Bed bug

“ The abdomen shows seven visible segments and a terminal piece.
The bug has no fixed period of the year for breeding; as long as the temperature is favourable and the food abundant, generation will succeed generation without pause. Should, however, the weather turn cold the insects become numbed and their vitality and power of reproduction are interrupted until a sufficient degree of warmth returns.
Like the cockroach, the bed-bug is a frequenter of human habitations, but only of such as have reached a certain stage of comfort. ”

“ This bug is also known as the Texas or Mexican bed bug, also as the big bed bug. It is particularly troublesome in the Mississippi Valley in bedrooms. The bite is very severe and results in more pronounced swelling and inflammation than that of the Cimex. Normally this genus feeds upon the blood of mammals and insects. Its fondness for human blood appears to be quite a new habit, and appears limited to the mature insect only. It is nearly an inch long, flat, head very narrow and long, the rostrum short and thick. ”

“ The female deposits her eggs at the beginning of summer in crevices of wood and other retired situations, and in three weeks the young emerge as small, white, and almost transparent larvae. These change their skin very frequently during growth, and attain full development in about eleven weeks. Two centuries ago the bed bug was a rare insect in Britain, and probably owes its name, which is derived from a Celtic word signifying “ghost” or “goblin,” to the terror which its attacks at first inspired. ”

“ It is natural to suppose that an insect which throughout its whole life is in such intimate relationship with man should play an important rôle in the transmission of disease. Yet comparatively little is definitely known regarding the importance of the bed-bug in this respect. It has been shown that it is capable of transmitting the bubonic plague, and South American trypanosomiasis. Nuttall succeeded in transmitting European relapsing fever from mouse to mouse by its bite. ”

“ The species of the first division very generally possess the power of emitting, when disturbed or alarmed, a nauseous, bed-buggy odor, which comes from a fluid secreted from two pores, [18] situated on the under side of the metathorax. Such well-known insects as the Bed-bug and Chinch-bug belong here. The habits of the species are varied, and while some are beneficial, others are quite injurious to man. ”

“ It is described and figured in "Harris's Treatise on Insects." Closely allied, though generally wingless, is that enemy of our peace, the bed-bug. It has a small somewhat triangular head, orbicular thorax, and large, round, flattened abdomen. It is generally wingless, having only two small wing-pads instead. The eggs are oval, white; the young escape by pushing off a lid at one end of the shell. ”

“ In the Banian hospital, at Surat, the overseers are said frequently to hire beggars from the streets, at a stipulated sum, to pass the night among bugs and other vermin, on the express condition of suffering them to enjoy their feast without molestation. [13]
The bed-bug is not the only one of its congeners which preys upon man. St. Pierre mentions a bug found in the Mauritius, the bite of which is more venomous than the sting of a scorpion, being succeeded by a swelling as big as the egg of a pigeon, which continues for four or five days. ”

“ Various are the antipathies of mankind, but all appear to unite in their dislike to this animal and the louse, and to detest them as their natural and nauseous enemies. The bug “intrudes upon the peace of mankind, and often banishes that sleep which even anxiety and sorrow permitted to approach: the night is the season when the bed bug issues from its retreat to make its depredations ”

“ A characteristic feature in this animal is the peculiar odour it produces, like many others in the same group of insects. This odour comes from a clear, oily volatile liquid secreted by glands in various parts of the body. Although the normal food is man’s blood, the bed bug can subsist upon moist wood, dust and dirt that collects in crevices in floors, walls, furniture, etc. ”

“ The winged insects of the order to which the bed-bug belongs often inflict very painful wounds, and it is even stated, upon good authority, that an insect of the order, commonly known in the West Indies by the name of the wheel-bug, can communicate an electric shock to the person whose flesh it touches. ”

