CHAPTER 12

True Bugs

The term "bug" is used by the general public to refer to any one of a variety of critters. Occasionally scientists use this term in combination with other words to refer to insects from orders other than Hemiptera (e.g. lightning bugs, waterbugs, and mealybugs). When used alone by entomologists, this term refers to insects from the order Hemiptera. The term 'true bugs' is sometimes used to distinguish insects of this order from those in other orders.

One of the unique characteristics of Hemiptera is the structure of the front pair of wings (Figure 12A). In most hemipterans, the inner half of the front wing is thickened and leathery, while the outer half is thin and membranous. The derivation of the word Hemiptera refers to this structure (hemi = half, ptera = wing).

Figure 12A. A true bug illustrating the half-leathery, half-membranous
hemelytra. The tan area of the wing is the membrane.

An additional characteristic of this order is piercing-sucking type mouthparts. In this case the mandibles and maxillae have evolved into elongate, needle-like structures for piercing the host and sucking its juices (Figure 12B). The needle-like structures form a beak which rises from the front of the head. This latter characteristic is often used to distinguish the Hemiptera from the closely related order of the Homoptera that also possesses piercing sucking beaks (Homopteran beaks arise from the back of the head behind the eyes).

Figure 12B. Assassin bug’s piercing-sucking mouthparts that rise from in

front of the eyes. Image courtesy of Joseph Berger, Bugwood.

Giant Waterbugs. This family contains the largest bugs in the order Hemiptera, some of which may reach a length of three inches in the United States, and approach six inches in South America. Nearly all are elongated and oval in shape, tan to brown and possess large raptorial front legs (Figure 12C).

Figure 12C. Common giant waterbugs. Top-right image courtesy of Entophiles.

Commonly they are found in lakes, streams and ponds, where typically they feed on other insects, snails, tadpoles and small fish. Some of the huge South American species are capable of preying on frogs, salamanders, mice, and even small rats. These are voracious predators and quite capable of delivering a painful bite, if handled carelessly.

One year at Cal Poly we decided we were going to put together an aquarium with all types of aquatic insects. We collected dragonfly immatures, water striders, backswimmers, water boatmen and a variety of other aquatic insects including six giant waterbugs. A few days after everything was in the aquarium I noticed that there were almost no other insects present than the giant waterbugs, A few days later there was only one giant waterbug-a disappointment but an example of how vicious these predators are. Not to give up we recollected everything but decided to cut the beaks off the giant waterbugs. Several days later same result-one giant waterbug. I don’t know how this was accomplished since the bugs had no mouthparts-must have gummed them to death!

Another example of the aggressiveness of these insects occurred in a swimming pool in Acapulco. I dove into the large pool which contained one giant waterbug-it found and bit me. It now is on a pin in our museum at Cal Poly.

Giant waterbugs frequently leave the water to feed and are readily attracted to lights. They also have been called the electric light bugs and toe biters. In some California species the female lays her eggs on the back of the male which carries them around until hatching. As in several groups of aquatic hemipterans, a giant waterbug is capable of trapping an air bubble between its hemelytra and abdomen. The spiracles of the respiratory system open into this bubble. This air bubble is then carried with the adult (much like a scuba tank) and allows it to be submerged for several hours.

As one might expect, giant waterbugs are a source of human food. It came as no surprise while shopping in the day market in Chiang Mai, Thailand, that we found a giant waterbug stall next to the chicken and egg stalls. The vendor had a large basket containing approximately 80 three-to-four inch long giant waterbugs. Each of the bugs’ legs and beaks were tied down with a rubber band to prevent them from escaping or biting. Apparently these bugs are used to make a spicy sauce to be served over rice or they are eaten whole. They are collected from the rice fields.

BED BUGS 1 newest

The common bed bug (Cimex lectularius) is the main species that is currently found infesting buildings and homes throughout the United States and other temperate climates. There are a number of other species of bedbugs found around the world. These species are more frequently associated with birds and bats and have been found on occasion in homes when these have been nesting on/within the structure. The tropical bed bug, Cimex hemipterus , occurs commonly throughout tropical areas of the world thus preferring higher temperatures and humidity that Cimex lectularis. In continental Europe and the United States, established infestations of this species are rare; in the Western Hemisphere, it is seldom found north of Mexico and Puerto Rico, or south of Peru and Brazil. Occasional limited populations have been found in Florida and Chile. Other species of bedbugs, including bat bugs, swallow bugs, and other bird-feeding bugs), occur in various north and south temperate parts of the world, may occasionally bite humans and are found sporatically in or around homes and other structures..

Cimex hemipterus, occurs primarily in more tropical areas but has been found in temperate areas of the US particularly for people engaged in international travel. Bedbugs have been known by a variety of names including wall louse, mahogany flat, crimson rambler, heavy dragoon, chinche, and redcoat.

Left. Bed Bug with Piercing Sucking Mouthparts Inserted into Host (human) Sucking Blood. Right Piercing Sucking Mouthparts of Bedbug Images Courtesy CDC.

Identification. As indicated in above figure adults of these insects are reddish-brown, oval, flattened insects about ³/16" long and up ¹/8" wide. Once engorged with blood they are swollen and dull red. Their eyes are deeply pigmented and the sides of the collar-like pronotum curve slightly around the head. The immature (nymphs) vary considerably in size with almost colorless new hatchings being about the size of a period in this article. Eggs are white, oval and about 1 mm long (very difficult to see with the naked eye). The tropical begbug is about ¼ large than the common bedbug.

Bedbug History. It is thought that bedbugs were originally ectoparasite of bats in caves, but then changed hosts to include humans (cavemen) once they were found in the same habitat. They are mentioned in medieval European texts and in classical Greek writings back to the time of Aristotle. These pests were originally brought to the United States by early colonists from Europe. Colonial records of the early 18th century document severe bedbug infestations in England and Canada, but no apparent indication in American Indians. There are reports of early sailing vessels being heavily infested with bedbug and in some instances passenger were not allowed to bring bedding material on board. During the early 1900s bedbugs infestations were quite common in American homes. They were rated amongst the top structural pests at that time with an estimated 1/3 of all residences having infestations at one time or another. They were especially prevalent in lower income areas. However with the discovery and use of DDT and other “new” insecticides in and around homes the presence of these pests quickly disappeared. As typically occurs bedbugs developed resistance to DDT after a few years but other chlorinated hydrocarbons (such as lindane) and organophosphates (malathion) were used to keep these pests at a low level. Off course the key factor as to why these chemicals are more effective in controlling bedbug as compare to modern available chemicals is persistence. For example DDT when sprayed on a bed remains active for up to one year. With this a bedbug that came to feed on a sleeping person was eliminated and since all would need to feed at one time or another the infestation was eventually eliminated.

In many undeveloped countries however the bedbug remained an important pest. In the past ten years bedbugs have made a tremendous comeback in many areas of the world including all 50 states, as well as Guam, Puerto Rico and American Samoa, Canada, Australia, parts of Europe, and parts of Africa.

In the US a few of the major cities that are currently experiencing considerable bedbug’s infestations include Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York. New York City has experienced increased cases of bedbug infestations. Bedbug-related calls to pest control operators are escalating at a fantastic rate From June 2009 to June 2010, there were more than 31,000 calls in New York City alone. Bed bug infestation in the United States is increasing at an alarming rate. Some pest management firms have reported more than a 10-fold increase in bed bug treatments in recent years (Cooper, 2006). In a recent online survey of 509 U.S. pest control firms, 91% report encountering bed bugs in the past two years; 37% said they encountered them five years ago, and 21% recalled seeing them more than 10 years ago. Respondents who reported seeing bed bugs a several years ago indicated the frequency was very low, never more than one or two incidents per year. In a related survey question, 23% of companies indicated they treated more than 20 different bed bug infestations last year, while 6% battled more than 100 (Potter, 2008).

Some domestic cases have escalated to extreme levels, causing residents to label the infestations "house herpes". In California one of the larger companies that uses canines to detect infestations of these pests reported that they performed a mere 12 searches ten years ago. This year they reported 33,000 such searches. The National Pest Management Association reported a 71% increase in bedbug calls between 2000 and 2005. One report claimed that 25% of the North Carolina 700 hotels surveyed between 2002 and 2006 needed bedbug treatment.

Why the Increase. There are several theories as to why this increase has occurred. However nobody knows for sure. Part of the reason may be too our shrinking world. World travel is on a tremendous increase. People commonly travel to and from all parts of the world, including areas where bedbugs are common. Business and leisure travelers regularly travel between all the continents. Developed countries are increasingly multicultural, with residents moving back and forth from their homelands. Of course bedbugs are great hitch-hikers easily traveling in luggage on other items.

