Bedbugs News and Research

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Bedbugs are small insects without wings. They are a type of nocturnal parasites, as they rest during the day and feast at night, although they may also bite during the day occasionally. Bed bugs usually live in bedding or mattresses and feed on the blood of humans. Their mouth has evolved in such a way that allows bed bugs to easily pierce skin without causing pain to humans.

‘I’m so burned out’: Fighting to see a specialist amplified pain for Riverside County woman

Teresa Johnson can't escape the pain. It's as if she's getting pierced by needles all over her body, all at once. At night, she sometimes jolts out of sleep thinking bedbugs are attacking her. But it's just the unfailing pain — day in and day out.

12 Oct 2023

A nearly century-old maternity home for teens in the South makes plans for expansion

An old, brick house in Charleston's Wagener Terrace district stands out from its gentrified neighbors in several ways: It's 14,000 square feet, built to accommodate around 30 people, and was constructed 90 years ago to provide shelter for pregnant girls.

22 Jul 2022

Black and Hispanic Americans suffer most in biggest US decline in life expectancy since WWII

Although James Toussaint has never had covid, the pandemic is taking a profound toll on his health.

24 Jun 2021

Homeless shelters grapple with COVID safety as cold creeps in

Ben Barnes has slept in abandoned buildings, hallways and alleys. For the past year or so, he's been staying at the city's largest homeless shelter, Pacific Garden Mission, in the shadows of the famous skyline.

16 Nov 2020

Microbiomes may have considerable impact on animal fertility and reproduction

It is an awkward idea, but a couple's ability to have kids may partly depend on who else is present. The reproductive tracts of males and females contain whole communities of micro-organisms.

17 Jan 2020

Landlord disclosure of bedbugs could be effective way to reduce infestations and lower costs

Policies requiring landlords to disclose a rental unit's history with bedbugs may raise costs to landlords over the short-term, but over the long-term they are an effective way to reduce infestations and lower costs, according to a just-published study.

5 Mar 2019

New findings challenge existing strategies for fighting infectious diseases and germs

Do the same laws of biodiversity which apply in nature also apply to our own bodies and homes? If so, current hygiene measures to combat aggressive germs could be, to some extent, counterproductive.

22 Jan 2019

History of sleep: what was normal?

We used to sleep in two phases, with a first sleep and then a second sleep. Arguably from time immemorial to the nineteenth century, the dominant pattern of sleep in Western societies was biphasic, whereby most preindustrial households retired between 9 and 10pm, slept for 3 to 3 ½ hours during their “first sleep,”

17 May 2017

New multicomponent reactions to develop active compounds against sleeping sickness

Multicomponent reactions are protocols that ease the chemical synthesis of new compounds, and are particularly important to gain molecules with biological activity as therapeutic agents against several pathogens.

13 Jul 2016

Researchers describe how bed bugs break down insecticides

There are many reasons why bed bugs have made a comeback in recent decades, and their resistance to commonly used insecticides is one of the most widely accepted explanations.

22 Apr 2016

Newly developed app could help combat food poisoning

It's happened to many of us. We eat at a restaurant with less than ideal hygiene and come down with a nasty case of food poisoning.

8 Mar 2016

Bedbugs develop resistance to neonicotinoids

One of the most of the most widely used commercial chemicals to kill bedbugs are not effective because the pesky insects have built up a tolerance to them, according to a team of researchers from Virginia Tech and New Mexico State University.

29 Jan 2016

Building Health Check launches IAQ Screening Kit for E. coli bacteria

Following a number of recent outbreaks of E. coli, or Escherichia coli, bacteria at grocers and restaurants across the country, Building Health Check, LLC, has released an Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) Screening Kit for the E. coli bacteria.

26 Jan 2016

New device may help collect bed bugs safely and effectively

In recent years, bed bugs (Cimex lectularius) have been appearing more and more often in beds around the world, and entomologists need specimens for research purposes.

14 May 2015

Innovative program benefits incapacitated patients with no family or friends

A Regenstrief Institute and Eskenazi Health study reports on an innovative program that trains and supervises volunteers who act as advocates for adults and seniors who are unable to make their own decisions due to conditions like Alzheimer's disease or coma, but have no family or friends to help them.

11 Nov 2014

Scientists evaluate efficacy of non-synthetic bed bug pesticides

Concerns over human-insecticide exposure has stimulated the development of alternative bed bug control materials, and many essential oil-based pesticides and detergent insecticides have been developed in recent years.

13 Oct 2014

Study finds bed bugs may be less susceptible to freezing temperatures

Exposing bed bug-infested clothing or other small items to freezing temperatures may be a viable control option for people at risk of bed bug infestations. However, a new study has found that bed bugs may be less susceptible to freezing temperatures than previously reported.

9 Dec 2013

Discovery of new receptor could turn the tide against mosquitoes' growing advantage

In the global war against disease-carrying mosquitoes, scientists have long believed that a single molecular door was the key target for insecticide. This door, however, is closing, giving mosquitoes the upper hand.

9 Jul 2013

Viewpoints: 'Good news' on Calif. insurance rates; Battle against dementia needs stronger efforts; Dental care for the disabled

The Affordable Care Act, a k a Obamacare, goes fully into effect at the beginning of next year, and predictions of disaster are being heard far and wide. ... No doubt there will be problems, as there are with any large new government initiative, and in this case, we have the added complication that many Republican governors and legislators are doing all they can to sabotage reform. Yet important new evidence -; especially from California, the law's most important test case -; suggests that the real Obamacare shock will be one of unexpected success (Paul Krugman, 5/26).

29 May 2013

Top ten tips for keeping bed bugs at bay

Bed bugs are on the rise and $1,000 per day ordinances are being suggested in cities like Chicago to enforce combat of the pests. "Know thy enemy," says Jorge Parada, MD, medical director, infection control, Loyola University Health System. "There are lots of myths out there about bed bugs and people may be getting caught up over nothing."

30 Jan 2013