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A bit of history

Bed bugs are mentioned in Greek writings as early as 400 years BCE, Aristotle mentions them later, and in a work by Pliny from the year 77, he claims that they can be used to treat snakebites, among other things. In Germany, they were first heard of in the twelfth century and in France around the year 1300. In Denmark, bed bugs arrived during the seventeenth century, by travelers, perhaps pilgrims, from the south. They quickly became common, were given many common names and soon a lot of superstition was attached to the intrusive guests. One of the more strange pieces of advice for avoiding bed bugs comes from Vendsyssel in Denmark and requires keeping a human skull from a grave in the farmhouse in order to never get bed bugs. It was also said that the bed bugs were displaced by the smell of a sheep, so in some areas the family had a sheep in an empty alcove, HP Hansen recounted in 1928.

Let us immediately state that bed bugs are not directly concerned with hygiene. As long as blood is available they do not care whether the house is clean or dirty.

In the 1930s, Denmark seriously set in against bed bugs. To limit the spread, many municipalities and property companies made demands for bed bug certification when people moved from one apartment to another. The apartment and the furniture were examined by a fumigator, and if bed bugs were found they had to be controlled before people were allowed to move. This contributed to getting the problem somewhat under control, and when effective synthetic insecticides, DDT among others, were available after World War II, bed bugs quickly became rare animals in Danish homes. For a long time, the number of cases was on a low and fairly constant level, but in the time from 1968 onwards, a steady increase in the number of problems with bed bugs could be noted. It was explained by the increase in travel and the relatively large number of migrant workers who came from countries with a warmer climate where the bed bugs were more common than in Denmark. The problems were kept reasonably at bay, primarily by means of the newly developed synthetic insecticides until the bed bugs over the past two decades have become increasingly difficult to control, not just in Denmark but wherever they occur. The most important explanation is undoubtedly the increasing resistance of bed bugs to the pesticides that are left.

Bedbugs – Bites, Stings and Itches
Introduction
Unease about small animals
Frequency
Where?
The active substances, venom, poison and saliva
Symptoms
Dealing with the problem
Bed bugs
Where does it come from?
A bit of history
How do they look?
Food consumption
Disease transmission
Can you recognize a bed bug bite?
Mating
Egg-laying
Development of adult bed bugs
Temperature dependence
Bed bugs stick together
Where are they?
How do you get bed bugs?
Prevention
Pesticides and methods
Physical methods
Who will take care of the problem.
Lice
The head louse
Occurrence
Life cycle
Lice bites
Suspicion of head lice
Detection
Spreading of head lice
Lice control
Collective lice control
The body louse
The crab louse
Biology
Occurrence
Crab louse bites
Spreading of crab lice
Detection
Control
Lice in dogs
Lice in cats
Thrips
Life cycle
Bites and irritation
Prevention and eradication
Bugs
Bed bugs in animals
The masked hunter
The debris bug
The common flower bug
Water bugs
Butterflies and beetles
Butterflies
Butterfly scales
Butterfly larvae hair
Beetles
Larder beetle larvae hairs.
Mosquitoes and flies
Mosquitoes
Life cycle
Mosquito bites
Transmission of disease
Control
Prevention and protection
Biting midges
Bites
Prevention and control
Black flies
Life cycle
Black fly bites
Prevention and control
The stable fly
Life cycle
Stable fly bites
Control
Horse-flies
Horse-fly bites
Life cycle
Prevention and control
Louse flies
Life cycle
Prevention and control
Bees, wasps and ants
The honey bee
Life cycle
Bee stings
Prevention and control
Bumblebees
Bumblebee stings
Control
Solitary bees
Hornets (actual wasps)
Life cycle
Hornet stings
Prevention
Control
Other wasps
Ants
Fleas
The adult flea
Eggs and larvae
Flea bites
General treatment
Many kinds of fleas
Human fleas
Hedgehog fleas
Bird fleas
Bird flea control
Dog fleas and cat fleas
Cat flea biology
Cat fleas bite people
Flea bite allergies
Detection
Control
Control on the host animal
Flea control in the surrounding environment
Ticks
The castor bean tick
Life cycle
Biting locations
The castor bean tick bite
Tick removal
Detection
Control
Prevention
The brown dog tick
Life cycle
Suspected brown dog tick infestation
Brown dog tick control
The european pigeon tick
Biology
Detection
European pigeon tick bites
If the European pigeon ticks are not controlled
Control
Small mites
Itch mites
Appearance
Biology
Symptoms
Mode of transmission between humans
Control
Scabies from animals
Scabies in animals
Follicle mites
Follicle mites in humans
The canine follicle mite
Ear mites
Ear mites on dogs
The canine nasal mite
Fur mites
Three kinds of fur mites
Life cycle
Fur mite bites
People's reaction to the bite
Host animal's reactions to the bite
Infection and the spreading between animals
Detection
Control
Prevention
Water mites
An unusual family
Bird mites
Biology
Control
The harvest mite
Occurrence
Life cycle
Trombiculosis
Control
House dust mites
Storage mites
Other animals
Stinging jellyfish
Cercariae
Leeches
Centipedes
Scorpions
Spiders
Tarantulas
Greater weevers
The european adder
Animals that do not exist
Suspected delusional parasitosis
What to do
Possibilities of confusion
Appendix
Humans
Dogs
Cats
Rabbits
Guinea Pigs
Index

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