Another possible reason for more bedbug problems is the increase in illegal aliens and other temporary workers. In many cases these individual are coming in from Mexico and Central America (countries where bedbug population have remained fairly common place). They commonly (especially temporary workers) shift in and out of group residences, mostly in low- income apartments. It is not uncommon for individuals to constantly change or leave residences for a new location as jobs change or for them to return to their home country. These conditions can quickly lead to importation and movement of these pests.

Second-hand stores, thrift shops, swap meets, flea markets, antique and Goodwill stores are on an increase in the US, especially with the current economic crisis. Of course any used item is a possible source of the “initial infestation”.

Another recent theory about their reappearance involves potential geographic epicenters. Investigators have found three apparent United States epicenters at poultry facilities in Arkansas, Texas, and Delaware. It was determined that workers in these facilities were the main spreaders of bedbugs, unknowingly transporting them from the poultry farms to their places of residence and elsewhere.  Bedbug populations in the United States have increased by 500 percent in the past few years.

Also significant changes in pest control practices in addition to the development of resistance to modern day pesticides (pyrethroids) has very likely added to the successful re-establishment of bed bug populations in the United States and possibly abroad.  In the past, hotel rooms, homes and other indoor locations were typically treated on a regular basis with residual pesticides. Crack and crevice treatment was a standard and commonly used technique for German cockroach control. As a result, bedbugs introduced during travel or other means were likely to contact these pesticides in their daytime hiding places.  However during the mid 1990's there was a significant shift in these pest management practices. Routinely scheduled treatments of baseboards in hotels, motels and apartments were replaced with the use of baits for pests such as ants and cockroaches. As a result with the absence of the residual pesticide applications, bedbugs were able to travel freely and safely from the luggage or other location to the bed, and successfully begin an infestation. Many professional consider it no coincidence that the dramatic rise in bedbug activity came approximately 10 or so years after applicators stopped spraying for cockroaches.

Biology. The name bedbug is somewhat of a misnomer. These insects are not necessarily found in or around beds but since the common bedbug in the US feeds on human blood during evening hours (between midnight and 5:00 am) it follows that they most commonly occur around or on beds as this is where the food is, namely us. Bedbugs are attracted to CO2 produced by our breathing and our body heat. However, they are only able to detect these host cues over short distances (about 3 feet away for CO2 and even less for heat). It is not well understood how they are able capable of finding a person in a bed while initially located in a closet or other distant location. Even though they have a very flat body (definitely not streamline) and relatively short legs they are able to move relatively quickly, and it is thought that they randomly wander in search of food. In most cases the majority of an infestation is found on the bed. However, this is not always possible in heavy infestations where bed bugs are crowded and many bed bugs have to seek refuge at distances several yards from the host

Bedbugs exhibit gradual metamorphosis. That is they pass through 3 stages during the life cycle, namely egg, nymph and adult. The nymphs are very similar in appearance to the adults except they are smaller but gradually increase in size with progressive molts. There are 5 nymphal instars or sizes.

The eggs are tiny, whitish, and hard to see on most surfaces without magnification (individual eggs are about the size of a speck of dust or period on this page). When first deposited they are sticky and readily adhere to surfaces thus making them difficult to remove. . Under favorable conditions, each female lays 100 to 500 eggs at a rate of between 1- 7 eggs per day for about 10 days. She will then have to feed again to produce more eggs and is capable of producing between 5 and 20 eggs from a single blood meal. Maximum egg deposition occurs when the temperature is above 70°F (21°C) and typically ceases when temperatures drop below 50°F (10°C). Eggs and their shells are found, singly or in clusters, in or near the crevices where bed bugs are hiding. At temperatures above 21°C (70°F), eggs hatch in about 10 days. At lower temperatures, hatching may take as long as 28 days.

Under optimum conditions the hatching rate of bedbug eggs results approximately 3% mortality. Even under the best conditions some bed bug nymphs will die prior to becoming adults. The first instars are particularly vulnerable. Newly hatched nymphs are exceptionally tiny and cannot travel great distances to locate a host. If an egg is laid too far from a host, the first instars nymph may die of dehydration before ever taking its first blood meal. However, laboratory studies have found that overall bedbug survivorship is good under favorable conditions, and that more than 80 percent of all eggs survive to become reproductive. Due to the large numbers of eggs a female can produce under optimal conditions (temperatures >70° F but < 90° F, and in the presence of a host), a bed bug population can double every 16 days.

Without a source of food bedbugs can enter a dormant condition and reportedly can live for 18 months while well-fed specimens typically live six to nine months. However a recent laboratory study has shown that starvation has a negative impact on bed bug survival. This modern study contradicts European studies conducted in the 1930s and 40s when it was determined that starved bedbugs could survive periods lasting more than one year. While this may have been true for individual bedbugs in the UK living at very low temperatures (< 40° F; because of no central heating); modern bedbugs collected from homes in the United States do not live that long. On average starved bedbugs (at any life stage) held at room temperature will die within 70 days. Most likely these bedbugs are dying of dehydration rather than starving to death. Because bedbugs have no source of hydration other than their blood meal.

The unfed first instar nymph is almost translucent in color but subsequent nymphs progressively darken in coloration. Recently fed nymphs are blood red in coloration. As with all insects bedbug are cold blooded, meaning they take on the temperature of their surrounding environment. Correspondingly, the cooler the surrounding environment the slower their time of development.

Bedbugs will travel 5-20 ft. from an established harborage to feed on a host. Nymphs and adults are gregarious (found together in groups). This grouping or “nesting” behavior is a result of two distinct pheromones, namely an airborn aggregation pheromone that attracts the bedbugs to the location and an arresting pheromone that causes them to settle. Although they normally venturing out to feed in the early morning hours they occasionally feed at other times if given the opportunity and have been observed active during all periods of the day. Typically only when bedbugs are starved will they feed during daylight hours. However there are many well documented cases of bedbugs feeding during daylight hours. In more than one cases they have become established in movie theaters, (especially older theaters with leather seat). Apparently during the day they come out of the seats to feed when the lights are turned off.

They can gain access to their host by crawling up the legs of a bed or they have even been observed crawling across and dropping from the ceiling to float (flattened like a falling leaf) down to their host.

Aggregation of Bedbugs. Image Courtesy w.en. User Rogesoss

Mating. The mating behavior of bedbugs is strange and at times quite competitive. Males inject their sperm into the female by puncturing the body wall as the female has no natural opening for reception of his sperm. Of course the sperm then swim throughout the female’s body cavity eventually finding and fertilizing her eggs. Apparently this is not limited to females as it is not uncommon to find males with copulation scars where other males have penetrated their body wall. In some species this apparently happens when a male penetrates another male that is copulating with a female and injects his sperm into the mounted male. In this case some of his sperm find its way into the sperm ducts of the mounted male which in turn is injected into the female upon ejaculation. A "bedbug alarm pheromone" consists of (E)-2-octenal and (E)-2-hexenal. It is released when a bedbug is disturbed, as during an attack by a predator. A 2009 study demonstrated that the alarm pheromone is also released by male bedbugs to repel other males who attempt to mate with them.

Bedbugs in Traumatic Insemination. Image Courtesy of Rickard Ignell, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences

Symptoms of Bites and Treatment. Since bedbugs are so secretive one of the first signs of their presence (especially in an initial small infestation) frequently comes from their feeding on the occupants. The bug pierces the skin with two hollow feeding tubes. One functions to inject saliva which contains anticoagulants and anesthetics, while the other withdraws the blood of the host. The anticoagulant serves to keep blood flowing (preventing coagulation) in the tiny mouthparts while the anesthetic servers to numb the area and prevent detection of their presence. These injected chemical are protein based and the body reacted to their presence producing antibodies. This frequently results in what is referred to as an antigen-antibody reaction-or put more simply your system become allergic to the chemicals.

In a fairly large percentage of people the bite cannot be felt until minutes, hours or even later with the first indication of a bite usually occurring from the desire to scratch the area. It may take multiple feeding for symptoms to occur. For this reason plus their secretive behavior an initial infestation may not be detected for some time. One estimate is that on an average it will take 3 months for the initial infestation to develop to the point where it is detected by the resident. Repeated exposure to bedbug bites leads to more severe skin reactions. In one sample from 2009, 18 of 19 persons had a skin reaction after bedbug exposure, but usually only after repeated controlled exposure. With repeated exposure, the latency between the bite and the skin reaction decreased from about 10 days to a few seconds. However, there is no typical reaction to bedbugs feeding on a person. The symptoms may vary considerable due to a number of factors including but not limited to degree or number of bedbugs present, previous exposure, duration of the infestation, individuals physiological reaction to feeding, differences in skin type and species of bedbug involved.

There are 5 established reactions, namely no reaction (due to no or few antibodies produced), delayed reaction, delayed plus immediate reaction, immediate reaction only and no visible reaction (due to circulating excess antibodies). Most human reactions due to bedbug feeding consists of a raised red or flat welt which is often accompanied by very intense itching which can last for several days.

