“Bed Bugs Invade America!” screamed the headline on a supermarket tabloid. “Tiny, Evil and Everywhere” shrieked the Washington Post. “Bloodthirsty Bedbugs Stage Comeback” thundered National Geographic News.

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Read the headlines and you get the impression that bed bugs have invaded our shores in force and are chomping their way down Main Street USA. Until five years ago bed bug reports were virtually non-existent in the U.S. Then the blood-sucking insects started cropping up in homes, apartments, hotels and college dorms across the country fueling a media frenzy. Chastising fellow journalists, David Segal of the Washington Post pointed out in a February article, “more than 400 articles have wriggled into print, all making roughly the same point: The bloodsucking critters are back, and in numbers that amount to a scourge.” Segal claims that “the scale of this ’swarm’ has been overstated, maybe wildly so. … ‘The bugs are back’ is so perfect a trend story that it seems hand-forged by the trend-story gods. It’s what happens when you combine a creepy villain, primal fear and squishy statistics.”

In the March issue of Pest Management Professional, editorial director Frank Andorka made this rebuttal to Segal’s story: “Of course, many reporters are rooting for the bed bug: It’s great copy - a cryptic, bloodsucking insect that feeds on people when they are sleeping and is difficult to control. What could possibly be a better story than that? But just because it’s good copy doesn’t mean the stories aren’t true.”

So what’s the real story? Are bed bugs a genuine threat or is this so much media hype. Some argue that journalists are feeding the frenzied paranoia of a panicked citizenry. Others point to very real statistics that show a 70% increase in reported bed bug infestations in the U.S. in the past five years. In a national survey conducted for Pest Management Professional, University of Kentucky entomologist Michael Potter found, “A whopping 91% of respondents reported their organizations had encountered bed bug infestations in the past two years. Only 37% said they encountered bed bugs more than five years ago.” Pest control companies that for decades had received no calls about bed bugs are suddenly receiving dozens. In large urban areas it’s not uncommon for companies to field 100 to 150 bed bug complaints a week, according to a National Pest Management Association survey.

After near eradication by DDT-based pesticides in the 1950s, bed bugs (Cimex lectularius) are on the rise. A worldwide scourge throughout human history, bed bugs, fleas and lice used to be regular nightly bedmates. Your grandmother’s bedtime mantra — “Sleep tight; don’t let the bed bugs bite!” - was rooted in the reality of pre-World War II life when bed bugs were commonly found in beds across the U.S. In the 1930s, people wallpapered their bedrooms with arsenic-laced wallpaper to kill bed bugs. Metal bed frames, considered less likely to harbor bed bugs, were the rage. Twice a year bedsteads were completely dismantled and scrubbed to keep bed bugs at bay. Until the insect-killing properties of DDT were discovered during World War II, no effective pesticide existed to eradicate bed bugs. Development of DDT-based insecticides after the war allowed America and most industrialized countries to stamp out bed bugs.

Discovery of DDT’s cancer risk to humans and lethal threat to wildlife led to its banning in the early 1970s. By the mid-1990s, reports of bed bug infestations began to surface in the U.S., Canada, Australia and Western Europe. With no lethally effective pesticide available, bed bugs have multiplied and spread. “Since the mid-1990s, numbers of reported infestations have almost doubled annually,” said Clive Boase, author of a bed bug study published by the Institute of Biology in London. Bed bug infestations in London have risen tenfold since 1996, Boase reported. According to National Geographic News, bed bug complaints to pest control companies increased 700% in Australia between 2000 and 2004 and 500% in the U.S. While these figures seem astonishing, keep in mind that if a pest controller received two bed bugs calls in 2000, an increase of 500% would equal 10 calls in 2004, not quite the “invasion” trumpeted in news reports. Still, last year bed bug infestations were reported in every state in the U.S., and reports are increasing exponentially each year. “This is a serious issue,” Potter recently told the New York Times. “This will be the pest of the 21st century.”

Scientists haven’t pinned down a single cause for the bed bug proliferation, but cite a combination of factors, including the increased ease of international travel, lack of potent insecticides, and discovery of pesticide-resistant bed bugs. The size of an apple seed, these wingless insects are nocturnal, hiding in tiny cracks and crevices on mattresses and near beds, and coming out at night to feed on human blood. Females typically lay 500 eggs during their six- to 12-month lifespan. Eggs hatch in four to 12 days, and larva begin to feed, reaching adult status in about a month. Three or more generations can be produced in a year. A few bed bugs can lead to a major infestation in just a short time. Easily transported, bed bugs often enter a home on luggage, clothing or used or rental furniture. They spread through multi-unit properties like apartments and hotels through air ducts, electrical and plumbing conduits and wall voids. New York City recently launched an education campaign when serious bed bug infestations in the immigrant community were linked to the sale of infested secondhand mattresses.

