The Ancient Origins of Bedbugs: From Dinosaurs to Modern Humans
Until relatively recently, it was believed that batbugs were the progenitor of the bed bug species that feed on contemporary humans. Scientists thought that because humans and bats lived in close quarters in caves, some batbugs adapted to having humans as their hosts and evolved alongside us for thousands of years.
Recent studies have proven that the bedbugs we know today evolved 115 million years ago. That’s 50 million years before the extinction of dinosaurs! Scientists still aren’t sure who the bedbug’s first unlucky host was, but we now know that the ancestors of present-day bedbugs were “source generalists”, meaning that they weren’t too picky about whose blood they were sucking. Their only qualification was that the host species had to have a “home” that they could hide in and feed on their host while they slept. Animals that come home to sleep, such as bats, birds, den-dwelling animals, and humans were on the menu. Though they lived at the same time as dinosaurs, it is unlikely that bedbugs feasted on dinosaur blood due to their tough exterior and nesting habits that weren’t conducive to bedbug infestation.
It is hypothesized that as bedbug populations began to feed on different hosts, they slowly began to diverge into distinct species. Over the course of millions of years, bedbugs began to evolve to adapt to their specific hosts, and the bedbugs that we know (and definitely do not love) came into our lives. From this point forward, humans have been determined to rid themselves of this obnoxious pest.
Early Bedbug Battles in Ancient Greece and Egypt
Bedbugs have been a problem in human households for a long time. The first records we have of bedbugs in human residences were discovered in an archaeological excavation of a 3,500 year old Egyptian village, where fossilized specimens of a species of bedbug were discovered.
Greek Author Aristophanes provides the first recorded mention/complaint of bedbugs in a comedy he wrote in 423BCE, in which a character sits on an infested couch and cries “What cruel fate. What a torture the bugs will this day put me to”, a relatable sentiment for anyone who has ever experienced bedbug infestation!
Methods for controlling bedbugs occurred as early as, when Greek philosophers such as Democritus suggested hanging the feet of a hare or stag at the foot of the bed to lure bedbugs away. These methods, as you may imagine, did little to relieve the ancient Greeks of their bedbug woes.
Bedbug Control Innovations in the 1600s-1800s: Tiffin & Son and Early Strategies
Tiffin & Son, Bug Destroyers To Her Majesty, are credited as being the first bedbug control company. Their goal: to eliminate bedbugs for their wealthy clients. The sign on their door read “May the destroyers of peace be destroyed by us”, a battle cry for the war against bedbugs. The company began in 1690 and was ahead of its time in terms of methodology. Tiffin understood the importance of a proactive approach, and performed yearly inspections of the home, citing that bedbugs can be reintroduced by servants entering the home. Tiffin noted that the longer an infestation went untreated, the more likely it was to spread to other parts of the home and other units.
Tiffin stressed the importance of proper pesticide application, noting that “secret bug poisons ain’t worth much, for all depends upon the application of them.”, a sentiment still echoed in contemporary Integrated Pest Management (IPM) today.
By this time, Europeans had also made the connection between travel and used furniture as common ways in which bedbugs spread. In his 1730 Treatise on Bed Bugs John Southall recommends inspecting any furniture brought into the home for evidence of bedbugs.
Travelers knew that staying at an inn would result in bedbug bites, if not an infestation upon reaching their final destination, and they took drastic measures to obtain relief from being bitten. Some would even travel with a small pig, that they would place in their bed before they went to sleep, hoping that the bugs would have had their fill of pig blood and leave the traveler to sleep undisturbed.
John Southall’s Treatise on Bed Bugs also recommended that bed designs be simpler and easier to take apart so that any potential bedbug harborage could be more easily treated. English surgeon Samuel Sharp noted that Italian hospitals had simple metal frames that were easy to take apart and tested it in his own hospital. This dramatically reduced bedbug issues and was widely adopted by the 1800’s.
Households had their own methods of controlling bedbugs. Wicker traps were in common use. They were placed behind the headboard and tempted bedbugs with what seemed to be a perfect hiding place. Each morning, the trap would be emptied into boiling water, killing adult bedbugs and nymphs. Cheap cotton bedding was also adopted by those who wanted to control bedbug populations. Unlike other fibers, cotton was able to be boiled, which kills bedbugs and their eggs.
Anticimex’s Beginnings: Battling Bedbugs in Early 1900s Sweden
Did you know that our parent company, Anticimex, is one of the first companies in the world to target bedbugs for extermination? In the 1930’s, nearly half of the household in Sweden were infested with bedbugs. Anticimex , literally translating to “anti-bedbugs” was born from a legal requirement for Swedish landlords to have their apartments inspected and certified as bedbug-free before being rented to a new tenant.
Anticimex’s highly successful bedbug control method, coupled with a “no-bedbug guarantee”, helped them become the trusted global pest control company that it is today.
The Rise and Fall of Bedbugs in the 20th Century: DDT, Resistance, and Resurgence
Bedbugs were considered common before World War II and the emergence of dichloro-diphenyl trichloroethane (DDT). The advent of DDT nearly wiped-out bedbugs entirely. It was fast-acting, inexpensive, and initially very good at targeting bedbugs due to its residual effect. Only a single treatment was needed for an infestation to be wiped out and because of the long-lasting DDT residue, any bugs that were reintroduced would die shortly after.
Another unlikely hero in the battle against bedbugs was the vacuum cleaner. Vacuum cleaners became popular and common household items in the period after World War II. Frequent vacuuming helped curb potential infestations and keep populations to a minimum. Over the next 40 years, bedbugs disappeared from working and middle-class American life and from “developed” countries… or so we thought.
DDT was banned in 1972. The same residual effect that made it so effective against bedbugs made it ecologically devastating and hazardous to human health. The EPA reports that DDT is “very persistent in the environment” and can build up in the fatty tissues of non-target animals such as fish and wildlife, almost driving bald eagles to extinction.
During the time before the ban, small pockets of bedbugs still existed, and had developed an immunity to DDT. Studies that had been published that suggested this was happening, but they were largely ignored.
Air travel becoming less expensive and more ubiquitous allowed bedbugs, including pesticide-resistant bugs, to spread quickly across the country and the world.
By the late 1990’s, bedbugs began to make a comeback, but no research related to this resurgence was published until 2006. Today, pesticide resistance makes bedbug control a difficult endeavor. Contemporary bedbug control requires multiple treatments and an ever-changing repertoire of materials to ensure to most effective service.
Modern Bedbug Control: Anticimex’s Solutions Today
We here at Modern Pest leverage the century-long experience of our parent company, Anticimex, in pioneering bedbug control to provide effective solutions for your home. Our Bedbug Control service is designed to eliminate bedbugs in the safest and most effective way possible. Modern also offers Commercial Bedbug Management for schools, hotels, and any other business prone to bedbug issues. Call Modern at 800-323-7378 today for more information.
What to expect from a Modern Pest bed bug service:
- Inspection: Our pest professionals will conduct a meticulous inspection to gauge the extent of the infestation.
- Treatment Plan: A customized treatment plan is devised, combining methods like heat treatment and targeted material application.
- Follow-up: Modern Pest schedules follow-up visits to confirm the complete eradication of the infestation and offer guidance on preventive measures.