Immediate Reaction to Bedbug Feeding after 30 minutes and 48 hours

It is important to recognize that there are many potential causes of itching and irritation other than bedbugs. As a result the mere present of welt, itching or other skin abnormalities is not a reliable symptom of the presence of these pests. Even dermatologists do not possess this capability. This is of significant importance considering the current frenzy and paranoia about bedbugs in the United States. It is quite probable that pest control companies will receive many “false alarms” about bedbug infestations. Allergies, cosmetics, medications, and environmental contaminants all can produce reactions similar to insect bites. There are four general categories of skin irritations, namely biting arthropods (e.g., insects or mites), personal use products, environmental factors and health related conditions.

Biting Insects. The typical symptoms of bedbug bites are quite similar to that of mosquitoes but in the case of the former the welts tends to last longer than that of the latter. Also mosquito bites (at least those occurring while sleeping) are typically found on the face or other areas not covered when sleeping while those of bedbugs can occur all over the body. Also bedbug bites may not become immediately visible and can take up to nine days to appear while those of mosquitoes are typically immediate. On occasions bites from mosquitoes may eventually result in local swelling. There can be many reasons why you might get a mosquito bite swelling, however, it is usually a sort of allergic reaction. If you move to somewhere new, you will often get a mosquito bite swelling after a bite, although after a few months or longer mosquito bite swelling will not occur. Sometimes it takes a lot longer for your body to build up a tolerance. Eighteen months, if you move to another country.

Bedbug bites tend not to have a red dot in the center such as is characteristic of flea bites. A trait shared with flea bites is tendency towards the pattern of sequential bites often aligned in rows of three. It is thought this may be caused by the bedbug being disturbed while feeding and relocating half an inch or so farther along the skin before resuming feeding. Alternatively, the arrangement of bites may be caused by the bedbug repeatedly searching for a blood capillary. Fleas usually bite people around the ankles, producing a small, red, hardened, and slightly raised welt. In addition fleas are most often associated with pets, although the presence of mice, rats, squirrels, skunks, or raccoons can also result in fleas infesting a home. Finally fleas most often bite humans when their preferred host (pets, etc) is removed from the premise. As long as a dog or cat is present in the house hatching fleas will go to that humans rather than biting humans.

Spiders

A common complaint is spider bites. In actuality spider biting humans is very rare. I am 70 years old and have never been bitten by a spider. Regardless spider bites are characterized by two tiny puncture marks on the skin corresponding to their paired fangs.

When the brown recluse bites, it is often painless — then skin reddens, turns white, develops a red "bull's–eye," blisters, and becomes painful. Subsquently there is a degree of necrosis or rotting of the tissue.

Mites

Mites are very tiny arthropods which occasionally infest structures and bite people. In most cases, the infestation can be traced to birds nesting in an attic or on a window ledge, etc., or to an infestation of mice or rats. When a bird or rodent dies (or the young leave the nest), thousands of parasitic mites can migrate indoors and bite humans. Biting mites are tiny but visible to the human eye. The human itch (scabies) mite burrows into the skin, causing intense itching and irritation. Skin between the fingers, the bend of the elbow or knee, and the shoulder blades are areas most often affected. The intense itching is accompanied by a rash. A distinct symptom of scabies is a linear reddish rash as indicated in the left hand corner of the following figure.

Lice

Of course there are three types of lice that infest and bite humans. Generally speaking the only type of louse that may be commonly encountered are head lice. As indicated by their name these lice occur on the head rarely leaving and causing itching of the head. The nits or eggs of these pests are glued to the base of the head hairs. The (see below) are similar in appearance to dandruff but remain attached to the hair when touched-dandruff moves.

Chiggers

Chiggers also bite people and generally are too small to be seen without magnification. Chiggers (the larval stage of the harvest mite) live outdoors in tall weeds and grass. They crawl onto people and move upward until they encounter a point of constriction between skin and clothing, such as around the ankles, behind the knee, or at the waistline. Chigger bites produce a hardened, red welt which begins to itch intensely within 24-48 hours after exposure to the mite. Consequently, people may not associate the irritation with the fact that they were bitten while walking outdoors a day or two before. Most frequently the bites occur around the ankles.

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Household Products. There are literally hundreds of products that are capable of causing itching and irritation which are far more common that those resulting from arthropod bites. Some of the more common products associated with these symptoms are phosphate detergents, soaps, cosmetics, ammonia-based cleaning agents, hair products, medications, and printing inks. Certain types of clothing, particularly those which contain fire retardants are common sources.

Physical and Chemical Irritants. If two or more individuals experience the same irritation (especially in the absence of biting insects), the cause is typically environmental conditions or contaminants dispersed in the air. These fall into two categories.

Physical irritants: The most common physical irritants are tiny fragments of paper, fabric, or insulation. When these fibers contact the skin, they can produce symptoms ranging from a “crawling sensation” to intense itching accompanied by a rash, welts, or open sores. In these cases the irritation typically occurs over exposed areas of the body such as arms, legs, neck, and head.

Irritation produced by paper fragments is especially common in offices where large quantities of paper are processed daily. Continuous-feed paper from computers and multi-page forms generate large amounts of fragments covering office furniture and other areas.

Newly installed or badly worn synthetic carpet, drapes, or upholstery also shed fibers which can irritate skin. Other potential sources of irritation are insulation fibers released into the air by heating/cooling systems in need of repair and sound-deadening fibers embedded into drop-ceiling tiles. These latter sources are especially suspect if there have been problems with the air handling system or recent repair work on the ceiling.

Irritation is aggravated by static electricity which increases the attraction of the tiny charged fibers to exposed skin. Low humidity, electronic equipment, and nylon (e.g., from carpeting, upholstery, or women’s stockings) all increase levels of static electricity and the potential for problems from fragments or fibers. Static electricity may also cause body hair to move, giving the impression of insects crawling over the skin.

Dry air alone can cause irritation, producing a condition known as “winter itch.” As skin loses moisture, itching results. A similar reaction can occur from changes in temperature; these tend to make skin more sensitive. A skin moisturizer is often helpful in these situations.

Airborne chemical irritants: Indoor air pollution can be a serious problem in modern office buildings and other energy-efficient structures where air is recirculated over and over. Indoor air pollution can also be a problem in homes. As the concentration of

chemical contaminants in the air increases, people may experience dizziness, headaches, and eye, nose, or throat irritation. Certain air-borne contaminants can also produce rashes and skin irritation similar to insect bites. Chemical contaminants most often

responsible for these reactions include ammonia-based cleaning agents, formaldehyde emitted from wall and floor coverings, tobacco smoke, and solvents and resins contained in paints, glues, and adhesives. Reactions to airborne chemicals most often occur in buildings with inadequate ventilation, especially those that are new or have been refurbished with new paint or wall or floor coverings

Itching and skin irritation are common during pregnancy (especially during the last trimester) and may also occur in conjunction with diabetes, liver, kidney, and thyroid disease, and herpes zoster (shingles). Food allergies are another common cause of itching and irritation.

An increasing possible common cause of the sense of itching skin is associated with the use of meth, the drug of choice in many areas of the US. Individuals that are hooked on this drug sense itching or irritation of the skin and continually pick at their skin. I recently was contacted by a home owner who thought she had bedbugs, wanting to know more about these pest I agreed to come over and check out the situation. On arrival she showed me the so called bed bug bite. She had been to a dermatologist suggested bedbug were the probable cause of the same. After close inspection no bedbugs were found. I did notice that her pupil were quite dilated and her boyfriend indicated that she continually picked at the areas of the bites-enough said.

Delusory Parasitosis-Entomophobia. Again considering the current notoriety that the American public has been expriencing in the past several years there a large number of individual are afraid or paranoid about the possible presence of bedbugs in their homes. These two distinct phenomena are both based on the fear of small creepy creatures.

Entomophobia. As the name implies, entomophobia is the fear of insects. Based on a national survey, the fear of insects is ranked third in adults—closely behind the fear of public speaking and death. The fear of cockroaches is frequently ranked number one in the insect world. I would imagine that the fear of bedbugs has recently surpassed that of cockroaches.

Delusory Parasitosis. This can defined as a paranoia, or irrational fear, of small creepy non-existent creatures. Because mites are so small, in many cases this condition is diagnosed as a mite infestation. Even more commonly with the notoriety of bedbugs the pest control operate who I called in for inspection of a possible bedbug infestation will actually dealing with this phenomenon. Delusory parasitosis is more common than one might expect. Frequently, people who are inflicted with this malady are quite normal in all other phases of life and lead productive lives.

