The Bedbug: The Pest That Will Not Die!

[LongTomH]

No, it's not a Hollywood horror movie; this horrorshow is real! An article in the Online Wall Street Journal details how Why Bedbugs Will Not Die:

The first comprehensive genetic study of bedbugs, the irritating pests that have enjoyed a world-wide resurgence in recent years, indicates they are quickly evolving to withstand the pesticides used to combat them.

The new findings from entomologists at Ohio State University, reported Wednesday online in PLoS One, show that bedbugs may have boosted their natural defenses by generating higher levels of enzymes that can cleanse them of poisons.

In New York City, bedbugs now are 250 times more resistant to the standard pesticide than bedbugs in Florida, due to changes in a gene controlling the resilience of the nerve cells targeted by the insecticide, researchers at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst recently reported.

<snip>

Laboratory tests in the U.S., Europe and Africa show today's bedbugs can survive pesticide levels a thousand times greater than the lethal dose of a decade or so ago. "There is a phenomenal level of resistance," said bedbug entomologist Michael Siva-Jothy at the University of Sheffield in the U.K. "It has evolved very recently."

We've known for a long time that insects can evolve quickly to deal with the poisons we use against them. Any new insecticide acts as "a form of natural selection" for the species; survivors are resistant to the poison, passing on that resistance to their offspring.

Really creepy! :scared: :scared: :scared: :scared:

[slackmaster]

1. Has there ever been anything nearly as effective as DDT at killing them?

And proper hygiene, of course.

[happyslug]

12. Proper Hygiene? If you mean avoiding Hotels, yes

But if you mean anything more, i.e. cleaning yourself and your clothing? No effect on bedbugs. Thus the old saying "Don't let the bedbugs bite" for most if not all Hotels prior to about 1950 had them (and that included even the top end hotels).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bedbug

Basically, Bedbugs bite people while they sleep (or sit on furniture). Then the bug, full of blood, crawl into any crevice they can find (and such crevices exist EVERYWHERE for bedbugs are quite small and do not need that big a crevice) where they lay they eggs and feed them the blood. While waiting for a host, bedbugs can survive for months.

No actual effort was ever made to remove them, except by the US Army during WWII, but the widespread use of DDT to kill Cockroaches also seems to have killed off Bedbugs. The problem is Bedbugs become immune to most insecticides used today (and that includes DDT). One insecticide still works, but it is recommended for outdoor use only for it has bad affect on children (i.e. to be used and the room NOT to be used till ALL of the insecticide is gone and that may take a few days).

I notice no one is mentioning that Bedbugs might have re-appeared in the US for the simple reason more people are traveling by Jet and carrying bedbugs with them in their luggage. It is not so much travel from Europe or Japan to the US that brings with it, bedbugs, but travel from the Third World were Bedbugs never were ever eliminated from.

Please note DDT was found to be ineffective against lice during the Korean War (1950-1953) which was within 15 years of the start of the use of DDT against insects:
http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?AD=ADA506261&Location=U2&doc=GetTRDoc.pdf#page=23

More on DDT, discovered in 1874, but not found to be effective against insects till 1939 (While it is denied, the effectiveness of DDT as an insecticide came out of Chemical Warfare studies of the 1930s. People tend to forget the difference between Nerve Gas and DDT had more to do with concentration then the actual Chemical Difference).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DDT

[nc4bo]

2. I wonder if DE would be effective? It's non poisoness, right?

So should be able to apply to bedding and carpets without harming pets or humans?

Wonder if it's been tried yet?

[Cassandra]

3. It does work and is used...

but it's cheap so it's hard to make as much money on it.

[nc4bo]

5. How pathetic is that?

Seen and read many newstories on the BB problem and almost all mention bringing in exterminators and a few tips on what people can do at home or while traveling. Not one mention of DE. Not very responsible.

Money makes the world go round I guess.

[Cassandra]

16. I have a vegan friend who told me about it...

so I bought some and an applicator. I don't have bedbugs but DE should work on any small pest.

[mattvermont]

10. DE is more useful

for softer bodied insects...and where would you apply the diatomaceous earth?

[nc4bo]

13. On the bedding, under mattress, in corners of the room - where ever experts say they hang out

carpets, behind back boards, etc.

Thinking of motels/hotels, mattresses should be protected anyway - use the DE then seal the mattress cover.

[Cassandra]

18. Any very young insect will have a soft outer body...

susceptible to dehydration. The exterminator that treats our building once a month said they like wood. He suggested a thin perimeter dusted into the outer edges of the floors and some around the box spring.

[LongTomH]

7. Good question!

I do know a news.google.com search on "bedbugs" turns up 851 posts. A lot of articles seem to be directed toward the bugs evolutionary ability to adapt to everything we throw at 'em. Here are a few:

Bedbug Genome Sequenced
Bedbug Scourge: Gene Study Traces Pesticide Resistance
Growing Resistance to Pesticides Sees Return of Bedbugs Brrrrr!!!! :scared: :scared: :scared: :scared: :scared:

But take heart! There's now a Summit to Stomp Out Bed Bugs

Hundreds of people joined forces in D.C. Thursday to tackle a pesky problem in our country’s bedrooms.

The D.C. Department of Health hosted the nation’s second Bed Bug Summit.

It was a chance for residents to learn simple ways to keep from getting bit.

[LoZoccolo]

11. I have heard of that being used.

I've also seen another pesticide-free method which are these cups that look kind-of like upside-down dog dishes that you can rest the legs of your bed in, and they're shaped such that the bed bugs cannot climb up them to get into your bed, nor can the ones that are already in your bed climb down onto your floor without getting trapped in them. I've never had to try either but I figure that living in a large city where people are living in close quarters that it's only a matter of time before they make their way over to my place (just like cockroaches over here - anybody can get them so it's just a matter of making your apartment less attractive to them and keeping it clean so they'll just go somewhere else).

[zane25]

17. Possible solution?

We got them when we moved into a new apartment. Never had them before. I did some research and found that diatomaceous earth would help. We put it along the baseboards and around the feet of our beds. In a couple of days they were gone. It's not toxic, so we just spread it all over the place and haven't had any problems since. It's worth a try and so far our results have been really good.

[ehrnst]

20. I understand that once a room is fumigated, DE is blown into wall spaces.

To kill any further infestations by dehydration.

[northamericancitizen]

4. The link seems to be broken... K & R anyway.

[LongTomH]

8. Link Fixed! Thx!

[Cali_Democrat]

6. Evolution baby

The bed bugs that survived and were able to pass on their genes were the ones that were more resistant to the pesticide.

[ElsewheresDaughter]

9. heat of 120 degrees up kills all stages of bed bugs life cycle... companys will bake ur house .

‘Thermal Remediation’

http://www.vcstar.com/news/2010/oct/16/baking-the-bedbugs/

[delightfulstar]

15. I've seen that demonstrated on television.

It seems pretty foolproof, and there is apparently little-to-no chemical contamination, which is great for anyone with allergies and the like.

[elocs]

14. Well, if I had them here in western WI right now I could shut off the heat

and stay elsewhere for a week and any bedbugs in the house would be very dead and at this time of the year that would be easier than pesticides or heat. It's not predicted to be anywhere near freezing here for many days. It's going to be -18 tonight.

[Hannah Bell]

19. Bedbugs were mostly eradicated in the developed world in the 40s.

Their resurgence is more about travel, poverty, & cost-cutting than pesticide resistance. They're spreading from big cities outward.