Changes

In the 1800s, bed bugs were significant pest in parts of both the United States and the United Kingdom.  Government Entomologist  Dr. Riley, PhD, described the ubiquity of bed bugs in 1889:

In the 1800s, bed bugs were significant pest in parts of both the United States and the United Kingdom.  Government Entomologist  Dr. Riley, PhD, described the ubiquity of bed bugs in 1889:

{{cquote|I have occasionally met with a favored individual who had never seen a bed bug; but such fortunate people are rare and there are very few housekeepers who have not, by accident perhaps, or through slovenly servants, made the intimate acquaintance of the ubiquitous pest…. It’s odor and the effects of its bites are universally known, and the word “bed buggy” has entered our literature as descriptive of a particular class of odors.<ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=j1Y7AAAAMAAJ&lpg=PA25&ots=b_vavYWYXE&dq=Entomologist%20%20Dr.%20Riley%2C%20PhD%20bed%20bugs&pg=PA25#v=onepage&q&f=false Good Housekeeping Journal], May 25. 1889, p. 25</ref>}}

{{cquote|I have occasionally met with a favored individual who had never seen a bed bug; but such fortunate people are rare and there are very few housekeepers who have not, by accident perhaps, or through slovenly servants, made the intimate acquaintance of the ubiquitous pest…. It’s odor and the effects of its bites are universally known, and the word “bed buggy” has entered our literature as descriptive of a particular class of odors.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=j1Y7AAAAMAAJ&lpg=PA25&ots=b_vavYWYXE&dq=Entomologist%20%20Dr.%20Riley%2C%20PhD%20bed%20bugs&pg=PA25#v=onepage&q&f=false Good Housekeeping Journal], May 25. 1889, p. 25</ref>}}

In the 1930s there were large sections of London where every house was infested, resulting in an investigation by the Ministry of Health and the Public Health Act of 1936 which required councils to take action. Toxic fumigation using sulfur dioxide (sulfur candles) or hydrogen cyanide, are reported to have helped reduce infestations by up to 80% in one town under study.  Before [[World War Two]] the primary treatment was either heat or fumigation, and barriers behind walls were even constructed to prevent bed bugs from crawling up, while harborage was encouraged using wire mesh below, which periodically would be burned with a blow torch. Some state laws once required that the furniture be tagged as fumigated before it could be resold. DDT became the primary insecticide beginning in 1945, and declining numbers overall continued from the late 30s through 1980s until the recent resurgence.

In the 1930s there were large sections of London where every house was infested, resulting in an investigation by the Ministry of Health and the Public Health Act of 1936 which required councils to take action. Toxic fumigation using sulfur dioxide (sulfur candles) or hydrogen cyanide, are reported to have helped reduce infestations by up to 80% in one town under study.  Before [[World War Two]] the primary treatment was either heat or fumigation, and barriers behind walls were even constructed to prevent bed bugs from crawling up, while harborage was encouraged using wire mesh below, which periodically would be burned with a blow torch. Some state laws once required that the furniture be tagged as fumigated before it could be resold. DDT became the primary insecticide beginning in 1945, and declining numbers overall continued from the late 30s through 1980s until the recent resurgence.

==Environmentalism==

==Environmentalism==

Environmentalists like to spread despair about bed bugs, hinting that evolution always makes them impervious to each new insecticide which people use to put down outbreaks. A typical examples is "[http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/31/science/31bedbug.html?_r=2 They Crawl, They Bite, They Baffle Scientists]" in the August 30, 2010 ''[[New York Times]]''. The article lists half a dozen chemicals which don't kill bed bugs, while (carefully?) omitting any mention of effective chemicals.

Environmentalists like to spread despair about bed bugs, hinting that evolution always makes them impervious to each new insecticide which people use to put down outbreaks. A typical examples is "[https://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/31/science/31bedbug.html?_r=2 They Crawl, They Bite, They Baffle Scientists]" in the August 30, 2010 ''[[New York Times]]''. The article lists half a dozen chemicals which don't kill bed bugs, while (carefully?) omitting any mention of effective chemicals.

The EPA will also soon be offering $550,000 in grants to state and tribal agencies for pilot projects relating to outreach and education.<ref>[http://bedbugger.com/2010/06/11/bed-bugs-cheer-ohios-propoxur-exemption-request-denied/ ''Bed bugs cheer: Ohio’s propoxur exemption request denied'']</ref>

The EPA will also soon be offering $550,000 in grants to state and tribal agencies for pilot projects relating to outreach and education.<ref>[http://bedbugger.com/2010/06/11/bed-bugs-cheer-ohios-propoxur-exemption-request-denied/ ''Bed bugs cheer: Ohio’s propoxur exemption request denied'']</ref>