Bed bugs are crawling all over the floor, and a bite will spit blood! Bed bug crisis breaks out in many countries, and it's actually very close to you

Recently, news about a "bed bug crisis breaking out in multiple countries" has been circulating on the Internet.

Image source: Weibo @Daily Economic News

Some netizens couldn't help but get nervous: What are bed bugs? How harmful are they to health? Will they spread to China and cause new diseases to spread?

As someone who has been entangled with these little pests for several years and finally squeezed a graduation thesis out of them, the first thing I can do is to comfort everyone: don't worry too much, because these old friends of mankind have already infiltrated our side!

What are bed bugs?

The unknown is the scariest thing. But unlike the new coronavirus, which is a new enemy that suddenly appeared, bed bugs have been warming the beds of our ancestors since the cave-dwelling era. Although they are difficult to deal with, we know both ourselves and the enemy, so we won’t be caught off guard.

The name "bed bugs" may sound unfamiliar, but you must have heard of their more common Chinese name: bed bugs .

However, local idioms are all-encompassing. From ladybugs to stink bugs, these small bugs with strange smells are all included in the category of "bedbugs". The news specifically refers to blood-sucking insects in the family Cimex lectularius of the order Hemiptera; and most members of the family Cimex lectularius do not interfere with humans, only two species - Cimex lectularius and C. hemipterus - are keen on human beds. The bedbugs that are rampant in most parts of the world are Cimex lectularius .

Image source: bedbugsinfo.net

These two types of bed bugs look very similar, both are flat brown bugs. The size, color and appearance of the adults are quite similar to apple seeds; the nymphs are beige to light yellow in color, and after sucking blood, they will swell into dark red miniature "raisins".

As for the smell, they do have a special stench as their name suggests, but it is not a rotten smell, but a unpleasant but refreshing and somewhat indescribable smell.

It is actually quite unusual that bedbugs would associate with humans. Bedbugs are quite picky about their tastes, and different species of bedbugs have specific parasites, most of which are bats and birds. The special hosts have shaped the special abilities of bedbugs: bats and birds are elusive and come and go freely, so bedbugs that enter their nests have to develop the top ability to survive hunger among blood-sucking creatures. Bedbugs that specialize in sucking the blood of swallows can even wait for the swallows to leave the nest and migrate back before eating their next meal. The length of the fasting period is astonishing. Bats and birds are not vegetarians and have first-class debugging capabilities. Bedbugs also have the ability to shrink their bones accordingly. Their bodies are extremely flat and can squeeze into tiny gaps without being caught.

The two skill trees pointed out by the bug also shine in the human strategy: it can lurk in various hard-to-reach corners and will not starve to death for a long time , waiting patiently until its big enemy finally appears.

How did humans get into trouble with such a group of highly specialized vampires that specialize in bats and birds?

This has to go back to the days when humans lived in caves. When humans and bats were still living together in caves, a group of bedbugs discovered a strange species: they were much bigger than bats, had a lot of blood, and were like a mobile blood bank; and unlike bats, they were not light and airy; these two-legged animals always liked to carry a lot of baggage with them, so hiding in the caves was perfect for traveling with them.

Since then, humans have never been able to shake bedbugs off their bodies.

Why did the "bed bug crisis" break out?

Seeing this, you may be a little confused: If bed bugs have been living around humans since the beginning, why haven't I encountered them before ? And why does the current "bed bug crisis" seem to be a new event that appeared out of nowhere?

This is because the number of bed bugs will also fluctuate depending on various factors. Many netizens may be millennials like me who grew up in the 1980s and 1990s, and our generation just happened to encounter a wave of lows in the bed bug family.

Before World War II, bed bugs were rampant indoor pests in all countries. But after World War II, a series of changes took place, including the rapid improvement of public health and pest control levels, the widespread use of new synthetic organic pesticides, and my country's nationwide "Four Pests" campaign... These actions made bed bugs less common for a time, allowing humans to gain a short-lived victory.

The comeback of bed bugs actually began quietly at the beginning of this century, and is now in a state of intensification. In the future, we may encounter them more frequently .

Why has the bed bug crisis made a comeback? There are many factors behind this.

First, with the abuse of synthetic pesticides, bedbugs have become more and more resistant to them , and are increasingly difficult to kill. At the same time, humans have also become aware of the health, environmental, and resistance problems caused by the abuse of pesticides, and the control of highly toxic pesticides has become stricter . As a result, our output has been reduced a lot, while the bedbugs' armor has become thicker, making it difficult to kill bedbugs simply with pesticides.

Secondly, the globalization of human beings has also contributed to the spread of bed bugs. There has never been an era like ours where ordinary people can easily travel to another continent in a day or two, and the volume of goods circulated is unprecedented. Bed bugs have thus hitched a ride on human luggage and goods, traveling around the world at an unprecedented speed. The large-scale popularization of heating has also provided bed bugs with a more comfortable living environment.

Globalization of trade also exacerbates the spread of bed bugs | Pixabay

So will this wave of "bedbug crisis" bring bedbugs to China?

What are you thinking? The Chinese bedbugs have already started their counterattack.

