Behavioral Responses of the Bed Bug to Permethrin-Impregnated ActiveGuard™ Fabric

Abstract

ActiveGuard™ Mattress Liners have been used to control house dust mites, and they also are commercially available as an integrated pest management tool for use against bed bugs (Cimex lectularius). The aim of our study was to evaluate responses of numerous populations of the bed bug to the permethrin-impregnated fabric, with particular regard to contact toxicity, repellency, and feeding inhibition. Continuous exposure to ActiveGuard fabric resulted in rapid intoxication for three of four populations, with 87 to 100% of moderately pyrethroid-resistant and susceptible bed bugs succumbing by 1 d. In comparison, a highly resistant population reached 22% mortality at 10 d. Video data revealed that bed bugs readily traversed ActiveGuard fabric and spent a considerable amount of time moving about and resting on it during a 12-h period. ActiveGuard fabric was non-repellent to bed bugs from five tested populations. Furthermore, significantly fewer bed bugs successfully fed to repletion through ActiveGuard fabric than through blank fabric for the five populations. With just 30 min of feeding exposure, mortality ranged from 4% to 83%, depending upon the bed bug strain. These laboratory studies indicate that ActiveGuard liners adversely affected bed bugs from diverse populations.

The influence of time and distance traveled by bed bugs,Cimex lectularius,on permethrin uptake from treated mattress liners

“…Comparatively, our initial work with the susceptible ECL‐05 strain showed that behavioral changes occurred within 30 min. Our study provides a better understanding of the underlying AI uptake for the results reported, wherein several bed bug strains (regardless of level of resistance) exhibited feeding difficulties and reduced fecundity after 10 min of contact with permethrin‐treated fabric . Correcting for the percentage recovery, an average of 25.4 ng is expected to have transferred to the bed bug from the permethrin‐treated fabric within 10 min, and this short exposure time provides sufficient permethrin to cause sublethal effects, including feeding inhibition and reduced fecundity …”

“…We found that bed bugs were able to take up quantifiable amounts of permethrin after exposure to permethrin‐treated fabric in as little as 1 min and 1 cm traversed. Despite the known resistance traits of the Forest Brook strain of bed bugs, behavioral changes during the preliminary experiments occurred at approximately 4 h, and included uncoordinated movement and tremors. Comparatively, our initial work with the susceptible ECL‐05 strain showed that behavioral changes occurred within 30 min.…”

“…Many factors can affect an insect's ability to take up and accumulate an active ingredient to the point that a toxic effect is initiated. Such factors include (1) insect morphology and behavior, (2) the formulation of the insecticide, (3) the substrate type and (4) the duration of contact . There are also behavioral, physiological and molecular resistance mechanisms in an insect population that can reduce the effectiveness of insecticides by reducing the dose of available insecticide at active sites in the insect …”

“…One such product is the Active Guard ® Mattress Liner (Allergy Technologies, Ambler, PA), which has been demonstrated to affect both susceptible bed bugs as well as bed bugs exhibiting pyrethroid resistance mechanisms (i.e. with kdr mutations) …”

Behavioral effects of sublethal exposure to a combination of β‐cyfluthrin and imidacloprid in the bed bug, Cimex lectularius L.

“…Part of the ‘disconnect’ with respect to efficacy could be due to non‐lethal effects on bed bug behavior. One recent study showed that sublethal exposure to permethrin‐impregnated fabric affected both feeding behavior and fecundity of bed bugs . Significantly fewer female bed bugs laid eggs after sublethal exposure to the fabric, and exposure times as short as 1 min were enough to induce behavioral changes.…”