Travel much? Keep an eye out for company you definitely don’t want on your trip — or when you get home again.
A new study finds that bedbug populations are on the rise; they’re now developing thicker “skins” that are helping them resist common pesticides.
The parasites feed on the blood of people and animals as they sleep and can produce painful, itchy bites.
Study author David Lilly, from the University of Sydney in Australia, said in a press release that the new findings may lead to the development of more effective pesticides to fight bedbugs. The study was published April 13 in the journal PLoS ONE.
“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,” Lilly said.
Measuring the thickness of bed bug cuticle, by the way, isn’t an easy task.
“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,” Lilly added.
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