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Bed bugs occur around the world.[1] Rates of infestations in developed countries while decreasing from the 1930s to the 1980s have increased dramatically since the 1980s.[1][2][3] Previous to this they were common in the developing world but rare in the developed world.[3] The increase in the developed world may have been caused by increased international travel, resistance to insecticides, and the use of new pest-control methods that do not affect bed bugs.[4][5]

The fall in bed bug populations after the 1930s in the developed world is believed to be partly due to the usage of DDT to kill cockroaches.[6] The invention of the vacuum cleaner and simplification of furniture design may have also played a role.[6] Others believe it might simply be the cyclical nature of the organism.[7]

Bed bugs are increasing in Europe, USA, Canada and Australia. The infestations have been occurring in a wide range of facilities in the developed world in recent years including: hotels (from backpacker to five star), overnight trains, private homes, cruise ships, schools, hospitals and homeless shelters.[1][6] These infestations are occasionally of both types of bed bugs (common and tropical).[1] The increased rates of infestations have been matched by increased media coverage.[8] Pest management companies have also seen a many fold increase in calls regarding bed bugs during the 2000s.[9]

Figures from one London borough show reported bed bug infestations doubling each year from 1995 to 2001. There is also evidence of a previous cycle of bed bug infestations in the U.K. in the mid-1980s.[10] In 2010 alone the increase of infestation in UK was estimated to be around 24%.[11][12]

Bed bugs have been reported in all 50 states.[1] The U.S. National Pest Management Association reported a 71% increase in bed bug calls between 2000 and 2005.[13] 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 bed bug treatment. The resurgence led the United States Environmental Protection Agency to hold a National Bed Bug Summit in 2009.[14]

Numbers of reported incidents in New York City rose from 500 in 2004 to 10,000 in 2009 mostly in Brooklyn area.[15][16] In August, 2010, bed bugs were found in the Elle Fashion Hachette building in New York City. After suspected infestation, a beagle trained in sniffing bed bugs was used to confirm their presence. Office workers were told to work from home while the building was being treated. Although largely thought to only cause problems in less maintained and dirty environments, there is an increasing popularity of bed bugs for infesting indoor environments of high maintenance standards.[17][18]

One recent theory about bed bug reappearance is that they never truly disappeared from the United States, but may have been forced to alternative hosts. Consistent with this is the finding the bed bug DNA shows no evidence of an evolutionary bottleneck. Furthermore, investigators have found high populations of bed bugs at poultry facilities in Arkansas. Poultry workers at these facilities may be spreading bed bugs, unknowingly carrying them to their places of residence and elsewhere after leaving work.[19][20]

Bed bug infestations have been becoming an increasing issue in urban environments. In a Toronto, Canada study, the mean number of treatments required per affected location was highest at dormitories, hotels, homeless shelters, and rooming houses. Suspected reasons for this increase include increasing world travel, high exchange rates of residents, reluctance to use insecticides because of concerns regarding toxicity, and insecticide resistance. 65 Toronto homeless shelters were surveyed and 31% reported past or present bed bug infestations.[21]

Bed bugs have historically been only a particular problem in developed countries in which they occur both in rural settings and urban setting associated with overcrowding.[1]

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Epidemiology of bed bugs - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Reading, PA (PRWEB) April 25, 2014

The Rentokil family of pest control companies, (Ehrlich Pest Control, Western Exterminator, and Presto-X Pest Control), want to help educate the public about bed bugs and are expanding their education efforts by sharing a recent Harris Poll on how Americans are taking action to prevent a bed bug infestation. Based on the results of the survey, 59% of U.S. adults are taking some kind of precaution against bed bug infestations including:

As the warmer weather leads into travel season, anyone who travels will want to be extra vigilant when it comes to picking up bed bugs. The checklist for travelers may include sunscreen, but bringing home bed bugs will be a more long-term inconvenience than dealing with sunburn, said Nancy Troyano, PhD, BCE, training manager/entomologist for Rentokil-North America. The good news is the survey confirms that bed bug education is working. Education is the first step in alleviating the problem and this infographic supports the education process. You may access the bed bug infographic from Harris Poll and the National Pest Management Association here.

About Rentokil - North America Rentokil - North America is part of Rentokil Initial plc, one of the worlds largest and most diverse business service companies, operating in 69 countries worldwide. J.C. Ehrlich Pest Control (http://www.jcehrlich.com), Western Exterminator (http://www.westernexterminator.com), and Presto-X Pest Control (http://www.prestox.com) are all part of the Rentokil family of pest control companies in North America. They provide commercial and residential pest control, bioremediation, bird control, vegetation management, deer repellent services, wild-animal trapping and termite control from more than 200 local offices in the U.S., Canada and Mexico.

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59% of Americans are Taking Action to Prevent Bed Bug Infestations

Bedbug Feeding

WHY ARE THEY NOW A PROBLEM ? Bedbugs have been around as long as mankind probably longer. They have only recently become a problem again due to increased travel and resistances to pesticides. Previously, bedbugs were a problem during World War II as soldiers traveled worldwide and slept in conditions encouraging the growth of bedbugs. As they moved around the problem spread. The development of DDT a long lasting and low human toxicity pesticide greatly reduced the problem. As bedbugs had long term exposure to DDT, they eventually developed resistance to it. Eventually, DDT bird wildlife concerns expressed in Rachael Carlsons book Silent Spring caused the banning of DDT in most advanced economies. DDT continued to be used in third world countries as is was the only cheap alternative. As a result, endemic local populations developed resistance to DDT and whatever other pesticides were available to them. Until worldwide travel became common resistant populations of bedbugs were not a problem. Now with third world travel becoming common, travelers are bring resistant bedbugs home in their luggage. Current licensed pesticides have short toxicity periods and are best used as a contact killer. Bedbugs are becoming resistant to these as well. Few new pesticides for domestic use have been developed.

If you think you may have bedbugs, act fact as the problem can get very expensive.

Physical control methods are the new alternative. No chemicals no resistance.

Several Bedbugs

Not dealing with bedbugs as soon as they are found can be expensive.

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What do bedbugs look like? | Canada Bedbugs

This photo from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows a common bedbug. York officials said there is a worsening problem with the parasites in the city. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

B.J. Riley, an exterminator, has watched women break down and cry when he tells them what needs to be done to get rid of bedbugs.

All clothing must be removed from the house. Picture frames need to be taken down from the walls and bagged. Treatments will be spread over 30 days, and the costs could range from $1,000 to $2,500 with no guarantee that the problem will be resolved.

"It's so emotionally overwhelming," Riley, president of B.J. Riley Pest Control, said.

York, like many urban areas, is facing a bedbug problem, Steven Buffington, deputy director of Permits, Planning and Zoning, said in an email.

And it's getting worse. How much worse is hard to tell because an "unwarranted stigma" is causing many cases to go unreported, and therefore, untreated, he said.

But despite the perception that bedbugs are caused by filth, the reality is that anyone is susceptible to them.

The parasites have been found at five-star resorts and bed-and-breakfasts, and although they were once associated with developing countries, they're now rapidly spreading through the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Europe, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"They're not associated with uncleanliness, per se. If you travel and stay in motels or hotels you can get them. If you buy untreated used furniture you can get them," Buffington said.

While York officials are taking additional steps, such as providing special training for property maintenance inspectors, to handle the problem, the issue runs beyond city lines. Riley has handled infestations in single-family homes, apartment buildings and duplexes across the county.

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Bedbug problem expected to stick around in York County