Bed bugs, insects that feed on blood, are back. Their numbers have been rising since the mid-1990s, after they were thought to have disappeared with the widespread use of DDT (a toxic insecticide).
They feed hungrily in the early morning, about an hour before sunrise. They pierce the skin with two hollow tubes: through one they inject substances that stop blood clotting and numb the pain, and through the other they suck blood while you sleep. After about five minutes the bug goes back to its hiding place in the seams and folds of the bed, sofa or bedding, waiting for the next night.
You don't feel the bite for minutes or even hours. Then it itches badly and can stay visible for up to nine days as a red swelling or a flat bruise. The numbing substance can cause a severe skin allergy, and in rare cases nausea and illness. But in about 50% of cases bites leave no mark at all, which makes the problem hard to spot. The only good news is that bed bugs are not known to spread disease.
This is said to be the biggest outbreak since the Second World War, with bed bugs spreading in hotels, hospitals, student housing and homeless shelters. Many older, stronger pesticides are no longer allowed in the US, which makes it harder to find ways to control these nasty creatures.
The US Environmental Protection Agency held a meeting of 300 participants in a bed-bug-free hotel. Many difficulties came up: there are few suitable insecticides, they can't reach every crack where the bugs hide, and bed bugs can't be killed with bait.
Pesticide restrictions in the US are not the only cause. Other countries still use these insecticides, which has produced bugs resistant to chemicals, and with the growth of international travel these bugs have reached America.
To tackle the problem, Congressman G. K. Butterfield proposed a law to fund public housing authorities to fight the pests, called the "Don't Let the Bed Bugs Bite Act".
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