Testing a Threshold-Based Bed Bug Management Approach in Apartment Buildings
1
Department of Entomology, Rutgers-The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA
2
Department of Plant Biology, Rutgers-The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Academic Editor: Brian T. Forschler
Insects 2017, 8(3), 76; https://doi.org/10.3390/insects8030076
Received: 31 March 2017 / Revised: 3 July 2017 / Accepted: 21 July 2017 / Published: 26 July 2017
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Pest Management)
We tested a threshold-based bed bug (Cimex lectularius L.) management approach with the goal of achieving elimination with minimal or no insecticide application. Thirty-two bed bug infested apartments were identified. These apartments were divided into four treatment groups based on apartment size and initial bed bug count, obtained through a combination of visual inspection and bed bug monitors: I- Non-chemical only in apartments with 1–12 bed bug count, II- Chemical control only in apartments with 1–12 bed bug count, III- Non-chemical and chemical control in apartments with >12 bed bug count, and IV- Chemical control only in apartments with ≥11 bed bug count. All apartments were monitored or treated once every two weeks for a maximum of 28 wk. Treatment I eliminated bed bugs in a similar amount of time to treatment II. Time to eliminate bed bugs was similar between treatment III and IV but required significantly less insecticide spray in treatment III than that in treatment IV. A threshold-based management approach (non-chemical only or non-chemical and chemical) can eliminate bed bugs in a similar amount of time, using little to no pesticide compared to a chemical only approach.
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Keywords:
Cimex lectularius; pest management; multi-unit dwelling
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MDPI and ACS Style
Singh, N.; Wang, C.; Zha, C.; Cooper, R.; Robson, M. Testing a Threshold-Based Bed Bug Management Approach in Apartment Buildings. Insects 2017, 8, 76.
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