Just think about bed bugs for a moment and suddenly every little, innocent itch takes on a more sinister meaning

by liz.novack under CC BY

Bed Bugs Are Back

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Bed bugs have plagued mankind since ancient times when humans beings lived in caves. By the end of the Industrial Revolution, bed bugs could be found in every nation on earth, infesting our dwellings and ruining our sleep. Cimex lectularius, the scientific name for the little abominations, spread at will until the development of DDT in the mid 1940′s. DDT proved to be so effective at killing bed bugs that by the late 1950′s they were almost non-existent in the modern world. Sadly, this was only a temporary reprieve. By to year 2000, bed bugs were back in force to infest homes, apartments and businesses with frightening regularity. One study, done by The National Pest Management Association, found that since the year 2001, bed bugs infestations have increased by 71% in the United States.

To better understand the problem, we need to take a look at the reasons for the unexpected re-appearance of bed bugs. At the top of the list is the over-reaction of the environmental lobby to the use of DDT that resulted in its banning throughout most of the world. The ban on the use of DDT led to many unfortunate consequences, including new outbreaks of Malaria in poor nations and the rapid return of bed bugs. The hostility to DDT also made the job of getting new pesticides to market much more difficult. Out of control over regulation and excessive safety testing imposed by the FDA under pressure from powerful environmental groups, gave bed bugs several years in which they were able to firmly re-establish their presence.

At the same time environmentalists were playing havoc with pesticides, something far more sinister was taking place. Since the end of the 20th. century, powerful forces have been at work to concentrate populations into immense urban centers while discouraging people from living in rural areas. Under the frightening name of Agenda 21, the United Nations has been working hard to pressure nations to accept this massive program of radically altering where and how we live. Using the same dubious science that the UN used for its “Climate Change” theories, the globalists are working hard to pack us all into easily controlled, highly regulated cities. Cramming millions of human beings into over crowded urban centers is the ultimate recipe for the proliferation of bed bugs.

Another factor in the spread of bed bugs, particularly in the Unites States, has been the almost unrestricted flow of immigrants from nations where extensive pest control is not an economic priority

Bed bugs are notorious hitchhikers and when people travel, bed bugs are always happy to come along for the ride. The unsupervised movement of population has been a major contributor to the spread of diseases and harmful insect species. It is an undeniable fact that un-regulated influx of 20 million immigrants into the United States has also had an effect on spread of bed bugs.

No look at the causes of the resurgence of bed bugs would be complete without examining international trade and the incredible expansion of modern transportation. The United States, for example, imports trillions of dollars of goods from foreign lands every year. Thousands of ships from all over the world dock in American harbors and thousands of planes land at American airports every day. The products they carry are then transported from coast to coast in a wide assortment of planes, trains and trucks. Among the millions of shipments of goods, we can find our old friend the bed bug, once again hitching a ride. Bed bugs may have taken a ship from China to San Diego then a freight train to Oklahoma City and finally a delivery truck to your home on First Street. When you open the cardboard box containing that new 52″ widescreen TV, the little blighters dash for the first crack they can find. Then they patiently wait for darkness to fall before they go in search of a warm blooded victim. Making things even more difficult, bed bugs can live for up to a year without feeding so traveling for weeks between meals is not an issue for them.

Once again we see mankind at the root of the bed bug problem

As human population spirals out of control and continues to grow past the six billion level, more and more people are crammed into less and less space. At the same time. an endless stream of bureaucrats have regulated every single aspect of our lives so completely that it costs upwards of $1000 a room to get a professional pest control specialist to deal with a bed bug infestation. People travel freely and with little respect for national borders. Goods get shipped from Memphis to Mozambique and everywhere in between. With crime and terrorism a constant worry for international trade, the last thing a Customs agent has time to look for is bed bugs. Hopefully, someday, someone will invent a simple easy method to eliminate bed bugs completely. Lets just pray that when it happens, an environmental group doesn’t get bed bugs declared an endangered species.