Effects of surface type and distance traveled on the efficacy of a Beauveria bassiana (Hypocreales:Cordycipitaceae)-based biopesticide (Aprehend) for bed bug (Hemiptera: Cimicidae) control.

The cryptic behavior that characterizes bed bugs (Cimex lectularius L.) makes them one of the most difficult indoor pests to control. Thus, the use of products with long residual efficacy is a key component of successful bed bug management.

Common consumer residual insecticides lack efficacy against insecticide-susceptible and resistant populations of the German cockroach (Blattodea: Ectobiidae).

The German cockroach, Blattella germanica (L.) (Blattodea: Ectobiidae), is a ubiquitous pest in affordable housing. They represent a major threat to human health due to their contribution of asthma-exacerbating allergens and the potential to transfer pathogenic microorganisms indoors.

Identification of the pan-allergen tropomyosin from the common bed bug (Cimex lectularius).

Tropomyosin is a muscle contraction protein documented across all animal life. Despite its ubiquity, its unique structure in invertebrates leads to allergic responses in humans that vertebrate tropomyosin does not. High degrees of homology can explain cross-reactivity between tropomyosin derived from distantly-related arthropod species and establishes tropomyosin as a panallergen.

Behavioral responses of field-collected German cockroaches to pyrethroids and pyrethroid-formulated insecticides.

Background: Pyrethroids are synthetic insecticides with low mammalian toxicity and broad-spectrum activity across insects. One major challenge with pyrethroids is their perceived repellency. This perception can influence decisions made by pest control operators, especially when insecticides are used to reduce insect entry into or movement within structures.

Spatial distribution of histamine in bed bug-infested homes.

Histamine is a component of the bed bug aggregation pheromone. It was recently identified as an environmental contaminant in homes with active bed bug infestations, posing a potential health risk to humans via skin contact or inhalation. It remains unclear how histamine is distributed in homes and if histamine can become airborne.

Multiple Mechanisms Confer Fipronil Resistance in the German Cockroach: Enhanced Detoxification and Rdl Mutation.

Populations of Blattella germanica (L.) (German cockroach) have been documented worldwide to be resistant to a wide variety of insecticides with multiple modes of action. The phenylpyrazole insecticide fipronil has been used extensively to control German cockroach populations, exclusively in baits, yet the highest reported fipronil resistance is 38-fold in a single population.

Human skin triglycerides prevent bed bug (Cimex lectularius L.) arrestment.

Bed bugs (Cimex lectularius) have proliferated globally and have become one of the most challenging pests to control indoors. They are nocturnal and use multiple sensory cues to detect and orient towards their human hosts. After feeding, usually on a sleeping human, they return to a shelter on or around the sleeping surface, but not directly on the host.

Reproductive compatibility among populations and host-associated lineages of the common bed bug ( L.).

As populations differentiate across geographic or host-association barriers, interpopulation fertility is often a measure of the extent of incipient speciation. The bed bug, L., was recently found to form two host-associated lineages within Europe: one found with humans (human-associated, HA) and the other found with bats (bat-associated, BA).

Bed bugs shape the indoor microbial community composition of infested homes.

Indoor pests, and the allergens they produce, adversely affect human health. Surprisingly, however, their effects on indoor microbial communities have not been assessed. Bed bug (Cimex lectularius) infestations pose severe challenges in elderly and low-income housing.

Pervasive Resistance to Pyrethroids in German Cockroaches (Blattodea: Ectobiidae) Related to Lack of Efficacy of Total Release Foggers.

Despite limited efficacy data, do-it-yourself (DIY) insecticide products often promise low-cost alternatives to professional pest control. Total release foggers (TRFs, 'bug bombs'), which are prominent DIY products, were recently shown to be ineffective at reducing German cockroach (Blattella germanica L.) infestations, in contrast to highly effective baits.

Exposure risks and ineffectiveness of total release foggers (TRFs) used for cockroach control in residential settings.

Background: The German cockroach, Blattella germanica, is one of the most challenging pests to eradicate from indoor environments. Professional pest control is often prohibitively expensive, prompting low-income residents to turn to over-the-counter consumer products, including total release foggers (TRFs, "bug bombs"). Despite their widespread use, little is known regarding either the associated pesticide exposure risks or the efficacy of TRFs.

Bed Bug (Hemiptera: Cimicidae) Attraction to Human Odors: Validation of a Two-Choice Olfactometer.

Bed bugs (Cimex lectularius L.) (Hemiptera: Cimicidae) are obligate hematophagous ectoparasites, and, therefore, must locate suitable hosts to ensure survival and reproduction. Their largely nocturnal activity suggests that chemosensory and thermosensory cues would play critical roles in host location.

Histamine as an emergent indoor contaminant: Accumulation and persistence in bed bug infested homes.

Histamine is used in bronchial and dermal provocation, but it is rarely considered an environmental risk factor in allergic disease. Because bed bugs defecate large amounts of histamine as a component of their aggregation pheromone, we sought to determine if histamine accumulates in household dust in bed bug infested homes, and the effects of bed bug eradication with spatial heat on histamine levels in dust. We collected dust in homes and analyzed for histamine before, and up to three months after bed bug eradication.

Feel the heat: activation, orientation and feeding responses of bed bugs to targets at different temperatures.

Host location in bed bugs is poorly understood. Of the primary host-associated cues known to attract bed bugs - CO, odors, heat - heat has received little attention as an independent stimulus. We evaluated the effects of target temperatures ranging from 23 to 48°C on bed bug activation, orientation and feeding.

Estimating the critical thermal maximum (CTmax) of bed bugs, Cimex lectularius: Comparing thermolimit respirometry with traditional visual methods.

Evaluating the critical thermal maximum (CTmax) in insects has provided a number of challenges. Visual observations of endpoints (onset of spasms, loss of righting response, etc.) can be difficult to measure consistently, especially with smaller insects.

Effects of Starvation on Deltamethrin Tolerance in Bed Bugs, Cimex lectularius L. (Hemiptera: Cimicidae).

Bed bugs, Cimex lectularius L., are a major pest in the urban environment. Their presence often results in physical, psychological, and financial distress of homeowners and apartment dwellers.

Effects of starvation and molting on the metabolic rate of the bed bug (Cimex lectularius L.).

The bed bug (Cimex lectularius L.) is a common hematophagous pest in the urban environment and is capable of surviving extended periods of starvation. However, the relationship between starvation and metabolism in bed bugs is not well understood.

Standard metabolic rate of the bed bug, Cimex lectularius: effects of temperature, mass, and life stage.

Metabolic rates provide important information about the biology of organisms. For ectothermic species such as insects, factors such as temperature and mass heavily influence metabolism, but these effects differ considerably between species. In this study we examined the standard metabolic rate of the bed bug, Cimex lectularius L.

Standard metabolic rates of Lepisma saccharina and Thermobia domestica: effects of temperature and mass.

Silverfish, Lepisma saccharina L., and firebrats, Thermobia domestica (Packard), are two common thysanuran pests in the urban environment. Both species can survive for extended periods without feeding, suggesting that they have some metabolic modifications compared with other insects which cannot tolerate extended starvation.