The Parasite: The life cycle of bedbugs -- and the secret to this parasite's success -- begins during the violent act of reproduction. Aptly named traumatic insemination, the male bedbug stabs the female in the back with his reproductive organ and ejaculates into the female's body cavity. She heals within 24 hours and then goes on to lay up to 12 eggs a day and up to 500 over the course of a lifetime. The eggs hatch into nymphs within 10 days, and these small translucent bugs are immediately attracted to warm-blooded food sources... like humans.

The carbon dioxide in humans' breath and their body heat attract the tiny bedbugs, and they then use an elongated mouth, called a stylet, to suck blood from their unsuspecting victim (who is usually fast asleep, as bedbugs are more active during the night). The engorged bug then retreats for seven days before emerging to feed again. It will molt four more times before reaching adulthood and mating, starting the life cycle all over again. Bedbugs were nearly eradicated 60 years ago, but they have returned with a vengeance. Their numbers have increased 50 fold in the last five years alone.