Bed bugs continued to be a problem until the introduction of DDT, the wonder pesticide. DDT was a common household pesticide that was found in grocery and drug stores. It was a favorite among housewives because it killed quickly and had a long lasting residual kill rate too. The love affair with ended abruptly in 1972 when DDT was pulled from the shelves as it was deemed unsafe for use. Since then, the bloodsuckers have quietly made their way back into mainstream America.
No matter what city you live in in the United States, bed bug infestation numbers continue to climb. Bed bugs of today have proven to be a stealthy bunch of creatures. Studies have shown that they have become resistant to current insecticides that are available which has allowed them to proliferate beyond belief.
A recent study out of Virginia Tech gives new hope in the war against bed bugs. Despite the current bed bug outbreaks in the United States, the new information discovered could spell an eventual end to the bloodsuckers. Entomologists have found that bed bugs can produce enzymes that destroy insecticides, before it reaches the nerves that are meant to kill them, according to published reports in Popular Mechanics dated October 19, 2011. Scientists are hopeful that this new information will help monitor bed bug resistance worldwide as well as create new strategies for killing existing bed bugs. You may find the article with more information about this interesting study here.
