[Columnist] Problems & Solutions - George Rambo

At the Purdue conference I gave a presentation on bed bugs and bat bugs. Bed bugs are the hot topic these days in the pest management industry so some questions came up after my talk (see right).

There are numerous articles about bed bugs that have appeared in industry magazines. In addition, the National Pest Management Association has gone the extra mile as far as alerting the media and consumers through the Professional Pest Management Alliance’s media releases. Because of the habits and nature of this insect, I would strongly suggest that your company develop educational materials to help educate your customers (as well as your technicians) on the insect and the treatment options needed to control it.

The first part of any control program will be inspection and identification. As mentioned here there could be other "bugs" that have infested the structure brought in by bats or birds (i.e., swallow bugs). These animals have specific species that feed on them and if the birds leave or the bats are removed (or excluded), then there is the possibility that these leftover bugs will seek blood meals from human occupants. Areas to inspect should include attics, chimneys and other areas. Look around and note where the bugs are being found. Pests found in ceiling lights may be an indication of an attic problem (either bats or birds).

Now for some of the questions I received after my presentation at Purdue (stay tuned for additional questions next month):

A: I would not place a time limit. These insects (nymphs and adults) can live a long time without feeding, and may go a few to several days not feeding after an initial meal. Also, eggs can be hard to find. The control should probably be followed up by another inspection within a few weeks.

Q: Do these insects have any particular preference to people (i.e., males vs. females, hairy vs. not hairy, sweaty vs. non-sweaty people)?

A: I really liked this question! The short answer is no, they feed on mammals and there does not seem to be any preferences. (Although I don’t know about the sweaty people!)

A: While I could appreciate the thought here to use nitrogen because it produces extreme cold, it would be awkward to do and is not labeled for this purpose. Along those lines of thinking, heat also was mentioned but the only heat at this time that is being used effectively during treatment is steam (dry steam temperature has to be more than 220°F to be effective). The cost can be more than $700 for an effective steamer. The most important thing to remember when using steamers is to contact the surfaces with the nozzle or tip that is releasing the steam.

You mentioned that bed bugs are not known to spread human disease organisms. Why not? They are blood feeders

This is an interesting phenomenon. Successful vectors, insects that carry and transmit organisms to other animals ( i.e., malaria, West Nile virus) have a particular system that allows the organism to multiply within them ( they are often referred to as reservoirs for the organism) it is possible that some blood feeders do not have the mechanisms necessary for this to happen. It looks like the bed bug is one of these.