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Steam application is an effective and environmentally friendly method for controlling bed bugs, Cimex lectularius L. (Hemiptera: Cimicidae). While a few studies documented the bed bug control efficacy of steam treatment, the sublethal effect of steam treatment on bed bug behavior and female fecundity is unknown. In this study, we evaluated the effect of steam treatment on the movement, feeding, mating behavior, and fecundity of female bed bugs in the laboratory. Bed bug adults received a calibrated steam treatment that caused approximately 28% mortality. The surviving bed bugs were observed for their feeding and mating behavior at 1 d posttreatment, female fecundity during a 7-d observation period, and offspring hatching. Steam-treated bed bugs were less active based on the percentage of bed bugs with movement, moving distance during a 10-min observation period, and feeding rate. However, steam treatment had no significant effect on blood intake (amount of blood taken per meal) among the fed bed bugs. After blood feeding, the steam-treated bed bugs had similar mating events and egg production as the control bed bugs. Furthermore, parental steam exposure had no significant effect on the offspring hatching. In conclusion, steam treatment could temporarily decrease bed bug activity levels and feeding rate, but had no significant impact on bed bug mating behavior and female fecundity.

Background: Infestations of the common bed bug, Cimex lectularius L., have become common in low-income communities in the USA over the last 15 years. We evaluated community-based integrated pest management (IPM) programs for reducing bed bug infestations. Two housing authorities (Bayonne and Hackensack) implemented bed bug IPM programs. A third housing authority (Paterson) was used as the control site. Building-wide surveys were conducted in all communities, three times, to evaluate the effectiveness of the IPM programs., Results: From 0 to 24 months, the infestation rate at Bayonne, Hackensack, and Paterson decreased by 49, 64, and 26%, respectively. The two sites that adopted IPM achieved faster bed bug elimination than the control site. The bed bug introduction rate over a 24-month period at Bayonne, Hackensack, and Paterson was 7, 3, and 11%, respectively. The introduction rate was positively associated with the initial infestation rate. Residents from buildings enrolled in IPM programs were more satisfied with the bed bug control services than residents from the control site., Conclusion: IPM programs were more effective in reducing bed bug infestations than traditional pest control services, but many factors contributed to the lower than desired level of reduction in infestation rate. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry., (© 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.)

Pest infestations in residential buildings are common, but community-wide pest survey data are lacking. Frequent insecticide applications for controlling indoor pests leave insecticide residues and pose potential health risks to residents. In this study, a community-wide pest survey was carried out in a housing complex consisting of 258 units in 40 buildings in New Brunswick, New Jersey. It was immediately followed by implementation of an integrated pest management (IPM) program in all the cockroach-infested apartments and two bed bug apartments with the goal of eliminating pest infestations, reducing pyrethroid residues, and increasing resident satisfaction with pest control services. The IPM-treated apartments were revisited and treated biweekly or monthly for 7 mo. Initial inspection found the top three pests and their infestation rates to be as follows: German cockroaches (Blattella germanica L. [Blattodea: Blattellidae]), 28%; rodents, 11%; and bed bugs (Cimex lectularius L. [Hemiptera: Cimicidae]), 8%. Floor wipe samples were collected in the kitchens and bedrooms of 20 apartments for pyrethroid residue analysis before the IPM implementation; 17 of the 20 apartments were resampled again at 7 mo. The IPM program reduced cockroach counts per apartment by 88% at 7 wk after initial treatment. At 7 mo, 85% of the cockroach infestations found in the initial survey were eliminated. The average number of pyrethroids detected decreased significantly from 6 ± 1 (mean ± SEM) and 5 ± 1 to 2 ± 1 and 3 ± 1 in the kitchens and bedrooms, respectively. The average concentrations of targeted pyrethroids residue also decreased significantly in the kitchens and bedrooms.

