Bed bugs, or Cimicidae, are small parasitic insects. The term parasitic usually refers to species that prefer to feed on human blood.
Early detection and treatment are critical to successful control. According to a survey, the most commonly infested places are the mattress (98.2%), boxspring (93.6%), as well as nearby carpets and baseboards (94.1%).Gangloff-Kaufmann, J.C. et al. 2006 Bed bugs in America: a pest management industry survey. Am. Entomol. 52: 105–106 In fact, bed bugs thrive in areas where there is an adequate supply of available hosts, and plenty of cracks and harborages within of the host.Harlan H. J. 2006 Bed bugs 101: the basics of Cimex lectularius. Am. Entomol. 52: 99–101
Because treatments are required in sleeping areas and other sensitive locations, methods other than chemical pesticides are in demand. Treatments can be costly, laborious, time consuming, repetitive, and embarrassing, and may entail health risks.
Public health laws Bed bug infestations spread easily in connecting units and have negative effects on psychological well-being and housing markets. In response, many areas have specific laws about responsibilities upon discovering a bed bug infestation, particularly in hotels and multi-family housing units, because an unprofessional level of response can have the effect of prolonging the invisible part of the infestation and spreading it to nearby units.
Common laws include responsibilities such as the following: Lessors must educate all lessees about bed bugs, lessee must immediately notify lessor in writing upon discovery of infestation, lessor must not intentionally lease infested unit, lessee must not intentionally introduce infested items, lessor must eradicate the infestation immediately every time it occurs at a professional level including all connecting units, and lessee must cooperate in the eradication process.
In a 2015 survey, reports of bed bug infestation in social media lowered the value of a hotel room by $38 for business travelers and $23 for leisure travelers. Orkin surveyed 100 U.S. hotels in 2016 and found that 82% had been treated for bedbugs in the previous year.
Mapped bed bug reports graphically illustrate how difficult it can be to eliminate bed bugs in densely populated areas where many people live in adjacent units like in New York City, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.
Pesticides Though commonly used, the pesticide approach often requires multiple visits and may not always be effective due to pesticide resistance and dispersal of the bed bugs. According to a 2005 survey, only 6.1% of companies claim to be able to eliminate bed bugs in a single visit, while 62.6% claim to be able to control a problem in 2–3 visits. Insecticide application may cause dispersal of bed bugs to neighbouring areas of a structure, spreading the infestation.
Furthermore, the problem of insecticide resistance in bed bug populations increases their opportunity to spread. Studies of bed bug populations across the United States indicate that resistance to pyrethroid insecticides, which are used in the majority of bed bugs cases, is widespread.Romero A. et al. 2007. Insecticide resistance in the bed bug: a factor in the pest's sudden resurgence? J. Med. Ent. Vol. 44, No. 2, pp. 175 – 178 Exterminators often require individuals to dispose of furniture and other infested materials because the pesticides are ineffective. It is advisable to break or mark these infested items to prevent their being unintentionally recycled and furthering the spread of bed bugs.
Effectiveness The well-established resistance of bed bugs to DDT and pyrethroids has created a need for different and newer chemical approaches to the extermination of bed bugs. In 2008 a study was conducted on bed bug resistance to a variety of both old and new insecticides, with the following results, listed in order from most- to least-effective: λ-cyhalothrin, bifenthrin, carbaryl, imidacloprid, fipronil, permethrin, diazinon, spinosyn, dichlorvos, chlorfenapyr, and DDT. Pyrethrin has also been registered for use against bed bugs. Note that the first of these, λ-cyhalothrin, is itself a pyrethroid-based insecticide— in the past it has been used principally for the treatment of cotton crops and so bed bugs have not yet developed a genetic resistance to it.
Up until the 1990s chlorpyrifos was used as an agent with longterm effect, but the EC biocide declaration 98/8 prohibited the use from August 2008 onward.Declaration of German manufacturer Frowein GMBH & Co. Kg to stop production of pesticides containing chlorpyrifos in 2008; site visited in September 2016
Some manufacturers also offer fumigants containing sulfuryl fluoride.Datasheet Vikane , Dow AgroSciences; site visited in September 2016
Disadvantages Non-residue methods of treatment such as steaming and vacuuming are preferable to the contamination of mattresses, pillows and bed covers with insecticides. The possible health effects of pesticides on people and pets ranging from allergic reactions to cancer and acute neurotoxicityKaneko H, Miyamoto J. 2001 Pyrethroid chemistry and metabolism. In: Handbook of Pesticide Toxicology, Vol 2: Agents (Krieger R, Doull J, Ecobichon D, eds). San Diego:Academic Press, 1263–1288Narahashi T. 2001 Neurophysiological effects of insecticides. In: Handbook of Pesticide Toxicology. Vol 1: Principles (Krieger R, Doull J, Ecobichon D, eds). San Diego:Academic Press, 335–350 have to be considered, as well as the dispersal of bed bugs to neighbouring dwellings due to repellent effects of insecticides.
Bed bugs prefer to hide in and around the bed frame but it can still be a good idea to put a tight cotton cover on mattress and bedding to prevent access.
