Effects of Ultralow Oxygen and Vacuum Treatments on Bed Bug (Heteroptera: Cimicidae) Survival

Abstract

Control of bed bugs is problematic, balancing among efficacy, safety, and cost. In this study, ultralow oxygen (ULO) and vacuum treatments were tested on bed bugs to develop a safer, effective, and environmentally friendly solution to kill bed bugs on infested items. ULO treatments were established by flushing sealed enclosures with nitrogen. All life stages of bed bugs were found to be susceptible to ULO and vacuum treatments, and efficacy of the treatments increased with reduced oxygen levels, increased treatment time, and temperature. In the ULO treatments, 100% mortality of bed bug nymphs and adults and >98% mortality of bed bug eggs were achieved in the 8-h treatment under 0.1% O atmosphere at 30°C. Different levels of vacuum that yielded different oxygen levels were tested on all life stages of bed bugs. The susceptibility of different stages to vacuum treatments increased from nymphs to adults to eggs. Complete control of all life stages was achieved in 12 h under -982 mbar (-29.0 inHg) vacuum at 30°C. This study demonstrated that bed bugs were very susceptible to low oxygen stresses and ULO and vacuum treatments have potential to be used as effective and safe treatments to decontaminate bed bug-infested removable objects.

Determining baseline toxicity of ozone against an insecticide‐susceptible strain of the common bed bug, Cimex lectularius L. under laboratory conditions

“…[36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44] We have also discussed comparative differences in efficacy between ozone and other alternative C. lectularius control methods such as carbon dioxide fumigation and low oxygen treatments. [14][15][16] Because ozone represents another alternative method that could be utilized in the future for the management of common bed bugs, potential challenges as well as opportunities associated with its use are also discussed. Preliminary work performed by Feston et al 22 showed that exposure of adult bed bugs to 1800 ppm ozone for 150 min in the presence of 1-2% hydrogen peroxide vapors resulted in 100% mortality (CT of 270 000 ppm-min).…”

“…14 By contrast, eggs are more susceptible than the active life stages to ultra-low oxygen and vacuum treatments. 16 The baseline ozone toxicity levels for various life stages of an insecticide-susceptible C. lectularius strain also provide insights into the potential drawbacks of using this gas as a tool for bed bug management. The use of ozone for odor remediation, and water and agricultural produce disinfection requires low ozone concentrations and exposure periods (~1.5 ppm or less for 10-60 min).…”

“…Here, differences in the efficacy of ozone against C. lectularius life stages are discussed in relation to data available for stored product insect pests 36–44 . We have also discussed comparative differences in efficacy between ozone and other alternative C. lectularius control methods such as carbon dioxide fumigation and low oxygen treatments 14–16 . Because ozone represents another alternative method that could be utilized in the future for the management of common bed bugs, potential challenges as well as opportunities associated with its use are also discussed.…”

“…[2][3][4][5][6] A multifaceted approach such as integrated pest management (IPM), which includes rational use of pesticides along with frequent monitoring and use of different alternative control measures, has proven effective for their control. 7,8 In addition to a plethora of insecticide efficacy reports, several studies have demonstrated and/or tested the effectiveness of alternative control methods such as heat treatments, 9 cold treatments, 10 steam, 11,12 desiccant dusts, 13 carbon dioxide and dry ice, 14,15 ultra-low oxygen and vacuum treatments, 16 insecticide-treated mattress encasements, 17 essential oils 18,19 and fumigants 20,21 for C. lectularius control. Unlike published reports on insecticide and alternative control techniques, only one preliminary study has assessed the ability of ozone (O 3 ) gas to kill C. lectularius adults; 22 the remainder of the non-empirical information on the efficacy of ozone can be found online (https://www.foreverozone.com/ blogs/news/ozone-does-kill-bed-bugs-but-not-their-eggs and https://www.noai.org/does-ozone-kill-bedbugs).…”

Role of Modified Atmosphere in Pest Control and Mechanism of Its Effect on Insects

“…Therefore, combined low temperature and hypoxia exposure have been used to sterilize commodities for pest control ( Boardman et al., 2015 ; Saha et al., 2015 ). The control efficacy for storage pests can be enhanced by reducing O 2 levels and increasing treatment time or temperature ( Liu and Haynes, 2016 ). For example, Neven et al.…”