Richard Cooper's Position on DIY Bed Bug Monitor

Wednesday December 23 2009 @ 04:54 PM Source:

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In December 2009, Wan-Tien Tsai of Rutgers University presented her research findings on CO2 generating bed bug monitors at the Society of America (ESA) meeting in Indianapolis, Indiana.  This research generated a media frenzy that focused upon one aspect of the presentation.  Some of the media coverage can be viewed clicking on the following link:

 

http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/51188/title/Do-it-yourself_bed-bug_detector

Richard Cooper has created the following response to the media attention surrounding this topic:

 

The take home message from Wan-Tien’s presentation at the ESA meeting was that an inexpensive homemade dry ice trap can be used to effectively trap bed bugs.  While this conclusion is true, the effectiveness of the other three commercially available monitoring devices that were tested seemed to have somehow gotten lost along the way!

 

Preliminary research conducted by Wan-Tien demonstrated that all three commercially available devices were effective at catching bed bugs in both laboratory and field settings.  A more comprehensive field study was also conducted by Bed Bug Central and Changlu Wang (Rutgers University Entomologist) to expand upon Wan-Tien’s preliminary findings.  While not yet published, the results of this second study confirmed that Nightwatch, CDC 3000 and Climbup insect interceptors were all effective at trapping bed bugs in field settings. The details of this study cannot be shared at the current time but will become available once this research is published in the scientific literature.

 

So what does this all mean?  From my perspective, the professional pest management industry should not rely on homemade devices constructed of pet food bowls and thermos’s containing dry ice.  Yes it is inexpensive and yes it is effective, but there are also inherent risks in using a homemade device that contains materials (dry ice) that can result in personal injury to people and pets.  As professionals, the pest management industry should rely on the use of professional grade devices that have been specifically designed and marketed for the purpose of monitoring bed bug activity. Both Wan-Tien’s study, as well as the study conducted by Bed Bug Central and Changlu Wang, demonstrate that these devices are effective.  We have been working with the homemade device that Wan-Tien reported on for over two years but have restricted its use to field research trials, while utilizing the devices that are commercially available to monitor at client locations.  I would caution pest management professionals against using home made traps for commercial purposes.

 

I applaud the work of Changlu Wang and Wan-Tien and believe that the homemade dry ice trap provides a very cost effective monitoring technique for the public sector to utilize. There are many individuals who cannot afford professional pest management or expensive monitoring devices and the dry ice trap offers an affordable and effective alternative. Should these individuals decide to take advantage of this important research, they should do so with care, as to avoid the accidental injury/burns that can result when handling dry ice. What people do in their own home is their own business, professionals on the other hand have a greater responsibility to provide the safest solutions for their clients.