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In the 1800's, bedbugs were a 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 1800's, bedbugs were a 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>Chris Hebbern,''All about bed bugs'', Skeptic North., Sept. 2, 2010</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>[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>}}

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 a town under study. DDT became the primary insecticide beginning in 1945. Declining numbers overall continued from the late 30s through 1980s until the recent resurgence. Some state laws once required that the furniture be tagged as fumigated before it could be resold.  

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 a town under study. DDT became the primary insecticide beginning in 1945. Declining numbers overall continued from the late 30s through 1980s until the recent resurgence. Some state laws once required that the furniture be tagged as fumigated before it could be resold.