# How did bedbugs make a comeback? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [April 16, 2010, 11:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-bedbugs-make-a-comeback/536327 "2010-04-16T11:03:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![uttam54](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f19dbf/32.png) [@uttam54](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/uttam54)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2010, 11:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-bedbugs-make-a-comeback/536327/1 "2010-04-16T11:03:58Z")
In India we put our mattresses on the roof to get a thorough sunning. You don’t mention this practice nor do the sites you’ve given. I think it works, but would appreciate a scientific confirmation. ---
**Author:** ![Winston\_Smith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e95f7d/32.png) [@Winston\_Smith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Winston_Smith)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2010, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-bedbugs-make-a-comeback/536327/2 "2010-04-16T14:12:07Z")
I read that more common and frequent international trade & travel have contributed greatly. Don’t have a cite handy, though. ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2010, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-bedbugs-make-a-comeback/536327/3 "2010-04-16T16:23:29Z")
Oh, I know more than anyone would want to know about bedbugs, I am on the board of an apartment building that has had a horrible infestation problem. Sunning the mattresses would work in a really hot country, bedbugs and their eggs will die at temperatures above 150 F for sure ( an extermination expert might know the actual fatal temperature, I think it is a little lower but not below 130 F ). We have had some rent controlled hoarders get infested by bedbugs and we bring in pest control experts with heaters and a portable generator and heat the affected apartments to 150 F for a few hours. If we were in a warm climate we could advise our tenants to put clothing items that might be infested in a black garbage bag and leave it outside…instead we tell them to run everything through a hot dryer. One of my neighbors has a portable device that’s a cross between an oven and a suitcase, you use it to heat items that may be infested. Cold also kills the suckers, but it is difficult to uniformly “freeze” an apartment without leaving warm spots. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2010, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-bedbugs-make-a-comeback/536327/4 "2010-04-16T16:32:52Z")
Welcome to the board, **uttam54**. It helps if you include a link to the column you’re referring to: [How did bedbugs make a comeback?](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2933/how-did-bedbugs-make-a-comeback) ---
**Author:** ![Huerta88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/82dd89/32.png) [@Huerta88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Huerta88)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2010, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-bedbugs-make-a-comeback/536327/5 "2010-04-20T18:09:57Z")
> [@Ann\_Hedonia](#): > > will die at temperatures above 150 F for sure ( an extermination expert might know the actual fatal temperature, I think it is a little lower but not below 130 F ). We have had some rent controlled hoarders get infested by bedbugs and we bring in pest control experts with heaters and a portable generator and heat the affected apartments to 150 F for a few hours. 140 F for a sustained period seems to be the number that gets cited most often. > **[Dealing with bed bugs the earth friendly way - Green Living Tips](https://www.greenlivingtips.com/articles/getting-rid-of-bed-bugs.html)** > > Bed bugs aren't just mythical creatures of night time good wishes - they are very real and becoming a major problem in some places. Here's some earth friendly ideas getting rid of bedbugs. ---
**Author:** ![John\_W.Kennedy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_w.kennedy/32/1031_2.png) [@John\_W.Kennedy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_W.Kennedy)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2010, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-bedbugs-make-a-comeback/536327/6 "2010-04-20T19:28:58Z")
_Changing_ the sheets _daily_? That doesn’t correspond with my memories as far back as the 1950s, both in the country and in suburbia, nor does it really tally with the then-proverbial Monday Washday. I’m old enough to remember when, even if you had a clothes dryer, you didn’t normally use it on sunny days, and the clotheslines, whether pulley-type or on a rotary tree, simply didn’t have that capacity. Even a family with a full-time laundress would normally be so large (counting the staff) that daily sheet laundering would be unmanageable. ---
**Author:** ![jbaker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/59ef9b/32.png) [@jbaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jbaker)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2010, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-bedbugs-make-a-comeback/536327/7 "2010-04-20T19:54:29Z")
I was disappointed by the column’s use of linguistic evidence. I’m not aware of any evidence, other than speculation, for the theory that “Sleep tight, don’t let the bedbugs bite” refers to making the bed tightly. The OED says that “tight” is used in the sense of “soundly” or “roundly.” Also, early uses of the phrase tend to refer to other insects, such as fleas or mosquitoes, although I suppose the same techniques could be effective against them as well as bedbugs. I’m also not aware of any actual “cootie shot.” People do, of course, literally pick for nits. ---
