Say, Honey, What’s Eating You Tonight?

Sleeping tight without letting the bedbugs bite is becoming more difficult as the population of these unwelcome nocturnal companions grows in both temperate and tropical countries. Loving warmth and the dark, Cimex lectularius lurks in mattress seams, headboards, and behind baseboards or loose wallpaper during the day, emerging at night to suck blood for about 5 to 10 minutes from their unsuspecting sleeping hosts. This late-night meal causes the flat, oval, reddish-brown insects to swell in weight by 150% to 200% and in length by 30% to 50% from their normal size of about 5 mm. Amazingly, these hardy pests can survive for up to a year after a single repast.

Though many are bitten, few respond. In experiments, only about 30% of volunteers de…