The bed bug, Cimex lectularius L., like other bed bug species, is difficult to visually locate because it is cryptic. Detector dogs are useful for locating bed bugs because they use olfaction rather than vision. Dogs were trained to detect the bed bug (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 sys...

This study attempts to elucidate bed bug behavior in response to host cues and aggregation cues from conspecifics. Both fed and unfed bed bugs were evaluated to determine differences in behavior with regard to their circadian activities. Arena bioassays were conducted to determine the bed bug’s ability to locate a host from different distances and if the antennae were essential for host locatio...

Understanding movement and dispersal of the common bed bug (Cimex lectularius L.) under field conditions is important in the control of infestations and for managing the spread of bed bugs to new locations. We investigated bed bug movement within and between apartments using mark-release-recapture (m-r-r) technique combined with apartment-wide monitoring using pitfall-style interceptors. Bed bu...

Bed bugs Cimex lectularius L. were exposed to conidia (spores) of the entomopathogenic fungus Metarhizium anisopliae by feeding, aerosol spray, or contact with a treated surface. Feeding experiments demonstrated that bed bugs were innately susceptible to this fungus. However, only at 98% humidity were mortality rates high, regardless of whether bed bugs were sprayed with a fungal solution or co...

Carbon dioxide (CO2), heat, and chemical lure (1-octen-3-ol and L-lactic acid) were tested as attractants for bed bugs, Cimex lectularius L. (Heteroptera: Cimicidae), by using pitfall traps. Both CO2 and heat were attractive to bed bugs. CO2 was significantly more attractive to bed bugs than heat. Traps baited with chemical lure attracted more bed bugs but at a statistically nonsignificant leve...

Bed bugs are hematophagous insects responsible for a re-emerging and challenging indoor pest in many countries. Bed bugs infestations may have health consequences including nuisance biting, cutaneous and systemic reactions. This resurgence can probably be attributed to factors such as increased international travel and development of resistance against insecticides. Resistance against pyrethroi...

CONTEXT Bed bug (Cimex lectularius) infestations are rapidly increasing worldwide. Health consequences include nuisance biting and cutaneous and systemic reactions. The potential for bed bugs to serve as disease vectors and optimal methods for bed bug pest control and eradication are unclear. OBJECTIVES To present current knowledge of the health and medical effects of bed bugs and to explore ...

Bed bugs (Cimex lectularius L.) have resurged in the United States and globally. Bed bugs are hematophagous ectoparasites of humans and other animals, including domestic pets, chickens, and bats, and their blood feeding habits contribute to their potential as disease vectors. Several species of Bartonella are re-emergent bacterial pathogens that also affect humans, domestic pets, bats and a num...