Essential Oils as Fumigants for Bed Bugs (Hemiptera: Cimicidae)

Feldlaufer, Mark F.; Ulrich, Kevin R.

doi:10.18474/jes14-27.1

Cited by 23 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…Therefore, based on the findings of this study there are opportunities to develop potentially efficacious essential oil-based formulations for use in bed bug IPM. Plant essential oils that contain high concentrations of effective compounds included in this study were found active against bed bugs and cockroaches 19–21,26 . Therefore, thyme ( Thymus vulgaris L.) and oregano ( Origanum vulgare L.) plant essential oils, which contain high amounts of thymol, and carvacrol, respectively (Table S1) can be included in the formulation of natural product insecticides.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 86%

“…Collectively, these results indicated that the fumigant toxicity of the tested essential oil components was not solely dependent on their volatility, but their inherent toxicity (i.e., unique target-receptor interactions) was likely a major determining factor in their toxicity. Since fumigant toxicity is dependent on the exposure time, in the future it may be important to perform experiments to determine if compounds with low evaporation show increased toxicity against bed bugs in long duration bioassays (3–7 d) as shown by Feldlaufer and Ulrich 19 when using pure essential oils.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Therefore, thymol or thymol containing essential oils have the potential of being used as fumigants for bed bug control under field settings. For example, small bed bug infested items can be sealed in chambers or plastic bags with a paper or cloth impregnated with essential oils containing thymol 19 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…18 . Recent studies have shown that plant-derived essential oils exhibit contact and fumigant toxicity against field populations of bed bugs 14,19,20 . However, these studies have not characterized the insecticidal activity of major constituents of essential oils against bed bugs.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Toxicity and neurophysiological impacts of plant essential oil components on bed bugs (Cimicidae: Hemiptera)

Gaire

Scharf

Gondhalekar

2019

Sci Rep

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Bed bugs ( Cimex lectularius L.) are globally important human parasites. Integrated pest management (IPM) approaches, which include the use of essential oil-based insecticidal compounds, have been proposed for their control. This study aimed to define insecticidal activity and neurophysiological impacts of plant essential oil constituents. The topical and fumigant toxicity of 15 compounds was evaluated against adult male bed bugs. Neurological effects of the 6 most toxicologically active compounds were also determined. In both topical and fumigant bioassays, carvacrol and thymol were the most active compounds. The potency of bifenthrin (a pyrethroid insecticide) in topical bioassays was 72,000 times higher than carvacrol, while vapors of dichlorvos (an organophosphate insecticide) were 445 times more potent than thymol. Spontaneous electrical activity measurements of the bed bug nervous system demonstrated neuroinhibitory effects of carvacrol, thymol and eugenol, whereas linalool produced an excitatory effect. Although citronellic acid and (±)-camphor increased baseline activity of the nervous system their effects were not statistically significant. Bifenthrin also caused neuroexcitation, which is consistent with its known mode of action. These comparative toxicity and neurological impact findings provide new information for formulating effective essential oil-based insecticides for bed bug IPM and conducting mode-of-action studies on individual essential oil components.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 86%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Toxicity and neurophysiological impacts of plant essential oil components on bed bugs (Cimicidae: Hemiptera)

Gaire

Scharf

Gondhalekar

2019

Sci Rep

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“…Difficulty in eliminating resistant bed bug populations demands a multi-faceted pest management approach that utilizes both chemical and non-chemical or alternative treatment options [8][9][10]. Plant essential oils, which are secondary metabolites derived from internal and external glandular cells on the leaves and stems of aromatic plants [11], are one of the alternative treatment options used for the control of bed bugs, cockroaches and many other urban and agricultural pests [12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19]. More than 20 plant essential oils and their components are listed as minimum risk pesticides by the Environmental Protection Agency and are exempt from registration requirements (https://www.epa.gov/minimum-risk-pesticides; located in 40 CFR 152.25 (f)).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Synergistic Toxicity Interactions between Plant Essential Oil Components against the Common Bed Bug (Cimex lectularius L.)

Gaire

Scharf

Gondhalekar

2020

Insects

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Management of the common bed bug (Cimex lectularius L.) necessitates the use of multiple control techniques. In addition to synthetic pesticides and mechanical interventions, plant-derived essential oils represent one of the control options. Mixtures of two or more essential oil components (monoterpenoids) exhibit synergistic toxicity effects against insects due to increased cuticular penetration. Monoterpenoids, such as carvacrol, eugenol and thymol, are neurologically active and inhibit the nerve firing activity of C. lectularius. However, the effects of mixtures of these monoterpenoids on their toxicity and neuroinhibitory potential against C. lectularius are not known. In this study, the toxicity levels of a tertiary mixture of carvacrol, eugenol and thymol (1:1:1 ratio) and a binary mixture of synthetic insecticides, bifenthrin and imidacloprid (1:1 ratio) were evaluated against C. lectularius through topical bioassays and electrophysiology experiments. Both a mixture of monoterpenoids and the mixture of synthetic insecticides exhibited synergistic effects in topical bioassays. In electrophysiology experiments, the monoterpenoid mixture led to greater neuroinhibitory effects, whereas a mixture of synthetic insecticides caused higher neuroexcitatory effects in comparison to single compounds. This study shows evidence for neurological mechanisms of synergistic interactions between monoterpenoids and provides information regarding the utilization of natural compound mixtures for C. lectularius management.

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