Scientists have discovered a surprising connection between the rise in civilizations and a subsequent increase in bedbug populations. Though they’re not known to transmit diseases, the pests can contribute to sleep and mental health issues.
What’s happening?
As the Guardian reported, a new study by an international team of researchers found that bedbugs could likely be “the first urban pest insect,” as their numbers exploded when humans began expanding across the globe and building cities.
Dr. Warren Booth, an urban entomologist at Virginia Tech and a co-author of the research, said that when human settlements first emerged around 10,000 years ago, it created the ideal conditions for the blood-sucking parasites to thrive.
“When we started to live in cities, we brought all these people together, and they all had their own bedbugs with them,” Booth said. “And then, as civilisation spread across the world, the bugs spread with them to the point where they’re now ubiquitous in human society.”
For the study, which was published in Biology Letters, the team compared the genetic material of 19 bedbugs from the Czech Republic and discovered that populations associated with both bats and humans — two common hosts for bedbugs — started declining in the midst of the last ice age, about 45,000 years ago. However, their populations experienced a “dramatic” rise around 8,000 years ago, shortly after humans migrated into big cities.
Why is the rise in bedbugs concerning?
While bedbugs are not generally considered to be harmful, they can cause discomfort and annoyance, especially if you’re dealing with an infestation. Plus, some people experience minor symptoms, including itching and irritation, red, swollen bumps, and even allergic reactions that require treatment.
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Not to mention, knowing you have bedbugs crawling around your sheets can lead to insomnia and poor well-being. Having to replace bedding and potentially seek professional help to eradicate them is also a major hassle.
However, the elephant in the room is that soaring bedbug numbers and the shifting climate have more to do with each other than you’d think. Warmer temperatures and higher humidity levels can accelerate bedbug life cycles and lead to more frequent reproduction. Additionally, a hotter climate provides the ideal conditions for pests to expand their ranges and colonize areas they previously could not survive in.
Changes in the climate can also disrupt natural predators or competitors of bedbugs, further contributing to their successful reproduction. While bedbugs don’t directly harm the planet, the need to control or eliminate them often involves the use of pesticides, which can damage ecosystems and hurt wildlife.
In the grand scheme of things, bedbugs may be relatively harmless compared to other pests, but bugs such as mosquitoes, ticks, and fleas are contributing to an alarming rise in vector-borne illnesses — including malaria, Lyme disease, and typhus — around the globe.
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What can be done to control bedbug numbers?
Prevention is the best cure, as they say, so regular cleaning and decluttering around your home will help keep the bedbugs at bay. If you have an infestation, make sure to thoroughly wash and dry bedding on high heat, use steam or heat treatments, or call for professional help if necessary.
Keeping your home clean with natural cleaning products such as baking soda and vinegar is also a simple, affordable solution to prevent (or at least lessen) the likelihood of attracting bedbugs.
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