The common bed bug [Cimex lectularius L. (Hemiptera: Cimicidae)] and tropical bed bug [Cimex hemipterus F. (Hemiptera: Cimicidae)] resurged in the United States and many other countries over the past decades. The need for safe and effective bed bug control products propelled the development of numerous 'green insecticides', mostly with essential oils listed as active ingredients. Various inorganic and organic oils also were used for bed bug management. However, there are no published studies on their toxicities against bed bugs. In this study, we screened 18 essential oils, three silicone oils, and paraffin oil (C5-20 paraffins) for their toxicities against bed bugs. All the oils exhibited insecticidal activity in topical assays. Their toxicities varied significantly; all of the evaluated essential oils were less effective than silicone oils and paraffin oil. The LD50 values of the most effective essential oil (blood orange), paraffin oil, and the most effective silicone oil (dodecamethylpentasiloxane) are 0.184 ± 0.018, 0.069 ± 0.012, and 0.036 ± 0.005 mg per bug, respectively. Direct spray of 1% water solution of 3-[hydroxy (polyethyleneoxy) propyl] heptamethyltrisiloxane, the only silicone oil that mixes well with water, resulted in 92% bed bug mortality after 1 d. Results of this study indicate silicone oils and paraffin oil have the potential to be used as safer alternative bed bug control materials., (© The Author(s) 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Bed bugs, Cimex lectularius L., are one of the most difficult urban pests to control. Pest management professionals rely heavily on insecticide sprays and dusts to control bed bugs. Dust formulations are considered to provide longer residual control than sprays. However, there are no scientific data available on the comparative efficacy of the commonly used insecticide dusts. We evaluated the efficacy of eight insecticide dust products using three exposure methods: 1) brief exposure-bed bugs crossed a 2.54-cm-wide dust-treated band, 2) forced exposure-bed bugs were continuously exposed to a dust-treated substrate, and 3) choice exposure-bed bugs were given a choice to stay on either dust-treated or untreated substrate. The brief exposure method was the most sensitive in detecting the differences among the insecticides. Only CimeXa (silica gel) dust caused 100% mortality from all three exposure methods. Other tested dusts (1% cyfluthrin, 0.05% deltamethrin, 0.075% zeta-cypermethrin + 0.15% piperonyl butoxide, 1% pyrethrins, 1% 2-phenethyl propionate + 0.4% pyrethrin, 0.25% dinotefuran + 95% diatomaceous earth, 100% diatomaceous earth) caused ≤65% mortality in a brief exposure assay. We also evaluated the horizontal transfer effect of the silica gel dust. Silica gel dust-exposed bed bugs transferred the dust horizontally to unexposed bed bugs resulting in 100% mortality at 4:6 donor: recipient ratio and 88.0 ± 5.0% mortality at 1:5 donor: recipient ratio. The results suggest silica gel is the most promising insecticide dust for controlling C. lectularius., (© The Authors 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

We examined bed bug prevalence in 2,372 low-income apartments within 43 buildings in four New Jersey cities using a combination of resident interviews, brief visual inspections, and monitoring with Climbup Insect Interceptors. Infestation rates ranged from 3.8 to 29.5% among the buildings, with an overall infestation rate of 12.3%. Within each apartment, the bed area trapped significantly more bed bugs per trap than the sofa (or upholstered chair) area. African American residents had a proportionally higher number of bed bug infestations than white residents. Women were more likely to report bed bug bite symptoms than men. Only 68% of the residents who experienced bed bug infestations reported symptoms after being bitten (n = 475). Among those with self-reported symptoms (n = 319), the frequency of the reported symptoms was: pain 90%, itchiness 20%, welts 13%, and insomnia 8%. Fifty-nine percent of the residents (n = 539) who experienced bed bug infestations applied insecticides to control bed bugs. Climbup interceptors detected 89 ± 1% and brief visual inspections detected 72 ± 3% of the infestations. Only two out of 291 infestations were not detected by brief visual inspection or interceptors. Assuming US$50 per hour labor rate, the average per apartment cost for the building-wide bed bug monitoring protocol was US$12 per apartment. Forty-nine percent of the infestations detected by the protocol were in apartments whose residents were unaware of the bed bug activity., (© The Authors 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.)