following are some tips for those traveling to hotels that might be at risk.^{[citation needed]}

1. First, examine the room for potential hiding places of bedbugs, such as carpet edges, mattress seams, pillow case linings, bedboards, wall trim or other tiny crevices in which bedbugs might hide.
2. Next, look specifically at the mattress seams for signs of bedbug activity: droppings, eggs, bloodstains or even bedbugs themselves, hiding in tiny folds and seam lines.
3. Keep a flashlight nearby when sleeping, to immediately observe suspected activity during the night without having to get up out of bed, thereby giving bedbugs time to hide in safety.
4. Never leave your clothing lying on the bed, or any location of possible infestation (as mentioned above). Instead, use hangers or hooks capable of keeping all cloth distant from the floor or bed. Suspend new shopping in bags the same way.
5. Close all luggage (suitcase, travel bag etc.) when you're not using it. This way, during the night the bugs may move over the top of your bags and have difficulty getting inside.
6. Elevate your luggage off the floor to luggage stand, tables or chairs. These can also be hiding places, but they are not as likely to be.
7. Keep any bedbug you find (intact if possible) to show the hotel manager.

[edit] Current research

The Texas A&M Center for Urban and Structural Entomology and the University of Arkansas Department of Entomology have been collaborating to study bedbugs on a genetic level in the hopes to shed light on their recent resurgence. By studying the genetic variation within bedbug populations, researchers can gain insight into insecticide resistance and insect dispersal. Researchers have two theories as to how bedbug resurgence has occurred in the United States. One theory is that the source of current bedbug populations is from other countries without bedbug pesticides that have made their way through air travel, and another theory is that the surviving bed bug populations were forced to switch hosts to birds, such as poultry, and bats. Since bedbugs have undergone a huge resurgence in poultry populations since the 1970s, theory two seems likely.

The theory that the surviving bedbug populations were forced to switch hosts to birds is also supported by the research done at Texas A&M and the University of Arkansas. In a recent study, researchers subjected 136 adult bedbugs from 22 sampled populations from nine U.S. states, Australia, and Canada to genetic analysis. Their finding concluded that the bedbug populations were never completely eradicated from the United States as there was no evidence of a genetic bottleneck in either the mitochondrial or nuclear DNA of the bedbugs. Researchers suspect that resistant populations of bedbugs have slowly been propagating in poultry facilities, and have made their way back to human hosts via the poultry workers.^[31][32]

Other research is being conducted at Texas A&M and Virginia Tech to be able to use bedbugs in forensic science. Researchers have been successful at isolating and characterizing human DNA taken from bedbug blood meals. One advantage that bedbugs have over other blood feeders being used in forensics is that they do not remain on the host, and instead remain in close proximity to the crime scene. Therefore bedbugs could potentially provide crucial evidence linking the suspect to the crime scene. Researchers are able to identify what hosts are being fed upon, and are taking further steps to be able to identify the individual by genotyping, and to predict the duration from the time of feeding to recovery of viable DNA.^[33]

[edit] See also

• List of parasites (human)

[edit] References

[edit] Further reading

• Larry Pinto, Richard Cooper, Sandy Kraft. Bed Bug Handbook: The Complete Guide to Bed Bugs and Their Control. Mechanicsville, Maryland: Pinto & Associates, December 2007. ISBN 978-0-9788878-1-0
• Forsyth, Adrian. Die Sexualität in der Natur. Vom Egoismus der Gene und ihren unfeinen Strategien. Munich: Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag, 1991. ISBN 3-423-11331-6.
• Forsyth, Adrian. A Natural History of Sex: The Ecology and Evolution of Mating Behavior. Richmond Hil mr.l, Ontario: Firefly Books, 2001. ISBN 1-55209-481-2.
• Goddard, Jerome A. The Physician’s Guide to Arthropods of Medical Importance (second edition). Boca Raton, Florida: CRC Press, 1993. ISBN 0-8493-5160-X.
• MacQuitty, Miranda, and Lawrence Mound. Megabugs: The Natural History Museum Book of Insects. New York: Random House Children's Books, 1995. ISBN 1-898304-37-8, ISBN 1-85868-045-X.
• Quammen, David. The Flight of the Iguana: A Sidelong View of Science and Nature. New York: Delacorte Press, 1988. ISBN 0-385-29592-8, ISBN 0-385-26327-9, ISBN 0-684-83626-2. Provides detail about Xylocaris maculipennis.
• Martin Leverkus, Ryan C. Jochim, Susanne Schad et al. Bullous allergic hypersensitivity to bed bug bites mediated by IgE against salivary nitrophorin. J. Invest. Dermatol. (2006) 126, 91-96.

