These nasty bloodsuckers have resurged, and they’re not going down without a fight.
New research reveals that bed bugs have evolved a thicker exoskeleton, also referred to as a cuticle, enabling them to survive the onslaught of insecticides. This resistance has probably facilitated the global rise in bed bugs over the past few decades.
David Lilly, a University of Sydney doctoral candidate and first author of the study that was recently published in the journal PLOS ONE, examined the tiny bugs under the microscope.
“Using scanning electron microscopy, we were able to compare the thickness of cuticle taken from specimens of bed bugs resistant to insecticides and from those more easily killed by those same insecticides," said Lilly.
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The results were clear — bed bugs with thicker cuticles had greater tolerance for exposure to insecticide.
These findings provide a clue as to how bed bugs have been able to evade efforts to eliminate them. With a better understanding of the biological mechanisms that enable them to survive insecticide exposure, scientists are in a better position to develop more effective insecticides.
“If we understand the biological mechanisms bed bugs use to beat insecticides, we may be able to spot a chink in their armour that we can exploit with new strategies,” said Lilly. These new strategies could protect countless residences from the nightmarish ordeal of infestation, in addition to alleviating the financial burden that infestations place on the tourism and hospitality industries.
According to Lilly, this significant research presented some unique data collection challenges: “The findings are exciting but collecting data was frustrating. Taking microscopic measurements of bed bug legs requires a steady hand and patience, lots of patience.”
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