Pesticides for Bed Bug Control

Pesticides for Bed Bug  Control: 

DO THEY WORK? 

By Narinderpal Singh,  Changlu Wang and  Richard Cooper 

🞃Stop Bugging Me, a biopesticide marketed to  

consumers, recently was studied by Rutgers researchers. 

Researchers at Rutgers University tested nine commonly available biopesticides against a field strain of bed bugs.

^{In recent years, there has been a movement of “green pest man agement,” focused on the use of natural and low-toxicity ma terials instead of conventional synthetic insecticides. The re} surgence of bed bugs further bolstered enthusiasm for natural  products. In particular, essential oil-based pesticides, referred to  in this article as biopesticides, fl ourished in the consumer market. 

Many natural pesticides qualify for exemption under section  

25(b) of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act  (FIFRA), where manufacturers are not required to provide effi cacy  

data for registration. With lax regulation and a low cost of develop 

ment, manufacturers can roll out new products quickly, making  bold claims such as, “the best bed bug treatment you can get on the  market today,” or that a consumer can “create a barrier against bed  bugs.” One product promises “the same results delivered by pest  control service without evacuation.”  

These products are rarely adopted by PMPs because until pres 

ent, there has been no scientifi c data supporting such claims.  Meanwhile, the public often falls victim to the lure of such grand  claims coupled with other attractive claims, such as “safe for chil 

dren and pets.”  

Recently, the Federal Trade Commission fi led deceptive adver 

tising charges against two companies marketing allegedly unprov 

en natural bed bug treatment products (http://1.usa.gov/XehBAk).  Yet, many similar products remain on the market. Some of these  products cost $50 to $100 per gallon. Do these products work? To  answer this question, we tested nine commonly available biopesticides and two detergents against a fi eld strain of bed bugs. 

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STUDY METHODS. Bed bugs were col lected from infested apartments in Indi ana. They were maintained in the labora tory and fed weekly on defi brinated rabbit  

blood using a Hemotek membrane-feeding  system (Discovery Workshops, Accrington,  U.K.). The bugs were not fed for one week  prior to bioassays. Eleven natural pesti 

cides and two synthetic insecticides were  evaluated (see the Table on page 28). They  were obtained either directly from the  manufacturers or commercial distributors.  

In the fi rst experiment, we evaluated  four biopesticides (EcoRaider, Bed Bug  Patrol, Green Rest Easy and Essentria)  and two detergents (Bed Bug 911 and  Eradicator) labeled for bed bugs. Twenty  large nymphs were placed on fi lter paper  in a small plastic dish (5.5 centimeters in  diameter and 1.5 centimeters in height)  and then the bugs were treated with pesti cide spray using a Potter spray tower at the  standard application rate of 1 gallon per  1,000 square feet. Bed bugs in the control  

“Natural” products are often ine  ective for con trolling bed bugs, Rutgers researchers found. 

group were sprayed with water. Each treat ment was replicated three times. The bugs  were immediately transferred to clean 1.5  cm diameter screened plastic petri dishes  after treatment. Mortality data were taken  at one, three, fi ve, seven and 10 days after  treatment. They were corrected using the  formula by Abbott (1925). 

The two most effective natural pesticides  from Experiment I, fi ve additional biopes ticides and two synthetic insecticides were  then tested in Experiment II. The natural  

pesticides included: EcoRaider, Bed Bug  Patrol, Bed Bug Fix, Rest Assured, Bed Bug  Bully, EcoEXEMPT IC2 and Stop Bugging  Me. The two synthetic insecticides tested  were Temprid SC (0.15 percent) and Demand CS (0.03 percent). All treatment  procedures were the same as Experiment I.  

RESULTS. EcoRaider and Bed Bug Pa trol were the most effective biopesticides  in both tests. EcoRaider caused 100 per cent mortality after 10 days in both tests.  Bed Bug Patrol caused an average of 92  percent and 91 percent mortality after 10  days in the fi rst and second experiment,  respectively. Neither of these two products  caused more than 75 percent mortality at  three days after treatment.  

Other natural pesticides including: Es sentria, Green Rest Easy, Eradicator, Bed  Bug 911, Rest Assured, Bed Bug Fix, Stop  Bugging Me and EcoEXEMPT IC2 caused  less than 50 percent mortality after 10  days. Among them, EcoEXEMPT IC2 was completely ineffective against bed bugs.  Bed Bug Bully caused 60 percent mortality  after 10 days. Temprid SC caused 100 per cent mortality after three days. It was sig nifi cantly more effective than Demand CS  and provided much faster control than the  two most effective biopesticides. The low  mortality by Demand CS was probably due  to moderate level of resistance among the  bed bugs. The mortality in the untreated  control in all experiments was less than 5  percent at 10 days after treatment. 

DISCUSSION. As had long been suspect ed, most of the tested natural pesticides  performed poorly as direct spray against  bed bugs. Only two products (EcoRaider  and Bed Bug Patrol) provided high mor tality after 10 days. The speed of control  is much slower than Temprid SC, though.  Under fi eld conditions, bed bugs hide in  cracks, crevices, creases and many other  places. Under these conditions, the effec tiveness of natural pesticides against bed  

bugs is expected to be even lower because  most bed bugs may not be exposed to direct  spray, and dry natural pesticide residues  have no or very limited effect on bed bugs.  

Despite the generally poor performance,  two biopesticides showed potential as a  direct spray treatment. Further investiga tions on EcoRaider and Bed Bug Patrol un der fi eld conditions are warranted. 

The results raise immediate challenges  to manufacturers, regulatory agencies and  pest control product vendors. Producing,  registering and marketing ineffective bed  bug control products has serious economi 

cal and health impacts to the public.  The exempt status granted to natural  pesticide products has created a problem.  Professionals are skeptical of these prod ucts and are not likely to use them due to  a lack of third-party scientifi c effi cacy data.  Consumers are vulnerable to unsupported  marketing claims, creating a rich market  for manufacturing these products. Rigor ous testing, proper labeling and tougher  

registration requirements are common sense approaches to reduce the registration  of ineffective “25(b)” exempt products. 

CONCLUDING REMARKS. Most of the  natural pesticides evaluated failed to sat isfactorily control bed bugs as direct spray.  EcoRaider and Bed Bug Patrol showed  promise as a bed bug control material,  but at much slower speed than synthetic  insecticides. Further studies under fi eld  conditions are necessary to determine ef 

fectiveness. Stricter pesticide registrations  are needed to prevent further marketing  of ineffective products and to protect the  health and well being of consumers.  

Reference  

Abbott, W. S. 1925. A method of comput ing the effectiveness of an insecticide. Jour nal of Economic Entomology 18: 265-67. 

The authors are with the Department of Entomol ogy, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, N.J.