I was quite unaware of this phenomenon until one day a man in his mid 40's walked into my office and indicated that the UCLA Medical Center had referred him to me. He indicated that he and his home were infested with small 'bugs' that he could not eradicate. After a short discussion he reached out into the air and indicated I had them in my office also. I responded that he must have brought them with him. He further stated that he had captured some and placed them on a piece of scotch tape. He related collecting each ‘critter.’ The first had bitten him on the leg and then disappeared under his skin, but he dug it out with a sewing needle. The second was on his pants cuff and bit him on the ankle. The third was found swimming around in his toothpaste. After considerable discussion we examined each 'critter' with a microscope. Needless to say, none resembled an insect or mite. Indeed, they were small grains of sand, pieces of lint and so on. However, even after this close inspection and working with him over a several-week-period, he could not be persuaded that the attacking creatures were imaginary. The situation became so bad that he convinced his wife that she was also infested. They had arguments over who had the most. They couldn't get them out of their home even though several exterminators were called. Because of the infestation the home was eventually sold at a considerable loss. Eventually, partly because of the turmoil, their marriage ended in divorce.

There have been many similar situations since then. One of the most unusual occurred a few years ago when a city official from Mission Viejo (Orange County) called me and indicated that he had a whole neighborhood infested with scabies mites (see below). Scabies are parasitic mites that commonly infest humans. At the time this didn’t seem questionable because a number of the people had been to medical doctors and had been treated for this mite. These treatments didn’t seem to solve the problem, so I was brought in as a consultant. The main problem was centered on one particular resident. This woman apparently had convinced much of the neighborhood of the widespread infestation. She was using very drastic measures to try to eliminate these mites from her house and family. She would use lye to scrub down the beds on a weekly basis. On several occasions she washed her kids down with gasoline. Of course, upon hearing this, I began to realize that the whole situation was more than a little irrational. The final clincher was when she indicated that the whole problem started when she brought a potted plant back from Arizona and, while it was sitting in her bathroom, a pod grew out of it and blew these tiny critters all over the neighborhood.

Probably the most severe and possibly dangerous was a recent case where a tenant was suing his landlord for an infestation of a number of household pests. According to his the apartment he rented was infested with cockroaches, bedbugs, house dust mites (in the attic), cats, rats, mice and even scabies mites. According to him he became so paranoid about the whole situation he stopped taking his HIV medication and subsequently developed AIDs. He called in a pest control company that treated mainly for cockroaches but could not find any bedbugs, rat or mice. He indicated that the company told him that the attic was full of housedust mites that were biting him and causing a severe rash. He went to a emergency center that routinely prescribes 5% permethrin cream for scabies mites. This material is quite effective and it typically take on treatment for successfully eradication even though there is enough in on tube for 3 treatments. Needless to say he treated himself on 3 separate occasions with the material. However since the rash remained he went to another doctor (this time through his medical insurance) and was prescribe an addition tube of the material. Needless to say he also went to his AIDs doctor for another prescription. In the end he received 3 separate prescriptions from each of the 3 doctors and treated himself 27 times over a few month period.

If that wasn’t enough he decided to treat for cockroaches and bedbugs (even though two separate pest control companies were brought in for the same purpose with the second finding no roaches or bedbugs). He initially tried several different chemicals that he sprayed with apparently no acceptable results. He then tried using aerosol bombs lighting several per room on three occasions. He was luck he didn’t blow the places up. Finally on the initial visit to the emergency room the doctor checked for head lice but didn’t find ant. Of course that wasn’t enough for the tenant so he routinely treated for head lice with an over the counter pesticide cream. The amazing thing, besides that he didn’t kill himself with all the pesticides, he received a $20,000 settlement in the lawsuit.

A colleague from NCSU, Mike Waldvogel, reports similar experiences. He states he has received a variety of imaginary critters in vacuum cleaner bags, pillows cases, panty hose, skin samples, glue boards (like the one you use for catching mice) and (the one he described as the ultimate) a bottle (formerly a pint gin bottle) that was labeled "after douching." Needless to say that one wasn’t opened! Neither were the vacuum cleaner bags, as they usually contain pesticide-laden dust from over treated carpets for these so called pests.

All of these cases have had several symptoms in common. The 'critters' typically fly through the air, crawl on the skin, frequently appear and disappear in the skin, make clicking noises and can be found in soap and toothpaste. Generally, inflicted individuals have gone to several medical doctors to no avail and can almost never be persuaded that the pests are imaginary.

Treatment of Symptoms. Normal treatment for bedbugs bites, if any, consist of application of a variety of means to relieve the itching. Systemic corticosteroids for treating the itching and burning often associated with bedbug bites in many cases are less than effective. Antihistamines can reduce itching in some cases, but typically do not affect the appearance and duration of the lesions. Topical corticosteroids, such as hydrocortisone, reportedly are effective in reducing lesions and decreasing the associated itching.

Application of heat (blow-dryer, hot washcloth, hot water)) can be effective in relieving itching and inflammation for several hours. The water temperature should be about 50 °C (120 °F), or this procedure may aggravate the symptoms. To avoid scalding the skin, this treatment should only be self-administered.

Conventional insect repellents, like those containing DEET used to deter ticks and mosquitoes, do not appear to be effective against bedbugs. Attempting to avoid being bitten by applying insect repellent at bedtime is not recommended. Sleeping with the lights on is not likely to deter hungry bedbugs either.

Means of Home Infestations. There are a number means by which a home, business, hotel or other structures can become infested with bedbugs. One common way is to picked them up while traveling or when staying in hotels, bed-and-breakfasts, hostels, or motels. These locations are typically associated with a high risk of bedbugs infestations due to their rate of turnover and continual influx of temporary residents. Once acquired the now hitchhiking bedbugs may then be transported and brought back to the homes of the guests in their luggage, brief case, jacket or any other items.

Furniture rentals and purchases of used furniture are rather common, especially in poor communities, and this probably helps rapid and repeated spread of bed bugs to new sites and redistribution of them back into places from which they may have previously been eliminated.

Large multi-unit buildings can be very difficult to rid of bed bugs. Bedbugs infest a new residence by traveling between multi-unit housing such as condominiums, dormitories, and apartment buildings, or arrive after having exited infested furniture that has been thrown out, discarded and/or placed outside for garbage collection or for treatment. This unintentional spread between adjacent home sites and nearby units is dependent, in part, upon the degree of infestation at the source (i.e. a heavier infestation is more likely to spread), but also upon the building material used to partition units and the material used to seal connecting pipes, vents, wires, etc. Further potential to spread is also directly related to the manner in which infested items are disposed of—such as whether or not contaminated furniture is dragged through common areas while being removed.

Once they become established, any control effort that does not include concurrent inspection of all units, together with a coordinated program of treatment and occupant education, is usually doomed to fail. The bugs will frequently move from any partially treated, potentially repellent active site to adjacent rooms or floors. They readily move through wall voids, along utility lines, heating ducts, elevator shafts, and laundry or mail chutes

Bedbugs can also be acquired through bringing infested furniture or contaminated, used clothing into a household. One of the worst things a person can do is pick up and use a used piece of furniture that has been discarded. It is not uncommon for someone to discard a perfectly good piece of furniture that has a bed bug infestation. Furniture does not necessarily have to have been previously owned or discarded—as even brand new furniture can be exposed to bedbugs during storage or in delivery vehicles.

A big problem is delivery trucks. A good example would be someone buys a new bed. It is delivered by a delivery system that in turn picks up the old bed in the same truck. What are the chances of that old bed having bedbugs or at least some of the hundreds of mattresses that truck has picked up having bedbugs. Sooner or later that truck is going to be infested with bedbugs. It only take one impregnated female which is capable of depositing 200 or more eggs to start a new infestation. Back in the 40’s it was not uncommon to treat such vehicle for bedbugs. I am not sure the industry is at that point yet.

In locations that are severely infested, bedbugs may actually crawl onto a person's clothes and be carried from location to location. It is also common for bedbugs to nest in clothing articles that are generally not frequently washed and for them to then spread when such apparel is either stored publicly with other apparel (as in locker rooms and on coat racks). Otherwise, bedbugs will not be usually carried from place to place by people on the clothing they are currently wearing. General machine washing and drying on high heat will kill all stages of bedbugs.

The size of a bedbug infestation can range from a few to thousands, or even tens of thousands. A single bedbug brought into a home has a potential for reproduction with its resulting offspring then breeding and potentially leading to a geometric progression of their numbers. In any case, bedbugs reproduce prolifically and it is not at all unusual for exterminators to encounter thousands of bedbugs in even a single mattress. Sometimes people are not aware of the insects and do not notice the bites. The visible bedbug infestation does not represent the infestation as a whole, as there may be infestations elsewhere in a home and the sighting of one bedbug typically means that there may be many more in hiding. However, the insects do have a tendency to stay close to their hosts, hence the name 'bed' bugs.

