They will often take a few bites in a row along a vein. It takes approximately 5-10 minutes for them to become fully engorged. After feeding they retreat back into hiding. A bed bug [...]

Placing infested belongings outside in the cold temperatures of a Cleveland, OH winter are not always enough to kill bed bugs. In order to kill bed bugs by freezing, temperatures need to remain at [...]

Bed bugs live approximately one year. They can also live about as long without feeding!

Bed bugs have tarsal claws which enable them to climb so well. These tarsal claws are much like a cat's claw. To their advantage these tarsal claws do not pick up pesticides very well. [...]

Most bed bugs find harborage within 5 feet of their host's resting spot. For us, this is our beds, couches, and chairs. From within 5 feet, it can detect the location of its next [...]

The narrow body of the flea maneuvers the fur-covered bodies of animals. Its hard shell doesn't crush easily. This is an example of a parasite that lives on its host. I have squeezed fleas [...]

Many endo-parasites are vectors. Vectors have the potential to transmit disease organisms to their host. Examples of parasitic vectors are mosquitoes, ticks, and fleas. Bed bugs are not currently proven to transmit disease. The [...]

The Genus Cimex has several species. Most are bat bugs and bugs that infests birds' nests. There are two species of bed bugs, Cimex lectularius and Cimex hemipterus. The latter being the tropical bed [...]

DDT And Bed Bugs These parasites were prolific until we began using DDT on them. Our past pest control practices nearly wiped away the existence of bed bugs. DDT had a very long residual [...]

Cimex lectarius has a known origin of 2 million years ago in Saudi Arabia. They are thought to have developed from the bat bug, Cimex pilosellus. Both species rarely interbreed, coexist on the same [...]