A Door-to-Door Survey of Bed Bug (Cimex lectularius) Infestations in Row Homes in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Wu, Yage; Tracy, Dylan; Barbarin, Alexis M.; Barbu, Corentin; Levy, Michael Z.

doi:10.4269/ajtmh.13-0714

Cited by 27 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…The common bed bug, Cimex lectularius L. (Hemiptera: Cimicidae), has become a common pest in low-income housing in North America in recent years. [1][2][3][4][5] Unlike other common household pests, bed bug bites can cause itchiness, pain, anxiety, sleep loss, social ostracism, delusional parasitosis, and stress. [6][7][8][9] Professional bed bug control service typically costs at least US $500 per infestation and often fails to completely eradicate the bed bugs.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dynamics of bed bug infestations in three low‐income housing communities with various bed bug management programs

Wang

Eiden

Singh

et al. 2018

Pest Management Science

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dynamics of bed bug infestations in three low‐income housing communities with various bed bug management programs

Wang

Eiden

Singh

et al. 2018

Pest Management Science

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“…Bed bugs (Cimex lectularius L.) (Hemiptera: Cimicidae) remain one of the most challenging pests to manage indoors. Since their resurgence in the early 2000s, infestations have been documented from across the globe (Doggett et al 2004, How and Lee 2010, Levy Bencheton et al 2011, Potter 2011, Wang and Wen 2011, Faúndez and Carvajal 2014, with high infestation rates especially frequent in low-income communities (Wu et al 2014, Wang et al 2016. Bed bugs affect humans physically (bites) (Goddard and deShazo 2009), psychologically de Shazo 2012, Susser et al 2012), and they produce copious amounts of histamine that may trigger allergies and asthma (DeVries et al 2018).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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

DeVries

Saveer

Mick

et al. 2018

Journal of Medical Entomology

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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. Yet, the importance of olfaction in host attraction of bed bugs remains unclear. We developed and validated a Y-tube, two-choice olfactometer and tested its suitability for investigating attraction to human odors (from skin swabs). Olfactometer orientation significantly affected the percentage of bed bugs that were activated by human odors, with significantly more bed bugs responding when the olfactometer was oriented vertically (bug introduced at bottom of the olfactometer) compared with all other orientations. Starved (7–10 d) adult males, mated females, and nymphs responded (47–77% moved up the olfactometer and made a choice) when human odors were present in the olfactometer, while starved, unmated females did not respond. Skin swabs from all five human participants elicited high response rates (65–82%), and bed bugs from four different populations responded to skin swabs (40–82% response rate). However, in all assays including those resulting in relatively low response rates, bed bugs exhibited >90% preference for human odors over blank controls. These results provide strong evidence that bed bugs can respond and orient towards human odors, independently of all other host cues. Furthermore, the validated olfactometer should enable rapid and efficient evaluations of bed bug behavioral responses to semiochemicals.

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“…A meta-analysis study of the bed bug infestation (Cimex lectularius) in Iran during 1995-2019 reported the weighted mean of this infestation was estimated 0.28 (18). A door-to-door survey showed 11.1% of Cimex lectularius infestations in row homes in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (19). The bed bug infestation was reported 21.8% in Benue State in Nigeria (20).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prevalence and Spatial Distribution of Bed Bug, Cimex lectularius, Infestation in Southwest of Iran: GIS Approach

Sharififard¹,

Alizadeh²,

Jahanifard³

et al. 2020

JAD

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Background: The common bed bug, a nocturnal bloodsucking insect, is known as a human parasite and public health problem in the world. The prevalence and geographical dispersion of bed bug in Ahvaz City, southwest of Iran was measured. Methods: Spatial distribution of Cimex lectularius was determined by surveying 520 houses in 62 areas of Ahvaz City in 2017. Some information like as infested points, the concern level of the residents and allergic reaction to the insect bite were registered in a form using the secondhand instrument. Results: According to the spatial distribution map, of 62 areas, 27 of them are infested with bed bugs. Infestation is scattered throughout the city, but its focus is on the east of the Karun River. The most bed bug infestation was in Asiabad followed by Manbaab areas. Prevalence of bed bug infestation estimated 9.61% in Ahvaz city. It was 5.4% and 11.6% in apartments and single houses, respectively. The lowest and highest infestation rates based on its source were 1.35% and 9.03% in wallpaper and cracks and crevices, respectively. Bedroom and sitting room were the main harborages for bed bug in the houses. The majority of residents who had bitten by a bed bug showed various allergic reactions like redness skin, papules, vesicles, pustules and blisters. Most of the people in the infested houses (62%) were very concern about bed bug infestation. Conclusion: Public education and increasing the knowledge of people can lead to successful management, prevention and elimination of this nuisance pest.

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A Door-to-Door Survey of Bed Bug (Cimex lectularius) Infestations in Row Homes in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Cited by 27 publications

References 17 publications

Dynamics of bed bug infestations in three low‐income housing communities with various bed bug management programs

Dynamics of bed bug infestations in three low‐income housing communities with various bed bug management programs

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

Prevalence and Spatial Distribution of Bed Bug, Cimex lectularius, Infestation in Southwest of Iran: GIS Approach

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