It started a few years ago, and the momentum is picking up. News outlets around the United States and Western Europe are reporting on a new health epidemic that has local authorities tied in a knot.
It isn't life threatening. It doesn't even make people ill. It doesn't damage property, but it gives everyone the willies and sends some people screaming to a shrink.
Bedbugs. EWWWW!
Don't laugh. I'm itching as I write this, and despite all I've learned about how they don't constitute the same health threat as even a cold virus or having a dog with fleas, I'm creeped out. I can only imagine what it must be like for people who are having to deal with this.
The history
Bedbugs used to be much more prevalent in the developed world prior to the industrialization that followed the Second World War. By the 1960's they were mostly a distant memory, except for places in the third world.
Still, widespread use of DDT proved to be Waterloo for the insects, but by 1972 the chemical was banned because of its effects on wildlife, especially on most birds.
Since 1972 a lot more has happened. Insecticide use has become more and more regulated and more specialized. Ever evolving environmental laws prohibit many chemicals for indoor use and many of the all-purpose bug killers known to be effective have been made illegal for indoor use. Propoxur, for example, still remains an effective treatment for bedbugs, but has been relegated for killing crickets and roaches outdoors because of stricter standards enacting by the EPA in the 90's in re-evaluating older pesticides. There are other factors as well.
Bedbugs have shown a strong resistance to most other popular insecticides, and the ones showing up in New York, Philadelphia, and across Ohio are resistant to all but a few kinds of chemicals now mostly regulated for use by professional exterminators, and only outdoors.
The last cause is simply that people travel much more, especially to far flung regions where the bedbug never quite died off. With the bedbug's ability to live more than year without feeding, and hide in luggage and folding clothing, the insect has been quietly hitchhiking all over the world for years.
The resurgence
The bedbug's resurgence in the United States has been reported in all 50 states.
"We never treated bedbugs until 2002," said Luis Agurto, president of exterminator Pestec in San Francisco. "Now we have a dedicated bedbug crew working on this every day."
Agurto said while the bulk of his calls are in lower-rent areas of San Francisco, he's been in five star hotels and expensive suburban homes in places like Walnut Valley.
Pest control company Terminix claims that New York, Philadelphia and Detroit are it's most infested cities, but the state of Ohio ranks high, with three cities (Cincinnati, Columbus, Dayton) in the top 10. Ohio is among 25 states appealing the federal government to permit using propoxur indoors. they have so far been denied.
The hysteria
A bedbug infestation can happen anywhere. The New York Times recently reported that bedbugs were found in a movie theater in Time Square and in several upscale Manhattan clothing stores.
Bedbugs don't carry any diseases and don't present any health risk other than for people with specific allergies, but the extreme difficulty of getting rid of the pests, as well as the social stigma associated with it can have a huge impact on a persons' psychological well-being, and many people have very severe reactions to the terror associated with having bedbugs.
This leads many to react in an immediate way to get rid of them, and in most cases, this hysteria only makes things worse. Consumer insecticides, cedar oil, and insect "bombs" will often make the bugs crawl into cracks but it will rarely kill them.
Another common reaction is to move to another room to sleep, or to a relative's home, but this is almost always a bad idea and will only spread the infestation, as the crafty insect will follow you to avoid losing their easy nocturnal meal.
Fighting back
Experts advise calling a licensed pest control company if you encounter what you may think is a bedbug infestation. They will want to verify that you actually do have bedbugs before coming up with a plan to eradicate them.
It will take at least three visits.
The newest trend in treatment is the bedbug-sniffing dog. The specially trained beagles are in high demand with many pest control experts, and have shown a very good rate of sniffing out the critters, which reportedly give off a strong odor of rotten coconut.
Heat, especially steam cleaners are popular weapons against the bug, as well as the application of certain poisons. Many exterminators advise getting rid of bedding and infected furniture, but again, don't do anything like this unless you are advised to by an expert.
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We aim to give you more information about bedbugs, and how to prepare for them, and what to do if you get them. If like me, all this talk is making you itch and you want to check your boxsprings for unwanted visitors, check out Bed Bug Registry, a great database of infected places (including the US) all over the US.
Thankfully, my neighborhood was not among the places listed, but apparently, my old building in Los Angeles was!
