DDT was banned in the 1970s for its damaging effects on wildlife and danger to humans. By the 1990s and 2000s, bed bugs had ...

Presumably, then, at least some bed bug ancestors happily switched to humans. ... for example, that essential oils can repel bed bugs. However, the effect is mostly temporary.

Human bed bugs, it turns out, have boomed since the Last Glacial Maximum about 20,000 years ago. But it's a different story for those populations that continued living on bats.

We humans might be the Earth’s apex predator, but it’s bugs that really rule the world. At least 5 million insect species live on our planet and some of them like to take up residence right ...

Bed bugs are most likely the first human pest, new research shows Date: May 28, 2025 Source: Virginia Tech Summary: Researchers compared the whole genome sequence of two genetically distinct ...

As humans began to evolve and form permanent settlements around 12,000 years ago, bed bugs found the perfect environment to thrive. Their population grew along with the rise of early cities like ...

Bed bugs gravitate toward places with fabric where humans like to lounge, like beds and sofas. “There's likely no place where bedbugs are infesting the bathtub,” Bentley said.

"That makes sense because modern humans moved out of caves about 60,000 years ago," said Warren Booth, the Joseph R. and Mary W. Wilson Urban Entomology Associate Professor.

Bed bugs have been biting humans since they emerged from caves around 60,000 years ago making them possibly the “first true urban pest,” a new study found.

Researchers have linked bed bugs to humans around 60,000 years ago, likely originating from bats and then moving to humans. During the ice age, which was around 20,000 years ago, ...

Ever since a few enterprising bed bugs hopped off a bat and attached themselves to a Neanderthal walking out of a cave 60,000 years ago, bed bugs have enjoyed a thriving relationship with their ...