Steps to Minimize the Chances of Bringing Bedbugs into a Structure.

The first step is to be aware where one is likely to encounter a bedbug infestation. This will include any place with a high turnover of people spending the night—hostels, hotels near airports, and resorts—are most at risk. But the list continues… apartments, barracks, buses, cabins, churches, community centers, cruise ships, dormitories, dressing rooms, health clubs, homes, hospitals, jets, laundromats, motels, motor homes, moving vans, nursing homes, office buildings, resorts, restaurants, schools, subways, theaters, trains and used furniture outlets. Bed bugs don’t prefer locations based on sanitation or people’s hygiene. The critical component for their survival is food, or put more simply our blood..

Bed bugs and their relatives occur nearly worldwide. They became relatively scarce during the latter part of the 20th century, but their populations have resurged in recent years, particularly throughout parts of North America, Europe, and Australia.

Most stay near where people sleep, hiding near the bed, a couch or armchair (if that’s where you snooze)—even cribs and playpens. Their flat bodies allow them to hide in cracks and crevices around the room and in furniture joints. Hiding sites include mattress seams, bed frames, nearby furniture, or baseboards. Clutter offers more places to hide and makes it harder to get rid of them. Bedbugs can be found alone but more often congregate in groups. They’re not social insects, though, and don’t build nests.

Traveling greatly increases the chances of someone bringing bedbugs home. As a result travelers should learn about how to avoid this possibility. Always inspect before settling into any room. Pack a flashlight (even the keychain LED variety) and gloves to aid in your inspection. The inspection should focus around the bed. Start with the headboard, which is usually held on the wall with brackets—lift up 1 – 2 inches, then lean the top away from the wall to gain access to the back. If you’re traveling alone, someone on staff should help. After checking the headboard, check sheets and pillows for blood spots. Next, pull back the sheets. Check the piping of the mattress and box spring. Finally, look in and under the drawer of the bedside table. If all these places are clear, enjoy the night. The next morning, look for blood spots on the sheets—bed bugs deficate soon after they feed.

If you find evidence, but no live bed bugs, the evidence may be old and doesn’t mean that the hotel is dirty. Tell the front desk discreetly what you found and ask for another room—one that doesn’t share a wall with the room you just vacated. Bed bugs are a PR nightmare for the hospitality industry. If you run to a competitor (who’s just as likely to have bed bugs) it makes it less likely that the industry will become more open about this issue. Communication is key. Ideally hotels and motels would pride themselves on their bed bug programs and show customers how to inspect to keep all parties bed bug free.

If you can avoid it, don’t unpack into drawers and keep luggage closed on a luggage rack pulled away from the wall. Never set luggage on the bed and keep it closed especially at night. Similarly do not leave cloth laying around the room at night.

Launder your clothes before or as soon as these items are brought back into the home. If you found bed bugs after moving into a hotel room, you could ask the hotel to pay for laundering—and for steam-cleaning your luggage. The hotel may refuse, but it’s worth asking. Regardless, once home you should unpack on a floor that will allow you to see bedbugs—stay off carpets! Unpack directly into plastic bags for taking clothes to the laundry. Suitcases should be carefully inspected and vacuumed.

Bedbugs and Disease. Bedbugs appear to possess all of the necessary criteria for transmitting diseases, but there have been no known cases of these pests vectoring or transmitting any disease. Bed bugs have been found naturally infected with at least 30 human pathogens but have never been proven to transmit any of them biologically or mechanically There are some indications that bedbugs may be a vector for hepatitis B and, in endemic areas, for American trypanosomiasis (Chagas disease). Of note, reports have indicated the risk of insect transmission of HIV, if any, is extremely low and likely nonexistent. Therefore from a disease transmission standpoint bedbugs are considered less dangerous than some more common insects such as the flea.

as well as proposed control strategies and techniques. Education may include verbal explanations, answering questions, posting notices, broadcasting notices, postings on web sites or distributing handouts in the local language. Throughout a control program, continuous communication should be maintained between occupants, building managers, PMPs and any involved government agencies.

Physical removal. Bed bugs can be vacuumed from exposed harborages or resting sites, such as box spring edges or mattress seams, but their eggs are stuck tightly to harborage surfaces and are usually hard to remove. Using a high efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filtered vacuum, which removes >99% of all particles >0.3 micron diameter, will ensure that many allergens associated with bed bugs and their debris are also removed. Vacuuming, especially during inspections, will immediately remove a significant portion of the pest population and will usually kill some of the bugs. Bed bugs may also be removed from exposed resting sites by pressing down on them with the sticky side of any commercially available tape, hand-picking them, or brushing them directly into a container of rubbing alcohol or soapy water (Potter 2004, Gooch 2005). For cimicids that feed chiefly on bats or birds, it is essential to completely remove all host nest materials followed by thoroughly applying some appropriate control action (e.g., heat) or product (e.g., a properly labeled insecticide) at and immediately around every prior nest site.

Inspecting for Bedbugs.

Controled Study-Dogs. The bedbug, Cimex lectularius , like other bedbug species, is difficult to visually locate because it is cryptic. Detector dogs are useful for locating bedbugs because they use olfaction rather than vision. Dogs were trained to detect the bedbug (as few as one adult male or female) and viable bed bug eggs (five, collected 5–6 d after feeding) by using a modified food and verbal reward system. Their efficacy was tested with bedbugs and viable bed bug eggs placed in vented polyvinyl chloride containers. Dogs were able to discriminate bedbugs from Camponotus floridanus Buckley, Blattella germanica (L.), and Reticulitermes flavipes (Kollar), with a 97.5% positive indication rate (correct indication of bedbugs when present) and 0% false positives (incorrect indication of bed bugs when not present). Dogs also were able to discriminate live bedbugs and viable bedbug eggs from dead bedbugs, cast skins, and feces, with a 95% positive indication rate and a 3% false positive rate on bed bug feces. In a controlled experiment in hotel rooms, dogs were 98% accurate in locating live bed bugs. A pseudoscent prepared from pentane extraction of bedbugs was recognized by trained dogs as bed bug scent (100% indication). The pseudoscent could be used to facilitate detector dog training and quality assurance programs. If trained properly, dogs can be used effectively to locate live bed bugs and viable bedbug eggs.

Inspection

Inspecting for a bedbug infestion can be quite simple to quite time consuming depending of course of the extent of the infestation. Customer cooperation is a valuable tool in this process. Client involvement is important when battling bed bugs. Especially important are instructions pertaining to preparation before treatment. Providing access for inspection and treatment is essential and in some cases, infested items will need to be discarded. Clutter is a particular problem in homes and apartments, obstructing treatment and affording additional places for bed bugs to hide. In uncluttered situations, industry surveys indicate that two or three treatments are normally needed to get infestations under control, whereas in cluttered situations four or more treatments are often necessary. Items must be removed from floors, and furnishings moved away from walls. Some pest control firms request that beds be disassembled or disposed of before they arrive for treatment, while others prefer to dismantle beds themselves to minimize disturbance and possible spread of infestations.

Bedding and clothing will need to be bagged and laundered, although judgments should be made as to what is most vulnerable because it is impractical to ask householders to launder everything they own. Laundering experiments with bed bug-infested clothing indicate that a standard wash cycle using hot water effectively kills all life stages, including eggs. The same result was achieved by placing a load of unwashed infested clothing into a clothes dryer at high heat (80°C) for as little as five minutes, suggesting either regimen, alone or in combination, is effective. Further washing tests revealed that when items were laundered in cold water, about a third of bed bug adults survived as did most eggs. In general we discourage the taking of bed bug-infested items to professional drycleaners to spare them the risk of also becoming infested. Provided they are dry, most dry cleanable garments can safely be placed in a clothes dryer at a low to medium heat setting (50-70° C) with negligible risk of harming the fabric.

Correct diagnosis of a bed bug problem is important. Older established infestations are fairly easy to detect; but in the early stages, they can be much more subtle. As people become more aware of this pest, all manner of welts and itches may be attributed to bed bugs though they are often caused by other factors. One reason bed bug elimination is so challenging is that they can hide almost anywhere. Most aggregations reside near a sleeping host, but as infestations persist, others are found in various locations within several meters of the bed. Based on our industry survey, the most common areas for finding bed

bugs were beds (mentioned by 85% of respondents), bedding (mentioned by 52%), baseboards/carpet edges (37%), furniture such as nightstands and dressers (26%), couches and chairs (25%), walls and ceilings (14%), and clothing (6%). Bed bug counts in 13 infested apartments in Ohio showed a similar distribution

pattern, with 70% of all bugs associated with beds. When inspecting multi-occupancy dwellings such as hotels and apartments, most survey respondents (91%) said they routinely recommend inspecting surrounding units adjacent to infested units. This seems prudent considering other industry surveys have found adjoining units to be infested much of the time.

