Forgotten since the 1950s, bed bugs made their comeback in France in the 1990s and are very present today. Where other insects seek out sugar and dirt, bed bugs have an entirely different purpose:to feed on our blood. However, there are many ways to exterminate them.
Bed bugs are insects of the cimicidae family, the best known species of which are Cimex lectularius and Cimex hemipterus . Having virtually disappeared from our regions after the 1950s, this invasive pest resurfaced some thirty years ago to settle permanently from the beginning of the 21st century. Its main feature? Sting and sucking – between 10 and 20 minutes – the blood of its host. On the other hand, there is no fatal damage to the health of the hosts. However, there are many inconveniences :severe itching, dermatitis, sleep disturbances, painful lesions and blisters. In addition, some people may also develop allergies
Attacks mostly happen at night . Usually measuring between 4 and 7 mm , the bed bug likes mattresses, bedding and other cupboards, but also luggage, walls or air ducts. These can also hide in other dark places such as wooden bed bases, cracks in the floor and wallpaper.
Lad migration of this insect stems from various factors. These include the increase in the number of travellers, exchanges of apartments, carpooling and the purchase of second-hand furniture. Although the bed bug is unable to jump or fly, it has no trouble moving around. Let's also mention its lifespan:between 9 and 18 months depending on its environment.
Enemy number one of hoteliers, bed bugs are affecting more and more individuals. However, you should know that today, different treatment options for bed bugs are possible :chemical, thermal with heat gun or dry steam (hot), and cryogenization (cold). By chemical treatment, we must understand the use of insecticides that must be approved by the health authorities. At the time of treatment, part of the bugs will remain hidden. However, the persistence of the product – active for more than 10 days – will kill insects as soon as they come out of hiding. However, the bed bug has developed an incredible resistance to insecticides the most common.
Thus, other solutions turn out to be as much or even more effective and make it possible to dispense with chemical products, such as heat treatments using a heat gun or a dry steam device. A word on cryonics treatment. It's about dry ice , the solid form of carbon dioxide (CO2), also known as "dry ice". This solution is one of the most ecological having demonstrated impressive results. In addition, there is a technique especially intended for laundry, namely the freezing treatment.
Preventing bed bugs is rather complicated, but certain precautions can limit the risks . It is advisable to avoid living near old buildings, owning old furniture at home and above all, sleeping on an old wooden bed base. It is also a responsibility to renew the sheets very frequently. Let's also mention the need to avoid contact with people with bed bugs.
Locating bedbugs is therefore difficult, given their ability to hide in every corner. However, this step is essential before any treatment for better efficiency. You should know that it is possible to detect bed bugs with certainty using sniffer dogs. These overtrained animals are known for their work in airports, as part of the fight against drugs. They have also recently proven themselves in the detection of cancers and the current coronavirus SARS-CoV-2.
This is not a scoop, the dog's sense of smell is much more powerful than that of humans, namely between 10,000 and 100,000 times more precise. This is an exceptional asset, allowing the animal to track down the slightest odorous molecule anywhere. Its ability to store odors in its nose gives it the ability to find the source, even when it comes to very small quantities. Thus, the dog can trace the presence of bedbugs, even several hours after their passage.
Today, Science seems to have covered what you need to know about bed bugs. In 2016, the American Museum of Natural History (USA) collaborated with the Weill Cornell School of Medicine in a large study involving around 100 researchers. This work has made it possible to constitute an important genetic base in order to explore the basic biology of the bed bug in the future. One of the objectives is to explore its ability to adapt to insecticides, responsible for an upsurge in its population in recent years. One of the avenues under study concerns the bacteria colonizing bedbugs, representing an important factor in the growth and reproduction of this insect. The idea is to combine antibiotics with future insecticides.
In 2019, researchers from the University of Sheffield (UK) claimed that bed bugs have been present on Earth for at least 100 million years. So these have rubbed shoulders with the dinosaurs! In order to reach this conclusion, the scientists compared the DNA of 34 species of bed bugs collected over fifteen years around the world.
