The news just keeps getting worse on the bedbug front. Above, a digitally-colored scanning electron micrograph of Cimex lectularius shows the insect’s six jointed legs and “skin-piercing mouthparts.”
From a joint statement by the EPA and CDC:
Bedbugs cause a variety of negative physical health, mental health and economic consequences. Many people have mild to severe allergic reaction to the bites with effects ranging from no reaction to a small bite mark to, in rare cases, anaphylaxis (severe, whole-body reaction). These bites can also lead to secondary infections of the skin such as impetigo, ecthyma, and lymphangitis. Bedbugs may also affect the mental health of people living in infested homes. Reported effects include anxiety, insomnia and systemic reactions.
Photo courtesy of the Public Health Image Library, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention