Bed Bug
Biology
and
Control
[
Revised: 12 / 10 / 2oo8
]
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
( = Hexapoda )
Order: Hemiptera ( Sub-Order: Heteroptera )
Family: Cimicidae
Genus: Cimex
Species: lectularius
Scientific Name: Cimex lectularius L.
Common Name: the Common Bed Bug
Adult Male - C. lectularius (L.)
Adult Female - Engorged
Description
Small – 3/16 inch long, oval, flat, reddish brown insects
True bugs - w/ 3-seg. beak, 4-seg. antennae
Vestigial wings & a thin coat of fine golden hairs
Give off a distinctive “musty, sweetish” odor
Partly digested blood in feces causes “rusty” spots
Males – pointed abdomen
Females – rounded abdomen
Dorsal View – Head & Thorax
Ventral View - Head & Thorax
Pictorial
Key
To
ID
Bed
Bugs
Bed Bug (Common) vs. Bat Bug (Eastern)
C. lectularius L. vs. C. adjunctus Barber
Biology
Feed only on Blood – Mammals or Birds
Attach small (1 mm long ) whitish eggs to surfaces in
harborages where the bugs hide in loose clusters
5 Nymphal instars ( Need >1 blood meal each instar )
Life Cycle takes 4-5 weeks (egg-to-egg) in ‘good’
conditions [ 75-80% RH; 83-90o F ]
Female may lay 200-500 eggs in her lifetime
Adults can survive >1 yr. w/o feeding [ Nymphs 3-4 mo.]
Mating – “Traumatic” Insemination
Feeding - Several Instars
Engorging Adults & N - 2
Engorged
Nymphs - 1 & 2
Eggs and Droppings
Viable Eggs
“Rusty Spots” on Bedding
Bed Bugs & Rusty Spots on Sheet
Adult
Bed
Bugs
Mating
Medical Importance
- Found naturally infected w/ >28 human pathogens
- Never proven to transmit any human disease
- Several species feed on humans
(including: Common & Tropical Bed Bugs,
Bat Bugs, & Poultry Bugs
- Salivary proteins cause “sensitivity” to repeated
bites by large numbers of bed bugs
- - 5 stages: no reaction; delayed reaction; both immediate
& delayed; immediate reaction only; & finally, no reaction
- - True hypersensitivity can develop (but it is reversible)
- Serious social stigma to “having” an infestation
Feeding a “Rearing Jar”
Immediate Bite Reactions
Severe Bed Bug Bite Reactions (C. lectularius)
- on a human arm
- on a leg
Delayed Reactions (> 24 hrs.)
Habits ( Behavior )
- Nocturnal, harbor in clusters, but NOT ‘social’
- Hide in daytime in cracks, crevices, behind
baseboards, bed frames, mattress seams, etc.
- Take a blood meal to repletion in 3-10 min.
- “Prefer” humans but feed on other hosts, too
- Travel 5-20 ft. (each way) nightly to feed
- Feed every few days if hosts available
- Often void part of previous meal while feeding
- Can remain fully active at <45o F
[ if acclimated for 24 hrs at < 60o F ]
Bed Bugs Have Thin, Flat Bodies
Some Control Strategies
- Thorough survey & accurate ID
- Educate customers ( may take > 1 visit )
- Sanitation will NOT eliminate them
- Initial vacuuming (mattresses, beds, harborages )
- Treat harborages w/ properly labeled residual
- - try to not use highly repellent materials
- Dust electrical boxes, voids (maybe seal them shut )
- Seal harborages shut (pref. silicone-based sealant )
- Consider physical barriers if appropriate
- Sticky monitors ( may detect continued presence)
Note: Uncover their bottom sticky areas
( this may catch bugs crawling underneath these )
Bed
Bug
&
Rusty
Spots
on
a
Sheet
Survey
Sites:
Bed
Frames,
Night
Stands
Mattress (especially seams)
Upholstered Chairs
Upholstered Chairs (3)
Window
Curtains
and
Frames
When Treating “Think in 3-D”
1. If you treat along part of a baseboard –
remember . . the bed bugs may already be
(or can go) into or through wall voids,
along pipes, or through air vent passages
to rooms on either side, above, or below.
2. Consider concurrently treating the same
identical “spots”
a. On the other side of the common wall
b. Along the wall-ceiling edges of rooms below
Some “Newer” Techniques & Products
1. Gentrol™ labeled for Bed Bugs
2. Heat Treatments ( Whole-House, Batch, Room )
3. Steaming – Mattresses, or Beds, etc.
4. Phantom™ (Chlorfenapyr) labeled to control
ants / roaches; indoor ‘crack-and-crevice’
5. Baygon™ (propoxur) aerosol is labeled for
‘crack-and-crevice’ treatments
6. Encase Mattress & Pillows in special covers
7. Permethrin repellent, over-the-counter (s-h)
8. Silica gel – powder/ residual (e.g., in Tri-Die ™)
Heat
Treatments
(esp. in
Batches)
Steaming Furniture
Bedding Encasements
A New
preventive
Self-Help
Treatment
for
Luggage
“Fumigation- type” treatments
1. “Whole structure” fumigation will eliminate
bugs present within treated areas, but . . . . .
a. This is seldom economically practical.
b. There is no residual protection.
2. The same things are true for . . .
a.
b.
c.
d.
“Batch” or “Single-Room” Fumigations,
Heat treatments (Whole Bldg. or One - Room), and
Cold treatments (Whole Bldg. or One - Room).
Steam treatments (mattress, box spring, etc.).
A New
Practical
Reference
( Dec., 2007 )
for PMPs &
the Public
Available for purchase at:
www.techletter.com
Currently: $ 67.00 (U.S.)
