Emerging potential health threats have been found in association with bed bugs

Isabelle Lucero

J.T. Eaton

As bed bug calls are reported to be increasing, early detection and action are essential. This is especially important as emerging potential health threats have been found in association with bed bugs — suggesting they may be a bigger health threat than we previously thought.

To begin with, bed bugs have been found to contaminate the environment with histamine, which remains in homes long after bed bugs are gone. Bed bugs also were recently found to contain large quantities of tropomyosin, which persists in their bodies for years, even after they are dead. Tropomyosin can be released at any time when bed bug bodies are broken or disturbed, turning them into ticking allergen time bombs. Although the clinical ramifications remain unknown, these findings suggest bed bug cadavers should be removed after treatment.

For these reasons and more, proper management must be performed to control infestations. However, bed bugs’ increasing insecticide resistance is a significant issue. This is why we advise all technicians to follow IPM practices and use multiple tools when treating bed bug infestations.