Bedbugs are joining the resistance.
The critters have started to develop a resistance against two common chemicals used to kill them, according to a new study from researchers at Purdue University. And it might start taking a lot more than a bug bomb to destroy infestations.
To see if every city dweller’s worst nightmare was growing stronger, researchers tested two common weapons in the bedbug sufferer’s arsenal: chlorfenapyr and bifenthrin. Chlorfenapyr is used by exterminators, while bifenthrin can be found in the over-the-counter sprays and aerosols. Their findings were published in the Journal of Economic Entomology.
Ten populations of bed bugs were collected from Indiana, New Jersey, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia and Washington D.C. Researchers sprayed them with the two chemicals and measured how many died after seven days. If more than 25 percent of a population survived, the bed bugs were deemed to have developed a resistance.
Three of the populations showed resistance to chlorfenapyr and five showed resistance to bifenthrin.
Bed bugs have grown resistance to other insecticides in the past, which is considered one of the reasons for their huge resurgence over the past 10 years. Sixty-eight percent of exterminators said bed bugs were the most difficult pest to kill, according to a 2015 survey conducted by the National Pest Management Association.
The research team suggests that exterminators use chemicals in addition to other control methods such as mattress encasements, vacuuming, traps and steam or heat.
For an easier way to rid yourself of bedbugs, you could just move and never look back.
