Comparing Different Control Methods of Bedbugs (Cimex lectularius) in Prisons in Mazandaran Province, 2018

Background and purpose: Control of bedbugs (Cimex lectularius) as important human pests often fails in places where people live in aggregation such as prisons. The aim of this study was to compare the effectiveness of various methods of bedbug control in prisons in Mazandaran province, Iran. Materials and methods: In this descriptive-analytical study performed in 2018, routine control methods of bedbugs including spraying, environmental management, fogging, and flame and combinations of two methods were compared. Data analyses were carried out using two methods. In first method, the number of bites before the control program along with that of four monitoring periods (15 days interval) after the interventions normalized with the population of the prison was analyzed. In second method, we analyzed the data from four monitoring phases after the control operation without considering the population of prisons. Results: Environmental management plus flame were the pair of control intervention with highest impact on bedbug population in prisons. Based on first method of analysis, there was a significant difference in number of individuals bitten between various control methods in all prisons (P<0.05). However, no significant difference was observed in number of individuals bitten by bedbugs between pre-control stage and post-control stage in all prisons studied (P>0.05). Conclusion: Environmental sanitation of prison wards plus flame was found to have the greatest impact on bedbug population over a period of one month. Where it is not possible to use flame, combined methods, including spraying-environmental sanitation or fogging-environmental sanitation can be used as effective alternatives in reducing bedbug population in prisons.