Bed Bug History: Retracing the Rise, Fall, and Resurgence of Bed Bugs in the 21st Century

Like many Americans, your parents probably put you to bed with the catchy rhyme “Good night, sleep tight, don’t let the bed bugs bite.” However, most of us born after the early 1940s hadn’t actually encountered a bed bug until recently. Here’s a brief look at the rise, fall, and rise of bed bugs, all the way up to the 21st century: 


Prevalence


Bed bugs have plagued humankind for as long as there have been beds, and thousands of years before then. Bed bugs came to North America on the clothes and linens of Europeans during the 1600s, and made themselves quite at home here. For centuries, people accepted bed bugs as a part of life, and regularly woke up with fresh bites. Those who refused to live with these blood-sucking insects tried a number of remedies, but with limited success.


Eradication


Though bed bugs enjoyed a good several thousand years, the 1940s put an end to their feast—at least for a little while. The pesticide DDT proved to be extremely effective against bed bugs, and became widely used all over the U.S. Over the next 30 years, DDT eliminated large populations of bed bugs, allowing people to sleep without worrying about bites.


Resurgence


DDT and other pesticides were banned by the government in the 1970s and 80s, after they were discovered to be hazardous to the environment and human health. This contributed to the rise of bed bugs over the next few decades—as did a higher frequency of international travel. Despite the rise of bed bug cases, pest control companies have devised ever more innovative methods of prevention, detection, and elimination.