Not all bed bug complaints turn out to be bed bugs. “I get samples every day,” said Harvard University entomologist Richard Pollack, who noted that “fewer than half” turn out to be bed bugs. Carpet beetles, lice, fleas, ticks, chiggers, mites, even lint are often mistaken for bed bugs. False alarms are part of the territory, said New York City housing authority spokesman Howard Marder. “Experience shows that residents may have heard rumors about bedbugs, so if they wake up with a rash or an itch, they think they’ve got them. … If you make people aware of a problem, reports about it are likely to go up.”

Sometimes the power of suggestion results in delusory parasitosis, or Ekbom’s Syndrome, in which real environmental elements such as static electricity or dry skin cause severe itching that is incorrectly perceived to be caused by insects. Scratching can cause bleeding welts that only serve to “validate” victims’ claims of an insect infestation. Most incidents are related to seasonal changes in humidity triggered by the start up of heating or air conditioning systems.

For those who actually do have bed bugs, the experience can be traumatic. Bites leave red, itchy welts that can bedevil bed bug victims. While scientists assure us that bed bugs are merely a nuisance pest and do not transmit diseases, the thought of being nibbled on while they sleep is enough to send many victims screaming from their beds. “It’s horrible. They’re feeding on your family, your skin; their main meal is a human body,” a horrified Atlantic Beach bed bug victim told NBC 12 First Coast News in Jacksonville, Florida. She said her two-year-old would wake up crying from the bites. Shannon (who refused to give her last name) spent hours shuttling her welt-covered children to different doctors before an entomologist correctly diagnosed the problem as bed bugs. In a typical reaction, Shannon threw out mattresses, beds, sofas and linens. She moved her family out and hired a pest control company to “tent” and fumigate their house. New technologies like Cryonite which freezes and kills bugs and eggs using non-toxic carbon dioxide vapor can be applied without going to such extremes. But when bed bugs bite, most people panic. They don’t care whether there’s a bed bug invasion sweeping America or not. One bug in their bed is one too many.

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By: Douglas Stern

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Douglas Stern is the managing partner of Stern Environmental Group and a bed bug extermination expert. His firm serves commercial and residential clients in New Jersey, New York City, New York, and Connecticut. His firm is located at 100 Plaza Drive in Secaucus, New Jersey. You can reach him toll free at 1-888-887-8376. Please visit us on the Web at www.SternEnvironmental.com.

http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2009/02/which_famous_tv_couple_had_bed.html

http://blogs.sun-sentinel.com/consumerblog/2009/04/how-to-keep-bed-bugs-at-bay.html

http://bedbugbureau.com/blog/2009/04/

http://onemansblog.com/tag/bedbugs/

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Are you tired of being bitten by bed bugs each night? Find out where they are hiding to flush them out and discover the best way to kill these pests before they ruin your life…

So you want to know how to kill bed bugs? Bed bugs are a big problem for many people. If you think you are being victimized by these pesky little creatures, then you may have already obsessed about getting rid of them.

Killing these guys and destroying the eggs they lay is the only way to get your life back to normal.

Bed bugs are pests that hide inside your mattress and box spring during the day as well as in the cracks and crevices of your bedroom floor and walls… While you are asleep at night, they crawl out of their favorite hiding places and feast on your blood.

Some people may develop an allergic reaction to the saliva that bed bugs leave from their bites. Medical treatment can control the allergic outbreak, but the best course of action is to exterminate bed bugs before this can happen.

Getting rid of bed bugs isn’t easy or fun… Buying a bug spray is the cheapest solution if your bed bug infestation isn’t widespread. But, before you use a bug spray you need to make sure bed bugs are the cause of your bites.

When you notice a live flat oval shaped wingless insect about inches long running by, try to capture it. Look for photos or illustrations of bed bugs online and see if what you caught appears the same. Once you positively identified these pests as bed bugs, you can then plan their extinction.

Bed bugs like clutter. So you’ll need to clean-up or re-organize your room to make it neat to reduce places for them to hide. Vacuum your bed, floors and furniture. Buy and use bug spray that says it will kill bed bugs. We reviewed a few products that users say works.

You may think you need a fogger, but the best way is to spot treat by spraying inside and around those cracks and crevices on the walls and floors where bed bugs hide. When spraying your mattress, let it dry out before putting the sheets back on.

Getting rid of bed bugs may take some time and effort… But if a back to normal life without bites and allergic reactions is important to you, then you really don’t have any other choice. Sprays or insecticides are probably the most effective way to kill bed bugs and their eggs and to prevent any future infestations.

Which spray kills bed bugs dead? Read our free reports on the 3 top bed bugs spray insecticides.

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Although bedbugs are quite small, many people wonder what an actual bedbug looks like.

Bedbugs are in the family of cimicidae, which are insects that have short forewings, oval to round body shapes and a flat profile. They are parasites of mammals and birds and though generally animal specific, bedbugs will feed on any animal that can provide a blood meal when faced with limited selections. These pests are not as horrible as you think. They don’t have diseases or imply dirtiness, in fact they can show up anywhere and cross all socio-economic boundaries, and to my surprise, they can live for a long time, over a year, without food.

