Bed bugs are winning the war against humans

There’s a war raging in beds around the world. It’s an arms race between humans and bed bugs – and the creatures that feast on our blood that are winning.

Common bed bug under an electron microscope. This specimen of Cimex lectularis was found in a Parramatta home (Image: University of Sydney)

Bed bug under microscope (image: University of Sydney)

Bed bug infestation (Image: University of Sydney)

Cross section of a leg of a common bed bug under an electron microscope showing thickness of cuticle (Image: University of Sydney)

Life cycle of the bed bug - a single female can lay 500 eggs during her life, and within a few months her offspring can reproduce as well

Bed bugs  – or cimex lectularius – are growing increasingly resistant to the pesticides we use to try and exterminate them. David Lilly, a Phd student from the University of Sydney, tested hundreds of bugs at a Parramatta home and discovered that they have adapted to the chemical arsenal we throw at them by developing a thicker outer shell that is much harder for the insecticide to penetrate.