Most of us have grown up in a country not known for bed bug infestations. The singsong poem, “Good night/Sleep tight/Don’t let the bed bugs bite” points to a time when bed bugs were so common we wished sleepers a kindness before slumber, but chanting it today seems banal. Then suddenly it seems news of bed bugs is everywhere, and shelves in hardware stores are filled with quick solutions. Why the sudden upsurge? The Des Moines bed bug control experts at Pro-Staff are ready to answer that question for you.
Where Bed Bugs Came From
The first pilgrims arrived with bedding full of bed bugs. Sailors were often plagued with bed bugs, and ships carried them from one region of the world to the next. Until recently, bed bugs were so common that a home without bed bugs was an oddity.
How We (Almost) Eliminated Bed Bugs
In 1939, the synthetic chemical dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) was created, which effectively killed bed bugs along with millions of other unwanted insects since it left a film on any surface on which it came into contact and remained active for up to a year. Unfortunately, DDT sharply reduced populations of any animals feasting on treated insects.
The use of DDT ended in 1972, and bed bugs began a major resurgence around the turn of the century. While the lack of DDT is a smoking gun, bed bugs were becoming more resilient to the pesticide before it was banned. Today’s modern variety of bed bugs is much more resistant to pesticides, and by 2009, 1 in 8 families in low-income residences reported bed bugs on the premises.
Why Bed Bugs Are Here Now
How did we jump from a few resistant bed bugs to a global bed bug problem? In a word, travel. The chemical-resistant bed bugs snuggled into soft-sided luggage and traveled across the world. Between their ability to travel unnoticed and a genetic mutation that causes insecticides to be flushed out of their bodies too quickly to kill them, they have persisted.
Creating a new chemical that affects bed bugs is not easy. Research and development is expensive, and with bed bugs cloistered in our bedrooms, the toxicity issue is quite prevalent.
Changes During the COVID-19 Pandemic
For the first year or so of the COVID-19 pandemic, travel came to a halt, then returned slowly. During this time, there weren’t as many bed bugs around. Their ability to spread slowed due to the lack of people leaving their homes for other places that might have bed bug infestations. However, as people have begun to travel almost as much as they used to, these pests have had yet another resurgence.
What to Do About Bed Bugs
The best advice if you have bed bugs is to thoroughly clean all clothing and bedding under a very high washing temperature, then call Pro-Staff to treat the entire living area. The initial treatment will deal with all the areas where bed bugs are most commonly found in the home. A follow-up treatment may be necessary to catch any unhatched eggs not treated with the first extermination.
We’ll ensure your home is safe from bed bugs and all other common household pests. Call your West Des Moines bed bug control team today at 515 279-PEST (7378) and find out how your peace of mind can last throughout the new year.