The following is a reasonable approach for inspecting a facility for bedbugs.

· Furniture, particularly bedroom furniture must be inspected carefully. Bedbugs may crawl 10-20 feet; so don't limit search only to the bed.

· When feasible beds should b dismantled for easier inspection and possible treatment. Inspect the mattress and box spring thoroughly. Be sure to check the holes or slots where sections such as the sides, head and foot boards attach.

· Check under and behind other pieces of furniture, such as chairs, couches, dressers, nightstands, etc.

o Pull out dressers drawers, inspect them carefully and check the interior of the dresser before reinserting the drawers.

o Check the undersides of lamps, clocks, radio, phones and other objects that might be on nightstands.

o Pull back the dust covers on the undersides of chairs and couches and check particularly around the legs and frame.

· Remove and inspect objects, such as pictures, mirrors, curtains, etc., that are hung or mounted on walls.

· Check obvious cracks and crevices along baseboards.

· Remove the covers on electrical outlets and switches and inspect the boxes for signs of bed bugs.

· Inspect torn or loose wallpaper and decorative borders.

· Check all clothing and other items stored in areas where bed bugs have been found.

· If you have traveled in the last few months, inspect your luggage as well as the entire closet/storage area (and its contents) where you store your luggage.

No reliable and affordable detection device is presently available for monitoring bed bugs except keen eyes and a flashlight. Nonetheless, more than half of companies surveyed (53%) said they routinely use sticky traps to monitor bed bug activity: however, it is generally considered that glue traps are not an effective tool for monitoring bedbug infestation.

A number of traps have been developed for detecting bedbug infestation. These vary tremendously in price and utilized a variety of lures to draw bedbugs. There is little information as to how effective these devices are. Several of these devices are discussed below.

Bedbug Monitoring Devices. In the past few years there have been a number of devices designed to monitor low levels of bedbugs infestation. They vary tremendously in price ranging from approximately $1 to $1,000. There appears to be very little if any scientific testing comparing (at least based on nonbiased organizations) the relative effectiveness of each. Some are passive meaning there are no attractants drawing the bedbugs to the trap and other utilized either or a combination of heat, CO2, and attractants (pheromones) to draw the insects to the trap.

The projected purpose of these traps are to monitor the presence of possible bedbug infestations in a structure. However, since many insect traps in general catch a moderate number of insects that are attracted to them it logically follows their use will typically not significantly reduced or eliminate an existing infestation. The relative effectiveness of the various device has not been compared.

Catchmaster (BDS). This bedbug detector relies on the fact that bedbugs prefer to rest or hide in tight, dark locations and rough (woodsy) materials. (common examples are the small grooves of corrugated boxes, cracks and crevices, mattress creases and wood furniture.) The inner surface of these traps imitate these locations. Once in a trap the bedbug is reportedly stuck in drops of sticky material. These trap typically cost a little over $1 per placement.

The NightWatch Bed Bug Monitor Trap. This trap utilizes 3 lures to draw bedbugs, namely heat, CO2 (simulating body heat and human breath) and a 7 component karomone. According to the label one trap will cover a 16' x 16' room. For larger spaces, additional traps may be needed. They sell for around $450 and cost about $2 per night to run (cost of chemicals).

Bedbugs are attracted to these lures. Thus, they climb into the device to feed, assuming that it is a human host. But they fall into the pitfall traps, which are made of highly polished material.

According to scientific study bedbugs are only attracted to CO2 at a distance of 3 feet or under and even less to heat and likely to other odors (karomones). It follows that these chemicals will not draw bedbug over a long distance. Bedbugs do release several hormones (karomones), including an alarm pheromone, an aggregation pheromone and a pheromone that causes them to settle down. It would also follow that a trap placed near a bed could trap significant number of bedbug. Cost typically approaches $400.00

Bedbug Beacon. This apparatus works much like the dry ice and inverted pet food dish bedbug trap. Bedbug Beacon uses carbon dioxide to attract and trap bedbugs. However, this device is much safer, cheaper and more reliable to use. Instead of dangerous dry ice, Bedbug Beacon uses pellets to lure bugs. Three Bedbug Beacon monitors are suggested for a standard room (16 ft x 16 ft). The Bedbug Beacon system is designed to produce carbon

dioxide for at least 5 days).The initial cost is $50.00 with replacement chemical for $10.00. As with other devices utilizing CO2 as an attractant research indicates that bed bug are attracted to this gas a maximum of around 3 feet.

BB Alert Active and Passive Bed Bug Monitors. In this case the attractant is a heating pad that is sold separately from the trap. As with other attractants heat only works over a short distance. The bedbugs are trapped in a sticky material inside the box. The trap is sold as a monitoring device only. The activator pads (i.e. instant hot packs) last 8 - 12 hours on average and are one-time use only. Early infestations may require up to two weeks to attract bed bugs. It is suggested for use in a room where someone is not sleeping. In a room where someone is sleeping they suggest using a BB Alert Passive Bed Bug Monitor.

Device cost $25.00 with 12 replacement heat pad at 25.00

BB Alert Active Bedbug Monitor

BB Alert Passive Bedbug Monitor

This bedbug monitor relies on the fact that bedbugs prefer to rest or hide in tight, dark locations and rough (woodsy) materials. (common examples are the small grooves of corrugated boxes, cracks and crevices, mattress creases and wood furniture.) The inner surface of these traps imitate these locations. If signs of bedbugs (fecal spots or cast skins) are detected bedbugs are likely inside the monitor. Cost $20.00.

Bedbug Barrier Passive Glue Trap. The bed bug barriers is attached to the bottom of the bed legs creating an impassable barrier between the bed and the bed bugs. The Bed Bug Barrier uses natural, non-toxic resins and waxes to create an impassable permanent floor barrier that stops bedbugs before they can reach any sleeping victims. The natural glue in the barrier is non-drying, non-toxic and long lasting. The Bed Bug Barrier is designed to provide long-term protection and also serves as a monitoring tool. There are two basic designs. Depending on your bed post design, choose either the screw-in barrier (fits at top of bed legs with glue void facing downward) or the castor barrier (fits underneath bed leg with void facing upward).

Bedbug Barrier Passive Glue Trap. Left-glue void pointing downward on top of canister. Right. Glue void on bottom of canister.

The ClimbUp Insect Interceptor. As with others it forms a barrier between the floor and bed. Bedbugs approaching a bed the from the room will climb up exterior surface and fall into the outer pitfall ring. Bed bugs climbing down from a bed will be found in center well. These are priced for approximately $3.00 to $6.00 depending on quantity purchased.

Control.

Heat. One main battles for survival insects have in general and especially small insects is the loss of water or desiccation. A small flat insect such as a bedbug has a relatively large body surface area (where water can evaporate from) compared to their total volume for storing water. Their eggs and early instar nymphs are especially vunerable to high heat. Since at least the early 1900s, bedbugs have been controlled by heating infested rooms or whole buildings to temperatures at least 113F, the thermal death point for the common bedbugs. For heat treatment to be effective, it is critical that high temperature and low relative humidity be attained for a minimum length of time (generally several hours). A more comprehensive way of using heat to control bed bugs was adapted from methods developed long ago to de-infest granaries and flour mills.

In the early 1900s, investigators showed it was possible to destroy bed bugs in buildings ranging in size from a two-story house to a 350-room dormitory on a college campus. Steam boilers and furnaces were used to elevate the temperature in bed bug infested rooms to between 110˚F and 130˚F over a period ranging from several hours to a few days — a process known as “superheating.” In the first edition of the “Handbook of Pest Control,” Arnold Mallis also mentioned using superheating to successfully de-bug an animal rearing laboratory. He reported that after eight hours of heating, “the mortality was so terrific, that a carpet of bedbugs covered the floor, and a slight draft through the room piled up windrows of the bugs against several objects on the floor.” Efforts to control bed bugs with heat diminished in the 1940s, due to the ease, economy and effectiveness of DDT. Interest was rekindled in the late-1980s when Drs. Walter

Ebeling and Charles Forbes demonstrated the utility of structural heating against drywood termites, wood-boring beetles and cockroaches.

This type of treatment has several pros and cons. Heat treatment provides no residual effect, and bedbugs can re-occupy any treated site immediately after temperatures return to suitable levels. There is the possibility of damages to structures and their contents. Of greatest concern is the possibility of fire. However the latter is becoming of less concern with the development of a numbers of commercially available safe heat generators. It should be mentioned that initial cost of these heat generators can be quite costly but on the positive side the utilization of heat for bedbug control can be cost effective and if properly applied can result in total control of these pests including their eggs. The latter is significant since few if any of the currently available pesticides will kill their eggs.