“ On touching a live bug with only the tip of a pin put into the mixture, the insect will be instantly deprived of existence, and should any bugs happen to appear after using the mixture, it will only be from not wetting the linen, &c., of the bed, the foldings and linings of the curtains near the rings or the joints, or holes in and about the bed or head-board, in which places the vermin nestle and breed ”

“ You must often put the mattress on a sheet on the floor, and look all along the edge and in the corners and under the ties. The spring must be painted with turpentine, especially in the hidden places, and so must the corners of the bed. It is a good plan to use only metal beds with iron spring frames, for bugs like wood much better; they seldom stay where there is none. If you ever find a bug, or the tiny black speck it makes, get the white of an egg and beat it with a teaspoonful of quicksilver, and paint everything with it, and you will have no more trouble. ”

“ The bed bugs live in the cracks and fissures of human habitations, under carpets, behind pictures, in furniture, bedsteads, etc.; hidden during the day, they attack persons at night to suck their blood. The alkaline secretion of the salivary glands dropped into the wound around the separate bites causes the so-called “wheals.” ”

“ The bite of the bug is very curious. They bite all persons the same (?) ; but the difference of effect lies in the constitutions of the parties. I’ve never noticed that a different kind of skin makes any difference in being bitten. Whether the skin is moist or dry, it don’t matter. Wherever bugs are, the person sleeping in the bed is sure to be fed on, whether they are marked or not; and as a proof, when nobody has slept in the bed for some time, the bugs become quite flat; and, on the contrary, when the bed is always occupied, they are round as a lady-bird. ”

“ No one needs to be told to try to keep a house, or a room, clear of fleas, bed-bugs, or lice; indeed to have these creatures about is considered a mortal disgrace. Not only is their bite very unpleasant, but they may convey a variety of diseases, including plague and blood poisonings of various sorts. But there is another insect pest far commoner and far more dangerous than either fleas or bed-bugs, whose presence we should feel equally ashamed of ”

“ A metal bedstead is better than a wooden one, as wood holds odors and moisture, and is apt to have more cracks and crevices for germs or bugs to lodge in. It should be white, for then it shows when it needs cleaning and bed bugs keep away from white surfaces which show them up easily.
If possible, have the bed in a part of the room, where the drafts will not strike the patient every time a door or window is opened, and where the light does not shine in the eyes. If it can be placed so that the patient can see from the window so much the better. ”

“ In the Nicholson’s Journal914 there is mention of a man who, far from disliking Bed-bugs, took them under his protecting care, and would never suffer them to be disturbed, or his bedsteads removed, till in the end they swarmed to an incredible degree, crawling up even the walls of his drawing-room ”

“ Several families of bugs are predaceous in habit, attacking other insects—often members of their own order—and sucking their juices. Others are scavengers feeding on decaying organic matter; the pond skaters, for example, live mostly on the juices of dead floating insects. And some, like the bed-bugs, are parasites of vertebrate animals, on whose bodies they live temporarily or permanently, and whose blood they suck.
The Hemiptera are especially interesting as an order from the variety of aquatic insects included therein. ”

“ We went to Poona and spent a night in the National Hotel. I will never forget that night if I live a thousand years. We retired at ten o'clock. By eleven I had killed forty-two bed-bugs. This [Pg 167] is not an estimate: it is actual count. I didn't ask the proprietor for another bed for I thought all of them would be alike and I estimated that I had killed off nearly all the bugs in my present bed. At midnight I had slaughtered sixty-seven. This is not a parlour subject, I know. But we are not in a parlour. We are in an Indian bedroom. ”

“ I One morning, as Gregor Samsa was waking up from anxious dreams, he discovered that in bed he had been changed into a monstrous verminous bug. ”

“ When they find all quiet, not even a light in the room will prevent their biting; but they are seldom or never found under the bedclothes. They like a clear ground to get off, and generally bite round the edges of the nightcap or the nightdress. When they are found in the bed, it’s because the parties have been tossing about, and have curled the sheets round the bugs. ”