Bed Bug Detection Dogs
Multi-Attractant Traps ( new technology, 2-e.g.)
Cimex Detection CaseTM
Nightwatch TM
Questions ?
Note: The following slides
are included for possible use
in a presentation, or they may
simply be omitted ( or maybe
just not shown ).
Evidence of Resurgence
Snetsinger: “. Bed bugs may actually cause slums .
. . (Busvine 1951); today (1997) specimens are
unavailable for classes & few young entomologists
have seen an infestation . .” [ Mallis 8th ed.; p.399 ]
Kreuger’s: “Don’t get Bitten by the resurgence of Bed
Bugs,” Pest Contr. 68 (3): 58-64 ( Mar. 2000 ).
NPMA: 29 infestations confirmed; 18 states & DC
[ Library Update, Sept. 2001 ]
NPMA: >600 infestations confirmed; 49 states, DC ,
4 Provinces CAN., & 4 states MEX. ( Aug., 2007 )
Orkin has treated bed bugs in 49 states ( Jun., 2008 )
Possible Factors In Bed Bug Resurgence
1. Greater human mobility
2. Less use of any residuals – last 15 + yrs
3. Significant switch to baits for roaches & ants (1980s)
4. Many PMPs are still not very familiar w/ bed bugs
- inadequate survey, wrong ID, incomplete treatment
5. Pyrethroids used in most accounts are repellent
- bugs do not get a lethal dose (esp. in deep cracks)
- harborages easy to miss in first survey
- bugs may detect & avoid residual treatments
- bug pop. often “split” or move from such treatments
6. People may call any unknown bite - “bed bugs”
A Few Suggested References (a.)
Blow, J., M. Turell, A. Silverman, and E. Walker. 2001.
Stercorial shedding and transstadial transmission of
Hepatitis B virus by common bed bugs (Hemiptera:
Cimicidae). J. Med. Entomol. 38(5): 694-700.
Cabrera, B., and C. K. Heinsohn. 2006. Instant Symposium :
Not letting the bed bugs bite. American Entomologist.
52 (2): 98-121. [ Includes title article plus nine (9) more
short articles as presented by other authors at the E.S.A.
National Meetings in Ft. Lauderdale, FL; Dec., 2005. ]
Cooper, R. and H. Harlan. 2004. Chap. 8. Ectoparasites, Part
three: Bed Bugs & Kissing Bugs. pp. 494-529, In 9th ed.
Mallis’ Handbook of Pest Control. S. Hedges (ed. dir.). GIE
Publ, Inc., Cleveland, OH.
Doggett, S. 2006. A Code of Practice for the Control of Bed Bug
Infestations in Australia. Australian Environmental Pest
Managers Assn., Ltd., NSW, Australia. 54 pp.
See: www.aepma.com.au
A Few Suggested References (b.)
Doggett, S., M. Geary, and R. Russell. 2004. The resurgence of
bed bugs in Australia: With notes on their ecology and
control. Environ. Health, 4(2): 30-38.
Harlan, H., M. Faulde, and G. Baumann. 2008. Chap. 4. Bed
Bugs, pp.131-151 [In ] Public Health Significance of Urban
Pests. [Bonnefoy, X., H. Kampen, & K. Sweeney, (eds.)].
WHO Europe, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Hwang, S., T. Svoboda, I. DeJong, K. Kabasele, and E.
Gogosis. 2005. Bed Bug infestation in an urban
environment. Emerg. Inf. Dis., 11(4): 533-538 (Apr.)
Jupp, P., R. Purcell, M. Shapiro, and J. Gerin. 1991. Attempts
to transmit Hepatitis B virus to chimpanzees by arthropods.
S. Afr. Med. J., 79: 320-322.
Potter, M. 2004. Your Guide to bed bugs. PCT Mag. Vol. 32(8).
[A special 6-page “pull out” section between pages 12 and
13 of the Aug., 2004 issue].
A Few Suggested References (c.)
Snetsinger, R. 1997. Chap. 9. Bed Bugs & Other Bugs.
pp. 392-424, In 8th ed. Mallis’ Handbook of Pest Control. S.
Hedges (ed.). GIE Publ, Inc., Cleveland, OH.
Technical Guide (TG) # 44. 2007. Bed Bugs – Importance,
Biology, and Control Strategies. AFPMB, www.afpmb.org .
Usinger, R. 1966. Monograph of Cimicidae. Thos. Say
Foundation, Vol. VII, Entomol. Soc. Amer., Lanham, MD.
WHO. 1982. Vector Control Series. VI. Bed Bugs. World
Health Organization. WHO/VBC/82.857. 9 pp.
A Few Suggested Web Sites
These sites can be “searched” for more details, images,
etc. about Bed Bugs.
Armed Forces Pest Mgt. Board: www.afpmb.org
National Pest Management Assn.: www.pestworld.org
PCT Magazine web site. www.pctonline.com
Pest Management Professional web site.
www.pestcontrolmag.com ( formerly = Pest Control )
The Univ. of KY Extension Entomology web site.
www.uky.edu/Entomology/entfacts/struct/ef636.htm
Coopers’ Pest Solutions
www.cooperpest.com
Or, Search for “bed bugs” on www.Google.com
[ Note - some “facts” on some websites are wrong !! ]
Male “Paramere”
Female ‘Para-genital Sinus’
Adult Male - C. lectularius (L.)
Adult Female – Lateral View
Dorsal View - Front Half
Swallow Bug
Engorged 1st Instar Nymph “Micturating”
Adult Female
Immediate Bite Reactions
the Eastern Bat Bug
C. adjunctus Barber
Monitors May Help Detect
Bed Bugs
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