Heat can be a extremely valuable tool in removing (killing) all stages of this pest from clothing, sheets, blankets and other linen. Laundering infested items in hot water with detergent, followed by at least 20 minutes in a typical clothes dryer on low heat, should kill all life stages of bed bugs. A number of pest control companies have now incorporated heat as part of their pest management scheme for controlling these pests. On a commercial basis the use of heat is especially attractive for smaller structures or units such as college dorms, hotel rooms and the like.

Customers do not want to be burdened with the invasiveness of a chemical treatment.  Homeowners frequently have to spend hours cleaning out a room before a remediation treatment can take place, throwing away belongings and taking time to preserve precious items somewhere safe from the treatment.  Heat remediation offers a form of treatment where owners only need to remove the items that will be adversely affected by the heat.

Reportedly there is typically no follow up treatment needed for a heat remediation.  Depending on the extent of the infestation with pesticides several follow up treatments may be needed to ensure that all the hidden bugs and eggs have been destroyed. Another big selling point is the turn-around time, and this is especially true for commercial clients such as hotels.  Heat remediation only requires that the premises be vacated during the treatment and for a long enough time for the heat to disperse, generally 24 hours.  For a hotel operator, this is a selling point.  They can turn the room around in 24 hours and not lose nearly the amount of revenue as they would if they had to undergo a chemical treatment. The most important difference is the effectiveness of heat remediation.  Heat remediation kills all the bugs and eggs in a room typically on first treatment.  It is even effective through the walls into the surrounding wall voids of a room.  Another plus, one that sells especially well these days, is that heat remediation is Green.  Once the treatment is over, the heat dissipates.  With chemical treatments, there are all manner of chemical residues left behind after the treatment.  Not to mention the industrial processes required to create the chemicals in the first place.

Generally there are two types of heat remediation devices: propane powered and electrical powered. Propane powered equipment involves bulky ductwork, leaves residual fumes, and presents a potential fire hazard that can give pause to not only the customer, but also PCO’s. Electrical devices on the other hand have traditionally been overly large and cumbersome, requiring more than several people to assist in set-up and operation. Many required their own generator to operate, which is an obvious turn off for any PCO who values his time and money. However there currently are rugged and robust convection heater design in a compact form which can be set-up and operated by one man, helping to save time and money. 

One of the keys to operating these devices is the ability to slowly warm up a treated room. If a room is heated too rapidly some of the bedbug may escape or be driven from the room. It follows that any heating system should have the ability to monitor the rate of heating up of a location.

Heat can be a extremely valuable tool in removing (killing) all stages of this pest from clothing, sheets, blankets and other linen. Laundering infested items in hot water with detergent, followed by at least 20 minutes in a typical clothes dryer on low heat, should kill all life stages of bed bugs. A number of pest control companies have now incorporated heat as part of their pest management scheme for controlling these pests. On a commercial basis the use of heat is especially attractive for smaller structures or units such as college dorms, hotel rooms and the like.

Heat Generator

Cold. The use of cold for bedbug control is generally not that effective and as cost effective as the use of heat.. Bed bugs can tolerate 5 degrees Farenheit for short periods and, if acclimated, they can survive at or below freezing continuously for several days. Cold treatments of rooms or buildings to control bed bugs have not been well studied or often employed, but freezing furniture or other items within containers or chambers, e.g., below 0oF (-19oC) for at least four days, may be a practical alternative for limited infestations or to augment other control measures.

Steam. Steam treatments have been used effectively by some PMPs to quickly eliminate live bugs and their eggs from the seams of mattresses and other cloth items. However, this technique requires training, practice and care. Manufacturers’ instructions must be followed concerning the steam generating devices’ operation, maintenance and safety precautions. The steam emission tip must usually be about 2.5-3.8 cm from the surface being steamed. If the tip is too far away, the steam may not be hot enough to kill all the bed bugs and eggs that it contacts. If the tip is too close, excess moisture may be injected into the treated material, which may lead to other problems, e.g., facilitating dust mite population survival and increase; growth of surface molds.

Sticky Monitors. Sticky traps are a simple way to monitor many crawling insects, and have been used to augment other techniques for control of spiders and cockroaches. Although bed bugs will often get caught on such monitors, many recent reports from PMPs in North America have indicated that they are not very effective at detecting small to moderate populations of bed bugs, even when infestation signs are obvious, bugs are easily observed, and people are being bitten routinely.

Pesticide Applications-Residual applications. Currently, non-chemical products and techniques are incapable of efficiently or quickly controlling or eliminating extensive or well-established bed bug populations. Precise placement of a suitably labeled, registered and formulated residual chemical insecticide is still the most practically effective bed bug control. Effective control consists of applying interior sprays or dusts to surfaces that the bed bugs contact and to cracks and crevices where they rest and hide. When using residual insecticides, care should be taken to select the least-toxic active ingredients and formulations, following an IPM approach. Microencapsulated and dust formulations have a longer residual effect than others. Synergized pyrethrins are often lethal to bed bugs, and some may cause a flushing effect, allowing faster analysis of the infested area. If the product label permits, addition of pyrethrins at 0.1-0.2% to organophosphate, or carbamate (where these active ingredients are legal and labeled for this use), or other microencapsulated insecticide formulations may increase efficacy by irritating the bugs, exciting them, and causing them to leave their hiding places, thus increasing their potential exposure to the freshly deposited insecticide.

Diatomaceous earth, silica gel, or other properly labeled dust formulations can also be used to treat cracks and crevices. Retreatment, when needed, should be done after the shortest interval permitted by the label until the pest bug population has been eliminated. The choice of chemical products and specific application techniques can depend on many factors, like the physical location and structural details of the bugs’ harborages, the products’ labels (which can vary by political jurisdiction), the immediate environment, and local or national laws.

Crack-and-crevice applications. Because of their habit of hiding clustered together in cracks and narrow harborages, precisely applied crack-and-crevice treatments are among the most effective control techniques against bed bugs. Active ingredients change over time, and several are currently available, as well as some products that contain multiple ingredients labeled for use against bed bugs. Various formulations and devices are also available for applying insecticides to bed bug-infested areas. For example, dust formulations should be used in electrical outlet boxes and in other places where it is desirable to employ low-risk (low volatility and toxicity), long-lasting insecticides.

Fumigation. Fumigation of furniture, clothing, or other personal items can kill all bed bug stages present. However, such treatments will not prevent re-infestation immediately after the fumigant dissipates. Fumigation of an entire building would be equally effective but, again, would not prevent re-infestation, and would seldom be necessary, practical, or affordable.

Ultra Low Volume (ULV), Aerosols, and Foggers. Insecticides currently labeled for ULV, aerosols and foggers have little or no residual effects on bed bugs. Most will seldom penetrate cryptic bed bug harborages. If directly injected into harborages, these products may stimulate some bed bugs to become active and move out into the open, allowing them to be more readily seen. Otherwise, bed bugs are seldom killed, even by prolonged or repeated exposure to such products as those currently EPA-labeled in the U.S.

Bedbugs. These ectoparasites feed on the blood of a variety of warm-blooded animals. The common bedbug (Cimex lectularius) is the species most commonly associated with humans (Figure 12D). It is thought that initially this bug was an ectoparasite of bats, but then changed hosts to include cavemen. This species occurs in most temperate areas of the world. However, with the advent and use of modern pesticides and improved sanitation, infestations in many areas were greatly decreased for many years. In many undeveloped countries the bedbug is still an important pest. With the advent of increase immigration into the US from Mexico, other Latin American countries and many other countries the presence of these pests is on a tremendous increase in the US.

Figure 12D. The common bedbug, Cimex lectularis.
Image compliments of CDC Image Library-Piotr Naskrecki.

The adults of this species are wingless, flattened, reddish brown, and about ¼ inch long. There are five nymphal instars that feed one time between each molt. The female also requires a blood meal before laying eggs at the rate of two to three each day. Eventually she deposits 200 or more eggs in cracks, crevices or under loose wallpaper. The eggs hatch in one to two weeks and nymphal development may require from ten weeks to six months, depending on prevailing temperatures and availability of food. Nymphs and adults are gregarious and hide during the day in cracks and crevices— normally venturing out to feed in the early morning hours. Other common daytime hiding places include the seams (top and bottom) of mattresses-especially near the “head end” of the bed which is typically warmer. Bedbugs are also commonly found behind the headboard, especially if it is touching the wall. They can gain access to their host by crawling up the legs of a bed or they have even been observed crawling across and dropping from the ceiling to float (flattened like a falling leaf) down to their host. These are remarkably hardy insects. Adults and nymphs can survive for a year or more without feeding.

Bedbugs do not vector any diseases but their bite typically results in large welts. Another symptom of bedbug feeding is small blood spots on the bed sheets. This apparently is due to the oozing of blood from the bite wound once the beak is pulled from its host. This continued oozing is due partially to the fact that when a bedbug feeds, it injects saliva that contains an anticoagulant to prevent blood clotting. Clotting too quickly would interfere with the bedbugs’ access to the host’s blood.