As early as 10 years ago, Chinese researchers noticed the rapid growth of bedbugs in China and published a series of related papers pointing out the seriousness of the problem. Like many other disasters, low-income people are often the first victims - factory dormitories, low-rent apartments and other places with poor sanitary conditions and dense populations have been invaded by bedbugs. For example, a study published in 2015 pointed out that 53.8% of the bedbug problems handled by a pest control company in Shenzhen in 2012 were in workers' dormitories, while only 1.3% were in private homes; while the two data of another pest control company in Dongguan were even more different, 90% and 0%.

What health risks do bed bugs pose?

Seeing this, you may gasp, surprised to find that bed bugs are right next to me. So how dangerous are bed bugs?

The good news is that bed bugs don't spread disease -- or, to be more precise, there haven't been clear cases of disease transmission . The main hazard of bed bug bites is an allergic reaction , which, like all allergens, can range from mild to severe dermatitis or even anaphylactic shock, depending on your individual body type.

For most people, bed bug bites often cause local redness, swelling and itching, which is not serious, but it itches like hell. If there is no serious systemic reaction, it can usually recover on its own, but you must be careful not to scratch the affected area to avoid infection; anti-allergic drugs can also help relieve symptoms.

Bed bug bites | louento.pix, Flixkr

In general, bed bugs do not spread various diseases like mosquitoes, but they can also affect people's quality of life.

What can we do about the threat of bed bugs?

Among indoor pests, bed bugs are one of the most difficult to control.

In addition to the intractable drug resistance, bed bugs are secretive, good at hiding in small crevices and laying eggs in them; and can starve for several months until they find a suitable host. Bed bugs like warmth, but they are not afraid of cold. As long as the indoor temperature does not drop to freezing point, they can hibernate through the winter.

This characteristic makes it easy for bed bugs to spread, but it is extremely difficult to completely eliminate them. For most people, prevention is the best way to avoid bed bug infestation.

The first and most important step is to prevent the chance of bringing bed bugs into your home . Do not pick up discarded furniture or other personal belongings, especially beds and mattresses, sofas, and old clothes. When staying in a hotel, pay attention to the cleanliness of the room and check the corners and cracks of the mattress and bed board. If there are bed bug feces (similar to black ink spots) or bed bug shed skin, it means that there are (or have been) bed bugs here.

Check the seams of the mattress if necessary | wikipedia

If you are bitten by bed bugs when you are out, you should carefully check and wash your clothes and luggage when you return home to avoid bringing them home. Washing machines and dryers can effectively kill bed bugs and eggs on clothes, and small items that are not suitable for washing can be placed in the freezer for two days.

However, if you don't catch the bed bug bite "on the spot", it is difficult to judge if there is only a skin allergic reaction. To be on the safe side, any unexplained insect bites when you are out and about can be considered bed bug bites, and you should carefully check and wash your clothes after returning home.

If your home is unfortunately infested with bed bugs, it is best to contact a professional pest control company to deal with it ; at the same time, try to keep the home tidy and clean, remove clutter, and reduce the hiding places of bed bugs, which can increase the success rate of prevention and control.

Frequent washing and drying of clothes and bedding is also an effective means of prevention and control, and sometimes mild bed bug problems can be solved by this alone. Bed bugs have poor climbing ability and prefer rough surfaces, such as fabric mattresses and sofas; so smooth mattress covers and sofa covers that are anti-bed bug and mite are also a means of prevention and control - although it will sacrifice some human comfort.

Professional pest control companies generally use methods such as thorough inspection and spraying, fumigation, discarding severely infested furniture and debris, and setting traps to monitor bed bugs. Using a combination of prevention methods, multiple return visits and monitoring are the key to successful bed bug control. The control team that comes to spray some pesticides and leaves often only treats the symptoms and not the root cause.

It is difficult to completely eliminate bed bugs with insecticide spray alone丨freeimages

If you open an e-commerce platform, you can also search for a large number of household insecticides, traps and even ultrasonic insect killers that claim to be able to prevent and control bed bugs. Most of these are not very reliable . Some may kill a small number of bed bugs, but if you want to eradicate bed bugs, you still have to rely on professional comprehensive prevention and cleaning.

The global rise of the bed bug family is ongoing, nothing new, and we are already in the midst of it. The bad news is that they are really hard to deal with, but the good news is that bed bugs do not transmit serious diseases like mosquitoes, ticks, or triatomine bugs, and can be prevented and eradicated with the right methods.

This ill-fated relationship that started in the cave will surely continue, and we will find better ways to deal with it through continuous research and practice; no matter when, knowledge is power.

References

[1] Wang, Changlu, and Xiujun Wen. "Bed bug infestations and control practices in China: Implications for fighting the global bed bug resurgence." Insects 2.2 (2011): 83-95.

[2] Wang, Lei, Xuquan Cai, and Yijuan Xu. "Status of urban bed bug infestations in Southern China: an analysis of pest control service records in Shenzhen in 2012 and Dongguan in 2013." Journal of medical entomology 52.1 (2015): 76-80.

Author: Chongye

Edit: July

Image source: British Pest Control Association, Flickr

Some pictures are from the Internet