Plagues,
Pestilences and Diseases
Bedbugs resistant to pesticide, study finds
[Bedbugs resistant to pesticide, study finds] Bedbugs resistant to
pesticide, study finds
WASHINGTON (AFP) - – Bedbugs have terrorized homeowners and
tourists around the world, but US researchers say their genetic
analysis of the beasts may lead to better ways to kill them off.
Entomologists at Ohio State University found genes that appear to
be pesticide-resistant, according to their findings published
Wednesday in the online Public Library of Science.
"Pinpointing such defense mechanisms and the associated genes
could lead to the development of novel methods of control that are
more effective," said study co-author Omprakash Mittapalli,
assistant professor of entomology.
The study was funded by the US government and carried out at the
university's Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center.
"While bedbugs are poised to become one of the major household
pests across the United States in the coming years, we know very
little about their genetic makeup and their mechanisms of
resistance to insecticides," said Mittapalli.
No one has escaped the infestation, including luxury hotels in New
York and Paris, costing billions of dollars annually in
extermination efforts by businesses and homeowners.
The six-legged nocturnal creatures feed on blood. They don't
transmit diseases but people who are bitten often suffer red,
itchy welts. They can hide in box springs, closets, shoes and
luggage, which allows them to travel, according to the National
Pest Management Association.
The researchers called their work "the first study to elucidate
the genetic makeup of the insect and to obtain fundamental
molecular knowledge regarding potential defense pathways and genes
that may be involved in metabolic resistance to commonly used
pesticides."
They analyzed both laboratory-reared bedbugs susceptible to
insecticides and pesticide-exposed bedbugs collected from an
apartment in Ohio state's capital city of Columbus.
More studies are needed, they said, to confirm that some of the
genes are involved in pesticide resistance.
The bedbug was a minor nuisance after World War II because of the
widespread use of insecticides such as DDT, which was later
stopped because it was found to be too dangerous.
Other factors for the spike in bedbugs in recent years include
more international travel, increased exchange of used furniture
and the development of resistance among bedbugs to current
pesticides, the researchers said. They estimate bedbug numbers
have increased 500 percent in the past decade.