18 Facts About Bed bugs

Bed bugs are insects from the genus Cimex that feed on blood, usually at night.

Bed bugs spend much of their time in dark, hidden locations like mattress seams, or cracks in a wall.

Bed bugs have been known human parasites for thousands of years.

Bed bugs are attracted to their hosts primarily by carbon dioxide, secondarily by warmth, and by certain chemicals.

Definitive diagnosis of health effects due to bed bugs requires a search for and finding of the insect in the sleeping environment as symptoms are not sufficiently specific.

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Bed bugs can exist singly but tend to congregate once established.

Bed bugs can be detected by their characteristic smell of rotting raspberries.

Bed bugs advised people never to sit down on public transport; check office chairs, plane seats, and hotel mattresses; and monitor and vacuum home beds once a month.

Close all wall openings or gaps; bed bugs tend to hide in dark places and cracked walls are a perfect spot for them to infest.

Bed bugs are particularly difficult to eradicate in apartment complexes as harbors can exist in other areas of the building when single units are treated.

Additionally, bed bugs are reaching places in which they never established before, such as southern South America.

Bed bugs were first mentioned in ancient Greece as early as 400 BC, and later by Aristotle.

Pliny's Natural History, first published circa AD 77 in Rome, claimed bed bugs had medicinal value in treating ailments such as snake bites and ear infections.

Belief in the medicinal use of bed bugs persisted until at least the 18th century, when Guettard recommended their use in the treatment of hysteria.

Bed bugs were mentioned in Germany in the 11th century, in France in the 13th century, and in England in 1583, though they remained rare in England until 1670.

Some in the 18th century believed bed bugs had been brought to London with supplies of wood to rebuild the city after the Great Fire of London .

The increase in bed bug populations in the early 20th century has been attributed to the advent of electric heating, which allowed bed bugs to thrive year-round instead of only in warm weather.

Bed bugs were a serious problem at US military bases during World War II.