Research conducted on 22 bedbug populations from nine states, sheds some light on how and why the bedbugs infested US homes again.

Previous study of US bedbug populations suggested they are domestic pests. Because bedbugs are resistant to various insecticides, it was thought that they spread to homes from poultry farms where those insecticides were widely used. However, that hypothesis was wrong since same insecticides are still effective at farms against domestic bedbug population.

Entomologist Coby Schal of NC State University in Raleigh conducted a research that showed that bedbugs from different locations are genetically very different. This research also showed that there is no geographical pattern in bedbug similarity. Bedbug populations in the same location could be as different as populations from different states.

The conclusion from all this was rather clear - bedbugs were imported from many different sources overseas. Since a lot of tropical countries use insecticides for mosquito control by spraying indoors and impregnating bed nets with same insecticides, their bedbugs developed a strong resistance. Global trade and increased imports brought those resistant bedbugs to US on several occasions and from different sources.

Additional bad news gleaned from this research is that bedbugs are not affected by inbreeding. A single mated female, brought in on a piece of furniture, can set of infestation of epidemic proportions. This research confirmed that the entire Raleigh infestation came from a single source.

Bedbugs can be infected by at least 28 human pathogens. So, is there any way to fight these incestuous and dangerous parasites?