WVXU: There's more than one type of bedbug

WVXU's Cincinnati Edition spoke to a University of Cincinnati biologist about a new tropical species of bedbug that is showing up in the United States.

Bedbugs are tiny blood-feeding insects found around the world.

“Bedbugs probably started as a bat or sparrow bug living in caves. And they made the jump to humans. They've probably been with humans since we were living in caves,” UC College of Arts and Sciences Professor Joshua Benoit told host Lucy May.

Benoit said pest control was able to suppress bedbugs for more than a generation after World War II, but they started to make a resurgence across the country in the 1990s, most likely because of pesticide resistance.

Show guest Rick Cooper, a research associate for Rutgers University, said many bedbug populations also shrank during the COVID-19 pandemic when people stopped traveling as much.

But Benoit said they are showing up in more homes in cities across the United States. And some states, including Florida and Hawaii, have reported seeing a nonnative species of bedbug from the tropics.

This bedbug is similar to the common species, Benoit said.

“They're a little more heat-tolerant and tolerant of higher humidities,” Benoit said.  “But they're not as good at tolerating the dry conditions we have in the Northeast.”

Benoit said he recommends a multi-pronged approach to get rid of bedbugs, including pesticides, dessicants such as diatomaceous earth, high heat to dry clothes and linens and lots of cleaning and vacuuming. He recommends hiring pest-control experts.

“It's really hard to get rid of them,” he said. “For control, you dont want to use a single bullet.”

Listen to the Cincinnati Edition interview.

Featured image at top: Bedbugs are making a resurgence in many U.S. cities. Photo/smuay/Unsplash