"Good night, sleep tight, don't let the Bed Bugs bite!"

We recognize the opening lines to this popular, if somewhat creepy, nursery rhyme. While you may get a good night's sleep, the statistics for avoiding Bed Bug bites are not, unfortunately, in your favor. With the incidence of infestations growing exponentially over the last two decades, Bed Bugs are overwhelmingly found in private residences, including apartments, condominiums, and single-family homes. They have moved the party uptown and are now found on buses, planes and at the movies.

Bed Bug History

Cimicidae, the oldest known ancestor of the modern Bed Bug, appeared 115 million years ago. Thirty million years later, bats appeared on the scene, quickly becoming the favorite nosh of these pre-historic blood-sucking insects. When early humans began living in caves, they found themselves sharing quarters with various species of bats and, of course, the Bed Bugs that plagued them. The descendants of Cimicidae quickly found that cavemen were much easier to reach and more plentiful a source for their grisly gastronomical preferences, and the eternal coexistence between humans and Bed Bugs was firmly established. The earliest archaeological evidence of that coexistence has been found near ancient Cairo, dating back as far as 1352 B.C. just before the rule of King Tut. A thousand years later, Bed Bugs still infested the region, as evidenced by papyrus scrolls from the 3rd century B.C., describing spells to ward them off. 

From the Middle East and North Africa, Bed Bugs followed the trade routes through Europe and Asia, hitching rides across the Mediterranean Sea on Bronze Age merchant ships. Ravaging England by 1583, they were dubbed "bugs," the earliest use of the word, originating from the Welsh word for bogey, goblin, or ghost. Then, of course, came the great European exodus to the New World and, from wagon trains to railways, they throughout the continent, eventually even adding themselves to the Native American lexicon. The Hopi phrase, referring to someone who is falling asleep, pesets' olmaqnuma, literally translates to Hunting Bed Bugs. 

The reign of the Bed Bug seemed to have been conquered by the 1950s, following the wide-spread use of the German invention DDT, as well as the proliferation of modern vacuum cleaners and washing machines. Rates of infestation plummeted across the globe. Unfortunately, DDT tended to prove as dangerous to humans as it was to the blood-sucking pests it targeted. Still, for forty years, Bed Bugs seemed to have become a pestilence of the past. Or so we thought. Bed Bug populations and infestations began to see a resurgence starting in the late 1990s, as increased international travel, adaptation to pest control products, and a general lack of public awareness encouraged massive regrowth. 

Bed Bug Facts

• 90% of common Bed Bugs now have a mutation that makes them resistant to the insecticides, known as pyrethroids, making infestations hard to treat.

• According to 76 percent of pest-control respondents, Bed Bugs are the most challenging pest to treat. 

• The Bed Bug's saliva contains anesthetic substances, which numb the bite and reduces coagulation of the blood flow at the bitten place. 

• Because it may take two to three days before apparent symptoms of Bed Bug bites appear (if they do at all), homeowners are often unaware of a problem until a full-blown infestation has established itself.

Dealing With Bed Bugs

Many home and business owners aren't aware that they have a Bed Bug issue until these prolific pests become an entrenched and rapidly growing colony. Knowing where to look and what to look for, is critical, as is having the knowledge and resources to eradicate them. Hiring the experienced team at Stratex Pest Control is the key to locating the source of your Bed Bug infestation, and then maximizing the impact of extermination.

Just because they've been around for a hundred million years, that's no reason to have Bed Bugs in your home for one more day.