Pesticide resistance Bed bugs are largely resistant to various pesticides including DDT and organophosphates. Most populations have developed a resistance to pyrethroid insecticides. Although now often ineffective, the resistance to pyrethroid allows for new chemicals that work in different ways to be investigated, so chemical management can continue to be one part in the resolving of bed bug infestations.Insecticide Resistance in the Bed Bug: A Factor in the Pest's Sudden Resurgence? Alvaro Romero, Michael F. Potter, Daniel A. Potter, Kenneth F. Haynes Journal of Medical Entomology 2007 44 (2), 175–178 There is growing interest in both synthetic pyrethroid and the pyrrole insecticide, chlorfenapyr. Insect growth regulators, such as hydroprene (Gentrol), are also sometimes used.
Populations in Arkansas have been found to be highly resistant to DDT, with an LD50 of more than 100,000 ppm. DDT was seen to make bed bugs more active in studies conducted in Africa.
Bed bug pesticide-resistance appears to be increasing dramatically. Bed bug populations sampled across the U.S. showed a tolerance for pyrethroids several thousand times greater than laboratory bed bugs.Voiland, Adam. "You May not be Alone" U.S. News & World Report 16 July 2007, Vol. 143, Issue 2, p53–54. New York City bed bugs have been found to be 264 times more resistant to deltamethrin than Florida bed bugs due to mutations and evolution."Biochemical and Molecular Analysis of Deltamethrin Resistance in the Common Bed Bug (Hemiptera: Cimicidae)" Journal of Medical Entomology,45 (6), 2008, pp. 1092–1101 Products developed in the mid 2010s combine neonicotinoids with pyrethroids, but according to a January 2016 survey published by the Journal of Medical Entomology, bed bug resistance in two major US cities now includes neonicotinoids.
A population genetics study of bed bugs in the United States, Canada, and Australia using a mitochondrial DNA marker found high levels of genetic variation. This suggests the studied bed bug populations did not undergo a genetic bottleneck as one would expect from insecticide control during the 1940s and 1950s, but instead, that populations may have been maintained on other hosts such as birds and bats. In contrast to the high amount of genetic variation observed with the mitochondrial DNA marker, no genetic variation in a nuclear RNA marker was observed. This suggests increased gene flow of previously isolated bed bug populations, and given the absence of barriers to gene flow, the spread of insecticide resistance may be rapid.
Biopesticides Preliminary research has shown the fungal biopesticide Beauveria bassiana, which has been used for years as an outdoor organic pesticide, is also highly effective at eliminating bed bugs exposed to cotton fabric sprayed with fungus spores. It is also effective against bed bug colonies due to the spores carried by infected bugs back to their harborages. Unlike typical insecticides, exposure to the fungus does not kill instantly, but kills bugs within five days of exposure. Some people, especially those with compromised immune systems, may react negatively to the concentrated presence of the fungus directly following an application.
Physical isolation Isolation of humans is attempted with numerous devices and methods including zippered bed bug-proof mattress covers, bed-leg moat devices, double sided tape, and other barriers. However, even with isolated beds, bed bug infestations persist if the bed itself is not free of bed bugs, or if it is re-infested, which could happen quite easily.
It is convenient to place medium-sized belongings in sealed transparent plastic bags (such as plastic bags for freezing; larger models exist as well). Once closed, the tightness should be verified by pressing the bag and ensuring that air doesn't exit. It is as well convenient to mark these sealed bags as 'contaminated'/'decontaminated'.
Inorganic materials
Inorganic materials such as diatomaceous earth or amorphous silica gel may be used in conjunction with other methods to manage a bed bug infestation, provided they are used in a dry environment. Upon contact with such dust-like materials, the waxy outer layer of the insect's exoskeleton is disrupted, which causes them to dehydrate.Insects in the City, Texas A&M
Food-grade diatomaceous earth has been widely used to combat infestations. However, it can take weeks to have a significant effect. Studies examined and compared diatomaceous earth and synthetically produced, pure amorphous (i.e. non-crystalline) silica, so-called silica gel. They investigated the use of these substances as a stand-alone treatment in real-life scenarios, and compared them to usual poisonous agents. They found that the effect of diatomaceous earth was surprisingly low when used in real-life scenarios, while the synthetic product was extremely effective and fast in killing bed bugs in such settings.
Silica gel was also more effective than usual poisonous pesticides (particularly in cases with pesticide resistant bugs). When applied after being mixed with water and then sprayed, the outcome for silica gel was significantly lower, but still distinctly better than for the natural silica (used dry). Authors argued that the reason for the poor outcome for diatomaceous earth as a stand-alone treatment was multi-factorial. When tested in laboratory where the bed bugs had intensive, prolonged contact with diatomaceous earth and no access to a host, diatomaceous earth performed very well. Silica gel, on the other side, performed in vitro consistently well even if applied to bed bugs in extremely low doses and with very slight and short (often only seconds or few minutes) contact to the substance.
Although occasionally applied as a safe indoor pesticide treatment for other insects, boric acid is ineffectual against bed bugs because bed bugs do not groom.
Organic materials
Bean leaves