- Bedbugs are small parasitic insects of the family Cimicidae.
- Bed bugs are hematophagous (bloodsucking) insects.
- Bed bugs were mentioned in ancient Greece as early as 400 BC.
- Female bedbugs lay one to five eggs after each blood meal.
- Bedbugs can survive over six months between blood meals if a host is not available.
- A number of health effects may occur due to bedbugs including skin rashes, psychological effects and allergic symptoms.
- Generally, bedbugs are nocturnal, feeding when their host is asleep but will adjust their feeding habits to match the sleeping habits of the host.
- Bed bugs have been known by a variety of names including wall louse, mahogany flat, crimson rambler, heavy dragoon, chinche, and redcoat.
- It takes a bedbug about five to ten minutes to finish a blood meal. The bites are painless, so the host is unaware they are being bitten.
- DNA from human blood meals from bed bugs can be recovered for up to 90 days, which may allow bed bugs to be used for forensic purposes for identifying who the bed bugs have been feeding on.
- The current wave of bedbug infestations across the United States has spawned an industry for bedbug prevention, eradication and the reporting of infestations.
- Bedbug detection dogs are trained to pinpoint infestations, with an accuracy of 97.5 percent, and often in minutes where a pest control practitioner might need an hour.
- In the United States, about 100 dogs are used to find bed bugs as of mid-2009.
Facts about Bedbugs
