A new study indicates that bed bugs in the US have developed resistance to neonicotinoids, the most widely used insecticide in the world.
The scientists say non-chemical methods of control now need to be considered.
Thanks to the increase in the global human population and the rapid expansion of international travel, the flat bodied bed bug has become a source of considerable irritation in hotel rooms all over the world.
Mainly active at night, the insects survive solely on blood and travellers often wake up with bite marks and red weals all over their bodies.
Infestations have spread to homes and offices and the bugs are extremely hard to get rid off once they gain a foothold; they can survive for up to a year without feeding and a single fertilised female can infect an entire apartment building.