**Author:** ![Huerta88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/82dd89/32.png) [@Huerta88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Huerta88)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2010, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-bedbugs-make-a-comeback/536327/8 "2010-04-20T20:51:19Z")
> [@jbaker](#): > > I was disappointed by the column’s use of linguistic evidence. I’m not aware of any evidence, other than speculation, for the theory that “Sleep tight, don’t let the bedbugs bite” refers to making the bed tightly. The OED says that “tight” is used in the sense of “soundly” or “roundly.” Also, early uses of the phrase tend to refer to other insects, such as fleas or mosquitoes, although I suppose the same techniques could be effective against them as well as bedbugs. I’m also not aware of any actual “cootie shot.” People do, of course, literally pick for nits. I was disappointed overall. The OP asked why bedbugs had come back, period, then the column spent a lot of (irrelevant) time chiding people for (alleged) misconceptions about bedbugs and vaguely suggesting that we had somehow forgotten valuable anti-bedbug techniques that our forebears practiced (or, alternatively, that everyone in the past had to live with bedbugs, so, stop whining and deal with it). None of that has to do with etiology of the bedbug resurgence. Yes, the column mentions the decline of DDT (which, along with increased global travel is the only explanation I’ve heard that makes sense), but has a lot of irrelevant side discussion too. ---
**Author:** ![John\_W.Kennedy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_w.kennedy/32/1031_2.png) [@John\_W.Kennedy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_W.Kennedy)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2010, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-bedbugs-make-a-comeback/536327/9 "2010-04-20T23:01:57Z")
> [@jbaker](#): > > I was disappointed by the column’s use of linguistic evidence. I’m not aware of any evidence, other than speculation, for the theory that “Sleep tight, don’t let the bedbugs bite” refers to making the bed tightly. The OED says that “tight” is used in the sense of “soundly” or “roundly.” _**For she is such a smart little craft — Such a neat little, sweet little craft, Such a bright little, tight little, Slight little, light little, Trim little, prim little craft!**_ The version concerning rope beds is a well known urban myth, but the case of neatly-managed sheets is a bit more complicated, as the two meanings of “tight”, in this case, overlap so completely. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2010, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-bedbugs-make-a-comeback/536327/10 "2010-04-22T21:44:12Z")
> [@John\_W.Kennedy](#): > > [The version concerning rope beds is a well known urban myth, but the case of neatly-managed sheets is a bit more complicated, as the two meanings of “tight”, in this case, overlap so completely. _“Now I heard little children Were supposed to sleep tight That’s why I got into the vodka one night…”_ ---
**Author:** ![Dan\_Norder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4af34b/32.png) [@Dan\_Norder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dan_Norder)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2010, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-bedbugs-make-a-comeback/536327/11 "2010-04-22T23:46:32Z")
I also thought the “sleep tight” claim was irresponsible. The Dope shouldn’t spread unproven and unlikely claims about the origin of an old phrase just because it supports a rather sweeping generalization the writer is trying to promote. ---
**Author:** ![Savannah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Savannah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Savannah)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2010, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-bedbugs-make-a-comeback/536327/12 "2010-04-23T04:56:54Z")
Here in BC, the return of the bedbug has been attributed to the ban on formerly used insecticides and pesticides. ---
**Author:** ![tarrabyte](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7ea924/32.png) [@tarrabyte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tarrabyte)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2010, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-bedbugs-make-a-comeback/536327/13 "2010-04-23T15:28:27Z")
It took six months to get bed bugs out of my house. It wasn’t quick or easy but it can be done. This is one of the most practical articles on the subject I’ve seen. Getting rid of bed bugs is very behavior dependent. A high level of vigilance is required to successful get rid of bed bugs which is why good treatment often fails. People don’t realize they have to adopt certain “routines” to keep bed bugs out of their bed during eradication. It’s true in “the old days” people just isolated their beds, shook out their blankets, washed their floors with boiling water, etc. Now we want to just call someone and have them magically get rid of bed bugs in a day. You can watch inspection videos at [bedbugsnw.com](http://bedbugsnw.com). Killing bed bugs in one day could be done with thermal heat treatment, but you still need to address your belongings that can’t be heated to 140. ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2010, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-bedbugs-make-a-comeback/536327/14 "2010-04-27T17:08:50Z")
> [@](#): > > **How did bedbugs make a comeback?** Search me. (shrug)