Evaluation Of Cimex Lectularius Preference To Harbouring Material

Traps need to be highly attractive to the bed bug, Cimex lectularius, to catch them at low population numbers. Typically, traps are manufactured in plastic or cardboard and have an aggregation pheromone incorporated into the design for attraction. Yet, the material of the trap will also influence how attractive the trap is to the bed bug,but is usually not considered in the design. This is relevant as a pheromone lure within the trap will have to compete with the natural pheromones secreted by bed bugs in the room, from more favourable harbouring locations. A glue board may not be an effective way of detecting bed bugs even though they are widely used. In this study, four test materials were evaluated in a choice bioassay to determine which harbouring material was the most attractive to bed bugs. Further testing evaluated the effectiveness of the preferred materials as a monitoring device for detecting bed bugs. Bed bugs had a preference for harbouring in corrugated cardboard and wood compared to cardboard and plastic. Placing a glue board within a custom corrugated cardboard trap did not lead to a high likelihood of bed bugs being caught on the glue board.