[edit] External links

• Media related to Cimex lectularius at Wikimedia Commons

Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article Bug (insect).

• 'Bed bugs – least toxic control' - alternatives to pesticides fact sheet from PAN UK.
• [4] The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene "Vector surveillance and control: Bed bug fact sheet" 12 January 2008
• My Observations on Bedbugs, by Dr. Charles A.R. Campbell (historical interest only)
• Bed Bugs Pest Control Information - National Pesticide Information Center
• KidsHealth.Org: "Hey! A Bedbug Bit Me!"
• eMedicine, May 2008: Bedbug bites, Robert A. Schwartz, MD, MPH, et al.
• Emerging Infectious Diseases, Vol. 11, No. 4, April 2005: Bed Bug Infestations in an Urban Environment, Stephen W. Hwang, Tomislav J. Svoboda, Iain J. De Jong, Karl J. Kabasele, and Evie Gogosis

[edit] Information from specialized sources

University or colleges

• Bed Bug Management includes photos, control from University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension in Lancaster County
• Harvard University University Operations Services: Bedbug Information
• Harvard School of Public Health: Bedbugs: Biology and Management
• Masked Hunters University of Minnesota Extension Service Entomology Yard & Garden Brief (natural enemy of the bedbug)
• University of Kentucky EntFacts Information Sheet on bedbugs
• University of Sydney and Westmead Hospital Department of Medical Entomology web-page on bedbugs
• University of Minnesota
• bed bug on the University of Florida/Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Featured Creatures Web site
• Bed Bugs chapter in United States Environmental Protection Agency‎ and University of Florida/Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences National Public Health Pesticide Applicator Training Manual

[edit] News stories

• Bedbug on National Public Radio
• [5] Business Week "The Cost of Bed Bugs" 8 November 2007, 6:16PM EST
• KYW CBS 3 (Phila.), 18 June 2007: "Bed Bug Beagle (Article and Video)"
• The Trenton Times, 10 May 2007: "Battling bedbugs"
• San Francisco Chronicle, 8 April 2007: "Bedbugs Bounce Back: Outbreaks inall 50 states"
• Fox News, 15 January 2007: "Lawyer Sues London Hotel, Claims Bedbugs Attacked Him, Wife"
• Pest Control Magazine, 1 January 2007: "Are Bed Bug Dogs Up to Snuff?"
• New York Times, 15 October 2006: "Everything You Need to Know About Bedbugs But Were Afraid to Ask"
• Toronto Star. 10 October 2006: "Don't Let the Bedbugs Bite Again."
• New York Post. 26 September 2006: "What's Eating Ralph Lauren?"
• New York Times, 19 September 2006: "Another Reason the City Never Sleeps: More Bedbugs."
• New York Times, 27 November 2005: "Just Try to Sleep Tight. The Bedbugs Are Back."
• New Yorker, 4 April 2005: "Night Visitors"
• New York Times, 2 November 2003 : "Sleep Tight, and Don't Let ... Oh Just Forget About It"
• Dermatology Online Journal, Vol. 5, No. 1, May 1999: Cimex lectularius, Arthur C. Huntley, M.D.
• San Diego Union Tribune, 17 December 2007: Tribal justice not always fair, critics contend (Bedbugs in casinos)