Is infestation with the common bedbug increasing?
—In recent decades the common bedbug, Cimex lectularius, has been so scarce in the United Kingdom that new finds have been considered worthy of publication.1 In 1998 specimens from only one infestation were submitted to Brighton Public Health Laboratory Service for identification, none having been submitted during the previous three years. From February to October 1999 specimens from four separate infestations were referred to the service; this suggests that bedbugs are becoming more common.