Rooms that are heavily infested with bedbugs take on a characteristic smell, as these pests possess scent glands. Only when bedbugs are starved will they feed during daylight hours. Interestingly enough, however, there have been recent reports of bedbug infestations occurring in older movie theaters where they come out to feed on the patrons when the lights are turned off—even during the daylight hours. People react differently to their bites with large welts occurring in the more extreme cases.

The mating behavior of bedbugs is strange and at times quite competitive. Males inject their sperm into the female by puncturing the body wall as the female has no natural opening for reception of his sperm. Of course the sperm then swim throughout the female’s body cavity eventually finding and fertilizing her eggs. Apparently this is not limited to females as it is not uncommon to find males with copulation scars where other males have penetrated their body wall. In some species this apparently happens when a male penetrates another male that is copulating with a female and injects his sperm into the mounted male. In this case some of his sperm find its way into the sperm ducts of the mounted male which in turn is injected into the female upon ejaculation.

These insects have become so prevalent in California and other states that they are now considered the “hot insect” by the pest control industry. One of the major factors that this industry faces is that small infestations of these insects are very difficult to detect and they have a very fast life cycle. One of the new tools that has been developed for the detections of relatively small bedbug infestations is the use of beagles. Apparently these trained dogs can detect or smell as little as 1/1000 of a bedbug.

Water Striders. The water striders are long-legged insects (Figure 12E) that run or skate over the top of water to catch their prey, mainly other insects that fall accidentally onto the surface. The front legs are short and raptorial for catching and holding prey while feeding. The tarsi of these insects are covered with short hairs that are difficult to wet. The tarsal claws are antapical. That is, they attach to the last tarsal segment before the tip of the leg and are capable of being retracted. Therefore the claws do not break the surface tension of the water and the non-wettable hairs allow the insect to walk on water. These insects are common in quiet water where they often occur in large numbers.

Figure12E. Common water striders.

Some individuals of a species are winged and some are apterous. If a stream or pond dries up, the winged forms will attempt to fly to a new aquatic environment, while the apterous forms burrow in the mud or under stones where they remain dormant until the rainy season returns. Water striders are one of the few types of insects that can be found in the ocean. Ocean-inhabiting species are apterous as the ocean is not likely to dry up.

For any fishermen reading this text, water striders are not good bait for trout or other fish. It makes biological sense that any insect that lives on the top of water must have some mechanism for survival because, without this, they would be “sitting ducks” for hungry fish. In the case of water striders the mechanism is simple; they don’t taste good. Water striders possess glands that produce foul-tasting oil. After eating a few, fish quickly learn to associate the foul taste with the insect and ignore them in future encounters.

Assassin or Kissing Bugs. This is a large group of moderate-to-large-sized bugs (1/2 to 1 inch long) and is characterized by a short beak, which is slightly longer than the head. Also the head narrows behind the eyes, giving it a neck-like appearance (Figure 12F).

Figure 12F. A predatory species of assassin bugs. Image courtesy Joseph Berger, Bugwood.

Most species are predaceous on other insects, but some feed on the blood of humans and other warm-blooded animals. The predaceous forms are considered beneficial but can also inflict a painful bite if handled. Assassin bugs kill their prey by injecting a venomous salivary fluid with their beak. They may also use their beak in defense. In some cases the bite has been compared to that of a venomous snake. The pain can be intense, with other symptoms that include general swelling, faintness, vomiting and nausea that can last weeks or occasionally months. The bites of the blood-sucking species are not felt initially because the saliva of these forms contains an anesthetic. It also contains an anticoagulant to insure blood flow but after a few hours large, red swollen blotches frequently develop. There is one African species that uses its beak as a spray gun. It ejects its saliva in a series of short, aimed squirts of a distance of up to several feet, thereby holding potential predators at bay.

One species in the genus Apiomris (Figure 12G), in addition to possessing a toxic bite has a number of addition defensive mechanisms. It collects plant resins from a common roadside weed. The resins are quite sticky with a strong repulsive odor and serve as a natural defense to protect this plant from phytophagus (plant feeding) insects. The adult female assassin bug collects these droplets of resins from the plant by scraping them off with her front legs but eventually transfer them to the underside of her abdomen. During egg laying she coats each egg with copious amounts of resin. The end result is a tight cluster of eggs that are coated on the outside by a thick layer of resin which serves as a deterrent to ants, other insects and possibly protective to microbial pathogens. Upon hatching the new nymphs collect the resin from the outside of the eggs with their front legs. Of course the resins may again serve as a deterrent to potential predators but they also are used as an aid in capturing prey. As already indicated, many predatory insects use their front legs to capture their prey. In this case, the addition of sticky resins to the forelegs aids them in holding their prey.

Figure 12G. An Arizona species of assassin bug (Apiomerus sp.)

From Southwest Mexico and down into South America, some of the blood sucking forms are quite aggressive and come into homes at night to feed on humans. These frequently are referred to as "kissing bugs" because of their tendency to feed around the face and mouth (this is mainly due the fact that this is the area of the body area that is not covered by a blanket while sleeping). In Central and South America, kissing bugs can vector Chagas disease, a highly fatal disease in humans (Figure 12H). Darwin was thought to have contracted this disease on his travels to these countries.

Figure 12H. A South American species of blood sucking kissing bug that

vectors Chagas disease. Image compliments of Department of

Parasitology, University of Sao Paulo, Brazil.

The wheel bug (Figure 12I) is one of the larger species of assassin bugs and is named after the half-wheel appearing structure on the top of the thorax. This species occurs primarily in the eastern and southern states extending down into Central America. This large assassin bug (over an inch in length) is a voracious predator attacking a variety of insects. It is even capable of devouring a large tomato hornworm. It has a very nasty bite with the pain lasting for a day or more.

Figure 12I. A wheel bug, a notorious species with a nasty bite.

As with the wheel bug many tropical assassins pack a powerful bite. One of our students was bitten on the finger by a rather large assassin bug while we were on a trip to Thailand. Unfortunately she had a ring on that finger, which began to swell quickly. The swelling got so bad that the ring cut off circulation to her finger, which she could have lost. Fortunately the emergency room at the local hospital was able to cut off ring in time.

Water Boatmen. This is the most common group of aquatic insects in North America, both in number of species and abundance of individuals. The water boatmen are extremely common in lakes and ponds with a few species found in brackish water along the seashore. The body is elongate oval (Figure 12J), somewhat flattened, and usually brown to dark gray in color. The hind legs are elongate and oar-shaped, while the front legs are scoop-shaped and used to scrape algae (their main diet) off rocks.

Figure 12J. A common species of water boatman. Image compliments of

Charles Hogue, L. A. County Natural History Museum.

Because the insects are so common in aquatic situations and are a primary converter of plant-to-animal matter, they are considered quite important in food chains. In many areas of the world water boatmen are even consumed by humans. The adults normally are not consumed, as they are too crunchy; however, in the lakes of Mexico, large rope mats are placed in the water which serves as suitable substrate for laying eggs. Periodically the mats are removed and the eggs are scraped off and ground into a proteinaceous flour.

Backswimmers. As you might expect, these are so named because they swim on their backs. They are similar to the water boatmen in shape, but the dorsal side of their body is more roof-like in cross section and they typically are lightly colored.

Backswimmers are aquatic with most resting just below the surface of the water with the head angled downward. They are predaceous, feeding on other insects and occasionally, tadpoles. They are important in the biological control of mosquito larvae. A common method used to catch mosquito larvae and pupae, is to drift up under them after releasing hold of an aquatic plant to which they have been clinging.

These insects are capable of inflicting painful bites if carelessly handled. The males of many species can produce a 'squeaking' sound by rubbing their front legs against their beaks (stridulating). This sound is associated with the backswimmer's courtship behavior.

The action of swimming on the back is due to a ventral light reaction. That is, backswimmers swim with the most lighted part of their environment on the underside, or venter, of their bodies. The importance of light in their orientation can easily be demonstrated by placing backswimmers in an aquarium with a dark board over the top and a light bulb shining through the bottom. In this case the insects will swim with their venter toward the bulb or right side up. As discussed, in nature it is to the advantage of backswimmers to swim upside down as their prey typically is on the surface of the water and they can float up in a position ready to attack.

Toad Bugs. The naming of these bugs is somewhat obvious due to their toad-like appearance including coloration and warty-like exterior (14K). In addition they are typically found around water (semi-aquatic) and hop like toads. They are predatory and somewhat rare except in California where they are very common. I guess the main reason I included them in this CD is they have a very distinct and interesting appearance.

Figure 12K. A toad bug.