Intro to Bed Bugs

Intro to Bed Bugs

Intro to Bed Bugs

Bed bug info 101...sound like your back in college taking a prerequisite course right? Well today's lesson will be a quick overview of the bed bug and why it is sweeping the globe and infesting hotels, homes, apartments & even retailers.This little bug (and they are little, but more on that later) is travelling around the world at unprecedented speeds.In recent months they have shown up at some of the world top hotels. Well known retailers have had a real problem with these guys. They have been seen at NikeTown, Abercrombie & Fitch & Victoria's Secret in New York. Even Google had an occurrence in their New York headquarters according to one employee's tweet (which was later removed).For ease of writing they shall be referred to in this article as BBs. So what's the "skinny" on these little guys? Let's go through it step by step.OriginsIt is commonly believed that the little mischief makers we're discussing today started out in caves. Some say near the Mediterranean Sea. In these caves, bats also lived and became the food source for these bugs. The BBs would feed on the bats while they were sleeping. Since BBs like to stay within 10-15 ft of their host this makes sense.Moving On UpHuman beings also began to inhabit these caves as well. The BBs began feeding on them as they slept. Most likely they began living in the bedding and clothing of the people living in the caves and when it came time to move on the BBs simply hitched a ride with them and went on to their new home.Not much has changed today in the way that BBs travel around the world...they're hitchhikers. I guess a better term would be "stowaways" since hitchhikers at least ask for a ride.A Day In The Life Of A Bed BugNow let's talk about the BBs life cycle. It begins with an egg. Then a Nymph (or an immature BB) hatches out. The first thing the nymph goes about doing is obtaining a blood meal from the nearest host. Hopefully it's not you!Next the nymph will molt, or in other words it shed its exoskeleton so it can grow. The next thing it does is...yes, look for its next blood meal. It will do this a total of 5 times before reaching maturity and will continue to search for blood meals until it dies.Estimates of the lifespan of BBs are anywhere from 10 months to a bit over a year.The BB in Modern LiteratureBBs have been referred to in journals of sailors and ships logs since the 17th century. Many passengers were forbidden to bring their bedding aboard ships for fear of spreading bed bugs. Accounts from early colonist in America also exist.The Native Americans were also aware of them and had their own ways of dealing with them.How They Travel TodayNot much has changed. They still like to stay within 10-15ft of their host. Here's an example of how a bed bug travels.Let's say someone with a BB infestation pulls out their suitcase from under the bed and packs their bag for a business trip. Undoubtedly a few uninvited guests will come along.This person arrives at their destination and checks in to their hotel. They walk into the room, toss the bag on the bed and go out for a bite to eat.A few BBs crawl out of the bag either now or at night. When the next person to stay in the room tosses their bag on the bed or puts it on the floor near the bed they pick up some stowaways and take them home with them.They get home, unpack and store their bag under the bed or in the closet and the cycle continues.ConclusionBed bugs have been with us a long time and will continue to be with us for a while yet. Understanding how they travel is the first step to avoiding them and keeping your home safe from these "stowaways"

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