“ We have had men at work nearly a week trying to thin them out, and have killed a great many hundreds; but I suppose their little demoniac souls come back, each with an attendant, for I am sure there are twice as many as at first. Everything, walls, tables, chairs, etc., are stained by them. Besides the bats, we are blessed with our full share of cockroaches, beetles, spiders, lizards, rats, ants, mosquitoes, and bed-bugs. With the last the woodwork is all alive, and the ants troop over the house in great droves, though there are scattering ones beside. ”

“ Others of the species infesting birds and bats may also on occasion become house pests. For example, the nests of the common barn or eaves swallow of this country often swarm with the barn-swallow bug, [3] and from such nests under the eaves of dwelling houses these bugs sometimes gain entrance to houses and beds and are the cause of much annoyance. Similarly a species, [4] normally a parasite of birds and bats in the Old World, and also in Brazil and the West Indies, not infrequently becomes a human parasite. ”

“ The bedbug is normally nocturnal in habits and displays a certain degree of wariness, caution, and intelligence in its efforts at concealment during the day. Under the stress of hunger, however, it will emerge from its place of concealment in a well-lighted room at night, so that under such circumstances keeping the gas or electric light burning is not a complete protection. It has been known under similar conditions to attack human beings voraciously in broad daylight. ”

“ The bite of the bedbug is decidedly poisonous to some individuals, resulting in a slight swelling and disagreeable inflammation. To such persons the presence of bedbugs is sufficient to cause the greatest uneasiness, if not to put sleep and rest entirely out of the question. With others, however, who are less sensitive, the presence of the bugs may not be recognized at all, and, except for the occasional staining of the linen by a crushed individual, their presence might be entirely overlooked. ”

“ The abundance of this insect in houses which have long been untenanted may occasionally be accounted for by such other sources of food, but probably normally such infestation can be explained by the natural longevity of the insect and its ability to survive for practically a year, and perhaps more, without food.”
“Influence of Temperature.
“As a messmate of human beings in dwelling houses, the bedbug is normally protected from extreme cold and is known to be an abundant and serious pest far north. In fact, it is often more troublesome in north temperate latitudes than farther south. ”

“ In Europe this species haunts houses for the purpose of preying upon bedbugs. Riley, in his well-known article on Poisonous Insects, published in Wood's Reference Handbook of Medical Science, states that if a fly or another insect is offered to the cannibal bug it is first touched with the antennæ, a sudden spring follows, and at the same time the beak is thrust into the prey. The young specimens are covered with a glutinous substance, to which bits of dirt and dust adhere. They move deliberately, with a long pause between each step, the step being taken in a jerky manner. ”

“ Indeed they are sorely needed by the evening, and you only feel safe when within their grateful shelter from the plague of insects, not only mosquitoes, that swarm in when the candles are lighted. They penetrate everywhere, more particularly nesting in one's hair-brushes; and I have had to give up writing near the light on account of the number falling and leaving their trails in the wet ink of the letters! But the beds are most interesting. There is not a vestige of sheet, or blanket, or counterpane on them, but in the centre of each bed lies the "Dutch wife." ”

“ A A STRENUOUS STRUGGLE, a vigorous campaign, is before any housewife who is called upon to dispute the occupancy of her home with that persistent pest unfavorably known as the bedbug, who, gorged with the blood of his victim, lieth up in his lair from daylight to candlelight, only to swoop down upon his helpless sleeping prey during the midnight watches. ”

“ I myself kept bugs for five years and a half without food, and a housekeeper at Lord H——’s informed me that an old bedstead that I was then moving from a store-room was taken down forty-five years ago, and had not been used since, but the bugs in it were still numerous, though as thin as living skeletons. They couldn’t have lived upon the sap of the wood, it being worm-eaten and dry as a bone. A bug will live for a number of years, and we find that when bugs are put away in old furniture without food, they don’t increase in number ”