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Comparison of Bed Bug Control Techniques

Typically, if the host remains in situ, the bed bugs will not travel far beyond the bed, making this the ideal place to treat. According to a survey, the most commonly infested places are the mattress (98.2%), boxspring (93.6%), as well as nearby carpets and baseboards (94.1%). In fact, bed bugs thrive in areas where there is an adequate supply of available hosts, and plenty of cracks and harborages within 1.5 m of the host. Because treatments are required in sleeping areas and other sensitive locations, methods other than chemical pesticides are in demand, such as steam treatment, heat treatment, mattress covers, and freeze treatment. However, because of the treatment drawbacks discussed below, people are less likely to take action frequently enough to mitigate the problem. Consequently the bed bugs have time to lay eggs and reproduce quickly. Treatments can be costly, laborious, time consuming, boring, repetitive, may entail health risks, and cause embarrassment to the person affected. There is a need for a safe, quick way to treat bed bug infestations and prevent their spread. In light of the rising bed bug epidemic, cities throughout North America are allocating funding towards mitigating the spread of this difficult-to-eradicate pest.

Recent resurgence of bed bugs:
Bed bug, Cimex lectularius L. (Hemiptera: Cimicidae) infestations had been a common part of life in much of North America before the use of chlorinated hydrocarbons and other synthetic insecticides became widespread in the 1940s and 1950s. Though never completely eradicated, their presence has been minimal until their recent resurgence in the US, Canada, Australia and some European countries. Their resurgence has been a devastating and expensive event in the lives of many people today. Bed bugs have been a source of lost sleep, stress, anxiety, social alienation, as well as physical distress. In rental property and the hospitality industry among others, bed bug infestations have had legal ramifications. Throughout the world, large cities are being overwhelmed by bed bug proliferation. In apartment buildings and other attached dwellings, bed bug infestations can be particularly widespread from one dwelling to another. People are exposed to pesticides, and are experiencing loss of belongings, and financial distress as they deal with an infestation. There is also a possibility of infection, as bed bugs can be carriers of the infectious particles of typhus, anthrax, plague, relapsing fever, kala-azar, tularaemia, Q fever, hepatitis B virus and HIV. Studies show that hepatitis B and, in endemic areas, American trypanosomiasis (Chagas disease) can be carried by bed bugs, but transmission is unlikely.

Pesticides
The pesticide approach often requires multiple visits and may not always be effective due to pesticide resistance and dispersal of the bed bugs. According to a 2005 survey, only 6.1% of companies claim to be able to eliminate bed bugs in a single visit, while 62.6% claim to be able to control a problem in 2-3 visits. Insecticide application may cause dispersal of bed bugs to neighbouring areas of a structure, spreading the infestation. Furthermore, the problem of insecticide resistance in bed bug populations increases their opportunity to spread. Studies of bed bug populations across the United States indicate that resistance to pyrethroid insecticides, which are used in the majority of bed bugs cases is widespread. Treatment failures are prevalent and repeated services are financially devastating to many people. Exterminators often require individuals to dispose of furniture and other infested materials. It is advisable to break or mark these infested items to prevent their being unintentionally recycled and furthering the spread of bed bugs.

Disadvantages of pesticides
Non-residue methods of mattress treatment are desired in place of contaminating mattresses with insecticides. Spraying the mattress with insecticide is undesirable as the room must be suitably ventilated, sufficient time must be given after application before the mattress can be used again and there is a risk of the user having an allergic reaction to the chemicals, not to mention other possible health risks including cancer Al and acute neurotoxicity. Concerns over the possible effects of pesticides on the health of people and pets, as well as the dispersal of bed bugs to neighbouring dwellings due to repellent effects of insecticides, make the practice of chemically treating the mattresses problematic.

Physical isolation
Isolation of humans is attempted with numerous devices and methods including zippered bed bug-proof mattress covers, bed-leg moat devices , and other barriers. However, even with isolated beds, bed bug infestations persist if the bed itself if not free of bed bugs, or if it is re-infested, which could happen quite easily.

Disposal of contaminated belongings
Disposal of items such as mattresses, box springs, couches etc. is a costly process and rarely solves the problem. Instead, new furniture is usually infested. The movement of infested furniture also facilitates the spread of bed bugs.

Vacuuming
Vacuuming helps reduce bed bug infestations, but does not eliminate bed bugs hidden inside of materials.

Cold treatment
Freezing equipment is used to kill pests with cold temperatures. An example of this would be Cryonite, which uses the cooling properties of CO2, spraying a snow at a temperature of -78.5ºC. Though bed bugs can tolerate a broad range of temperatures, -14 to 44 ºC, they cannot survive body freezing or extreme heat. As with approaches such as vacuuming and steaming, freezing sprays may not reach bed bugs that are hidden inside walls, furniture or appliances.

Steam
Steam treatment can effectively kill all stages of bed bugs. Unfortunately, bed bugs hide in a diversity of places, making steam treatment very tedious, labour intensive and time consuming. There is also the risk of the steam not penetrating materials enough to kill hidden bed bugs. The steam may also damage materials such as varnished wood, or cause mold from the moisture left behind. Requires repeated and very thorough steaming of the mattress, boxspring, bed frame, bed covers, pillows, not to mention other materials and objects within the infested room, such as carpets and curtains.

Clothes dryer
Clothes Dryers can be used for killing bed bugs in clothing and blankets. Infested clothes and bedding is first washed in hot water with laundry detergent then placed in the drier for at least 20 minutes at low heat However, this does not eliminate bed bugs in the mattress, bed frame and surrounding environment. Sterilized fabrics from the dryer are thus easily re-infested. Continually treating materials in this fashion is labour intensive, and in itself does not eliminate the infestation.

Room or building heat treatment
This method of bed bug control involves raising room temperatures to or above the killing temperature for bed bugs, which is around 45 ºC. Heat treatments are generally carried out by professionals, and may be performed for a single dwelling or even to heat fumigate an entire building. Some of the drawbacks for heat treatments include the amount of time required to bring core temperatures (interior temperature of materials) high enough to effectively kill bed bugs that may have taken refuge within materials. This contributes to the professional heat treatments being generally expensive procedures. The setup in order to effectively heat treat materials in the room, as well as insertion of heating ducting into the building through windows can be intrusive and cause embarrassment to the person affected. Following a heat-treatment, a room may be easily re-infested, as bed bugs are able to retreat into cracks and crevasses in walls, ceilings and floors, where they may escape treatment.

Other heat treatment methods
Other heat treatment methods include the use of domestic-use devices such as Pack Tite and Good Knight. Pack Tite is a device for treating luggage that may be infested, to prevent bed bug infestation or spread. There is also the Good Knight, a device for heat treating the bed and couch at regular intervals, targeted to eliminate a bed bug infestation.