Do Bedbugs Come in the Nighttime?

"...Sleep tight, don't let the bedbugs bite..." It is a common childhood rhyme, almost a ritual, that no one ever thinks about. But the object of the rhyme, the bedbug, does come out at night--and it does bite.

Cimex lectularius

• Meet Climex lectularius, also known as the bedbug. A rusty brown to mahogany bug, it has six legs and antennae. About 1/4 inch in size, it is a flat, broad, oval-shaped bug--until it feeds. Then it fills with blood and plumps up. It is most visible after a snack.

Habits

• The bedbug gets its name from its habits. Sneaking around like a vampire in the night, the bedbug crawls out of its daytime bed and feasts on mammals while they sleep--especially humans. It injects anesthesia during its snack, so often, the only evidence of its visit are little red bites on your flesh--and rust colored stains on your mattress, where it defecated after eating.

Persistence

• Bedbugs were common throughout history. Up until World War II, many throughout the world knew them, and how to fight them. In America, with the application of modern pesticides, they were virtually eradicated--until today. The "flattening of the world" has led to increased interaction among people all over the world. Bedbugs in developing countries, still thriving, made it to the U.S.--and that was all it took.

Insight

• Anywhere it is dark and warm blooded creatures gather, bed bugs might be there.

  They sleep during the day, so there is little chance of them hitching a ride to a restaurant and coming home with you. But sleeping in hotels, buying used mattresses, or even attending a movie, where it is dark and warm blooded humans rest for long periods, could invite disaster.