When talking about annoying pests, the bedbug tops the list, and they have been around for centuries. The worst thing about these pests is that the moment they get in, it becomes a tug of war getting rid of them if you are not proactive or seek the immediate help of professionals.
However, where do bedbugs come from is one of the most frequently asked questions. This article will lay bare where they come from and expose how they manage to get through into your environment.
The Emergence Of Bedbugs
For centuries, humans have been in a constant battle to get rid of bedbugs from taking over their environment. These pests, as believed, emerged from bats that were in the middle east. This contact with bedbugs was believed to result from humans sharing the same caves with bats. However, as time went on and human beings became more civilized and lived in houses, the contact they had with bats.
As a result, spreading bedbugs began to help spread bedbugs gotten from these bats when they started to move around with them as they relocated from place to place. Historically, the struggles of man and bedbugs based on documentation by the ancient Egyptians, the Romans, and Greeks have been tough. They found their ways into Europe, Africa, Asia, America, and worldwide within a short moment, except Antarctica.
DDT: An Initial Development To Stop Bedbugs
As early as 1940, researchers developed a means of getting rid of malaria, typhus, and other insect-borne diseases through the use of DDT. It served as a very effective means of getting rid of bedbugs for a long time.
However, as powerful as DDT was, it had some demerits, and one of them was that it was categorized as being a possible carcinogen, which makes the life of birds and other wildlife occupants at risk. This made the popularity of DDT begin to wane, and it was eventually banned in 1972.
Although, before its banning, it has helped in the drastic reduction of bedbugs in the US. Apart from that, it has decreased its infestations.
How Bedbugs Found Their Way Back
The story changed in the 1980s because bedbugs have started to increase globally as well as in the US, and based on expert research, the return of and infestations of bedbugs was stemmed from different factors which were
- A rise in international trips
- More people prefer buying second-hand furniture as well as vintage
- Bedbugs have developed a thorough resistance against the application of different types of pesticides
- There was a change in the control of pest applications in hotels
How Do You Get Bed Bugs
Bedbugs are experts in mobility once they can attach to the skin, animal, fur, clothes, foam, hair, and anything that can easily accommodate them. Although, bedbugs infestation is believed to be connected to a dirty environment.
However, is it not surprising to find them in clean and luxurious places? This tells you that they can attack any place once there is an avenue to spread. It is easy for them because they can hide in any secret place that can easily give them access to feast on human blood.
Places You Can Find Them
Bedbugs are not location specific as they can be found in many places such as cinemas, public/ private transit, hotels, electric sockets, office, places of worship, inside luggage, on airplanes, trains, and lots more.
The Precautions You Need
Although bedbugs are not location-specific, try to keep your environment clean. Also, check your clothes, bags, and other personal effects whenever you travel before coming back home. Not only that, you should educate your loved ones on the importance of hygiene and guarding themselves whenever they are outside their homes.
However, if you find even just one bed bug, quickly eliminate them before becoming a nuisance to your environment. You can do these by getting rid of them by yourself or calling on the services of professionals to help you.
Conclusion
Bedbugs are as old as man’s age, and their existence has been connected to the early cave dwellers with bats in the pristine period. As civilizations began to set in, men began to move from place to place, thereby carrying and spreading them along.
However, some proactive measures over the years have been put in place to make sure that the environment is safe. Although the insecticides against bedbugs are effective, it is better to always be on the lookout for any possibility of their infestation. This is because it is easier to prevent them than get rid of them.