Bed bugs look like they are not active in the reproductive department, but that is wrong assumption. During their life span, female bed bugs can carry and survive three pregnancies. Bed bugs look like small creeping objects in crevices and small holes in the floor, the walls or even your bed. If you are sharp-eyed enough, bed bugs may look or appear as if they are vampires.

These critters are fairly fast in their movements, about equal to the speed of ants. They may be slowed down if engorged and are found mostly in hotels’ mattresses, headboards, and furniture. They eventually jump into people’s luggage and clothes and travel with the person to his or her next destination. Prevention takes the form of good sanitation and frequent cleaning, such as regular housecleaning and washing of bedding. As bed bugs are found worldwide, travelers abroad should also be watchful for signs of infestation.

Being slightly smaller than an apple seed they can hide in the folds and seams of mattresses and other furniture, emerging at night to feed on a warm-blooded host. Part of what makes them so tricky to eradicate is that the insects aren’t confined to the bed but can also hide on shelves bedding material and even on the floor. They are not known to spread disease to people but the itching from the bites, though, can be so bad that some people will scratch enough to cause breaks in the skin that may get infected. Bed bugs are flat and thin when unfed, but become more elongate, plump and red in color when they are full of blood. They have four antennae that are attached to the head.

Nothing is worse than having bed bug bites all over your body when you wake up early in the morning. Instead of being greeted with a special in bed breakfast, you’ll start your day treating all those bites so that they won’t become worse.

By: Mumby

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www.my-bedbug-4u.com/articles/articles.html

Bed Bug Resources

What Do Bedbugs Look Like And Do They Only Stay In Beds?

So what exactly do bedbugs look like, you ask? Well, while they are indeed extremely small in size, they can nonetheless be seen. They are roughly as large as the fingernail on your pinky. And they will either have a red or a brown hue.

What should I do before exterminators come to spray for bedbugs …

I would suggest getting new bedding materials, hence there is no magical answer for bed bugs.

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Info On Bed Bugs & The Symptoms Of Bed Bug Bites

If your parent or grandparent ever tucked you in at night, you may have heard this common, yet somewhat curious, chant. Most children never see or hear of bedbugs and never have any idea what their ridiculous parents are talking about, drifting off to sleep without any concern of the attack of the so-called ‘bedbugs’. But, what they are blissfully unaware of is that there actually are bedbugs, scientific name cimex lectularius, and they would love to dine on the delicate flesh of a tender young offspring, if given the chance.

These creatures were most common when our ancestors were dwelling in caves, unprotected from the creatures preying on all the common wildlife of the day, but almost unheard of in the modern world of developed society. Approximately the size of a small apple seed as adults, these creepy-crawlies are notoriously difficult to find. They, like the common tick, are thin enough to slip between floor boards, under outlet covers and into the smallest spaces one could imagine, only emerging at night to feast on their unsuspecting prey.

The result of their bite and feast is no more or less harmful than that of a spider or dedicated mosquito - swelling and itching usually - and can only carry live disease, such as HIV, for up to an hour on its mouth parts so is not well know for passing disease in the modern world. And adult bedbugs can survive up to one year without feeding on blood, so their survivorship of hard times is quite amazing.

The last decade has seen an unprecedented increase in reported bites in highly developed countries - Australia in particular, reporting a 700% increase from 2000 to 2004 compared to the previous 4-year period. There however, the vast majority of the cases were reported from lower-end lodging such as back-packer hotels, people camping or in less than standard dwelling. But even here, in the good old US of A, there are increased reports on both coasts and everywhere in between, from hospitals and dorm rooms, hotels and motels, apartments and even town homes, single family homes and on cruise ships - anywhere there’s good eating for these hungry little bugs. The higher density the population, the happier they are with no regard to income or social status.

Immigrants and travelers have been blamed for their recent re-introduction into modern and developed countries in recent years. With no place on earth outside a couple days travel, we could potentially see other interesting parasites make it onto US turf as well, if customs has no way of detecting and eliminating them.

There is one additional variety of bedbug, cimex hemipterus, that prefers tropical settings, that is said to be in up to 65% of homes located in those regions. These have also made their way into Australia, but not yet to the US, most of which were directly linked to travel to Asia and other Pacific countries.

One of the reasons sited, but not confirmed for the recent proliferation of these pesky intruders is their increased resistance to certain pesticides. In the past pest-control chemicals tended to be broad based, aimed at wiping out cockroaches, ants and the like but also wiping out the populations of bedbugs at the same time. Now, as chemicals are refined to target very specific species, the bedbug is not affected by them, even immune to their effects, thusly given the opportunity to breed and flourish.

If you have a concern about bedbugs or even suspect them to be in your own home, the best thing to do is alert a pest-control company. Typically they will make some recommendations to you and even visit to inspect the area and apply some chemicals to eliminate the parasites from the area. Do not be alarmed by them however, because besides the itchy bite mark, these little critters are fairly benevolent to you and your children or pets.

By: Trisha Coppley

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For More Information on How To Get Rid of Bed Bugs - Please Visit: www.BedBugsUsa.com!

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