Everyone knows that the bed bug epidemic is worsening with each passing year, and this epidemic is occurring all over the world. While it is true that bed bugs exist in all populated regions of the world, and bed bug infestations and sightings are, in fact, increasing in all the geographic regions where they are located, the increase in bed bug cases is far more dramatic in the United States than it is in any other country. Many Americans may not be aware of this statistical reality, but people living within other countries sure are. In fact, foreign travelers are being warned against visiting the United States due to the increased risk of encountering bed bugs in the country.
What is making the bed bug problem in the US particularly difficult to manage is the growing amount of insecticide-resistant bed bugs that many researchers are calling “super bed bugs”. Most bed bug populations can be eradicated with well known and frequently used insecticide cocktails. However, there exists certain bed bug populations that have genetically mutated to withstand the toxic compounds that are in common insecticides used to combat bed bug infestations. As time passess, more and more bed bugs will develop similar mutations in response to being exposed to existing insecticides. The fear is that all or most bed bug populations will become immune to existing insecticides in the future, making the development of new insecticides a matter of primary importance to current pest control researchers. Although most of these super bed bugs exist within the US, airports and hotels located in other countries are starting to report infestations that are difficult, or in some cases, impossible to eradicate with currently available insecticides. As you can imagine, these super bed bugs are becoming a major problem for hotels and airlines, as their customers are filing lawsuits over bed bug encounters despite previous attempts to have infestations eradicated from their properties. Due to the increased risk of encountering bed bugs in these locations, experts are stressing the importance of checking airline seats and hotel rooms for the blood-sucking insects before settling in, as vigilance is currently the most effective weapon against these super bed bugs.
Are you becoming more fearful of contracting super bed bugs from public locations?