Bed bugs nowadays are harder to kill because they have developed thicker skin to repel common insecticides, a study reveals.
Researchers from the University of Sydney said that the increasing incidence of bed bugs in the last two decades can be attributed to the thicker cuticle the bugs developed through time.
David Lilly, a PhD candidate from University of Sydney studied the skins of bed bugs and found out that thicker cuticle allows these bothersome bugs to survive constant exposure to over-the-counter insecticides.
Bed bugs have an exoskeleton covering — the cuticle — like most insects. Lilly and his team used scanning electron microscopy to compare the cuticle thickness of insecticide resistant bugs to those that are easily killed by the same insecticides.
The examination of the cuticles showed that those bugs with thicker cuticles are able to repel the insecticides.
"If we understand the biological mechanisms bed bugs use to beat insecticides, we may be able to spot a chink in their armor that we can exploit with new strategies," said Lilly.
The study was published in the journal PLOS ONE on April 13.
Bed bugs (Cimex lectularius) are parasites that feed off blood and cause painful insect bites that often disrupt sleep. These blood suckers, once they infest, can be difficult to control as they can creep into the corners of bed frame, seams of mattresses, couches, wallpapers, and even drawers. Although they are not known to cause any serious diseases, they can cause severe itch that may lead to insomnia.
Their resurgence is significantly hurting the tourism and hospitality industry that understanding how to effectively control them now has become an economic issue.
It seems resorting to common insecticides becomes counter-productive because these bed bugs develop a thicker skin as their own defense mechanism to beat common insecticides.
Lilly's study could be the reason why these parasites are becoming resistant to over-the-counter insecticides.
A previous study conducted by Virginia Tech and New Mexico State University researchers showed that these bed bugs are can survive neonicotinoids, a commonly used class of insecticides.
