Bed Bugs: Prevalence in Low-Income Communities, Resident’s Reactions, and Implementation of a Low-Cost Inspection Protocol

Abstract

We examined bed bug prevalence in 2,372 low-income apartments within 43 buildings in four New Jersey cities using a combination of resident interviews, brief visual inspections, and monitoring with Climbup Insect Interceptors. Infestation rates ranged from 3.8 to 29.5% among the buildings, with an overall infestation rate of 12.3%. Within each apartment, the bed area trapped significantly more bed bugs per trap than the sofa (or upholstered chair) area. African American residents had a proportionally higher number of bed bug infestations than white residents. Women were more likely to report bed bug bite symptoms than men. Only 68% of the residents who experienced bed bug infestations reported symptoms after being bitten (n = 475). Among those with self-reported symptoms (n = 319), the frequency of the reported symptoms was: pain 90%, itchiness 20%, welts 13%, and insomnia 8%. Fifty-nine percent of the residents (n = 539) who experienced bed bug infestations applied insecticides to control bed bugs. Climbup interceptors detected 89 ± 1% and brief visual inspections detected 72 ± 3% of the infestations. Only two out of 291 infestations were not detected by brief visual inspection or interceptors. Assuming US$50 per hour labor rate, the average per apartment cost for the building-wide bed bug monitoring protocol was US$12 per apartment. Forty-nine percent of the infestations detected by the protocol were in apartments whose residents were unaware of the bed bug activity.

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

“…This protocol was proved to be a highly accurate and practical method. Unfortunately, the contractor did not use interceptors for determining elimination but instead relied upon visual inspection, a less reliable method, as shown in Table and Wang et al …”

“…However, a significant number of infested apartments did not receive service from contractors within the first year. A high proportion of residents were unaware of the presence of bed bugs even when their homes were infested with bed bugs. There also was a discrepancy between resident‐reported treatments received from the housing authority and the pest control records held by the housing authority; as revealed during the surveys conducted at 7–11 months, residents reported more treatments than found in the treatment records.…”

“…They are located in Bayonne, Hackensack, and Paterson. Details of these study sites were reported in Wang et al …”

“…They had 41 infestations treated in 2013. The bed bug infestation rates in these three communities in early 2014 were 8.5, 5.7, and 13.8%, respectively. A total of 2303 apartments (Bayonne, 807; Hackensack, 504; Paterson, 992) were included in this study.…”

Pest Management Strategies for Bed Bugs (Hemiptera: Cimicidae) in Multiunit Housing: A Literature Review on Field Studies

“…It has been determined that early detection of infestations followed by expeditious professional treatment is the most effective control approach for bed bugs (Pinto et al 2007;Wang et al , 2016. Furthermore, comprehensive awareness of the extent of bed bug infestation within a building is essential for the PMP to develop an effective treatment plan (Pinto et al 2007).…”