Bed Bugs & Society – part 1 of 3

[EDITOR’S NOTE: Our December issue has a special section devoted to bed bugs. Drs. Timothy Gibb, Ameya Gondhalekar and Tyler Gibb were kind enough to make a special contribution to our blog as a tie-in with that issue. Below find part one of their three part post titled ‘Bed Bugs & Society.’ PMP would like thank the authors for their expert analysis.]

The question: “Will bed bugs hurt me?” has been asked by countless people throughout the country in recent times. Surprisingly, the answer may depend upon whether you are rich or poor.

Sound preposterous? We know that bed bugs bite the rich just as they do the poor. They do not discriminate among races, religions or political affiliations — and yet, surveys across socio-economic lines clearly show that bed bugs are more common in lower-income residences and in larger cities. The fact is that bed bugs have become an established urban pest, and a disproportionately common pest of the poor.

And unfortunately, this may have always been the case. During his extensive global travels, Ulysses Aldrovandi (1522-1605), an Italian aristocrat, physician, academic and naturalist, observed that bed bugs were less common in homes of the rich because the rich had the resources necessary to keep them out. He said, “They infest both the chambers of the rich and the poor, but are more troublesome to the poor… for they do not breed in beds of which the linen and straw is frequently changed, as in the houses of the rich” (Aldrovandi, 1602).

It seems not much has changed over the centuries. Bed bugs are still most common in the houses of the poor mainly because the poor lack the means to properly eradicate them.

Within a single decade beginning at the turn of the 20th century, bed bugs returned from near eradication to become the most serious household insect pest in the country — surpassing ants, termites and even cockroaches. Today, nearly every city or town has reported incidences of bed bugs in hotels, family residences, churches, nursing homes, schools, hospitals, and even libraries. Social media is replete with stories, articles and dialogs about the cause and control of this insidious pest.

In response, university researchers have tested for effective pesticides, demonstrated proven control techniques, and recommended devices and monitoring tools. But these products and techniques are only effective if they are correctly implemented, and they can only be implemented if they can be afforded.

As in the time of Aldrovandi, techniques used by pest management professionals (PMPs) may rid bed bugs from the homes of the rich. Unfortunately, those who can ill afford such expensive management remain infested, leading to ever-more entrenched infestations in the chambers of the poor. This has resulted in major frustrations, greater spread of bed bugs and even an increase in potential harm because the poor have nowhere else to turn except to the wild claims and unproven control recommendations bantered about on social media or from their equally frustrated friends, family and neighbors.

As PMPs, of course, we want to be the first line of defense — not the desperate last resort after do-it-yourself solutions fail. But the reality is, professional pest control is a business, and the costs and labor involved with proper treatment of bed bugs are expensive.

[EDITOR’S NOTE: Check back on Friday for part 2, which includes information about the ‘legal side’ of bed bugs.]