Source: RUTGERS, THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW JERSEY submitted to NRP
REDUCING INSECTICIDE USE AND LABOR THROUGH PRECISION BED BUG IPM
Sponsoring Institution
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Project Status
COMPLETE
Funding Source
SPECIAL GRANT
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
1001163
Grant No.
2013-34103-21474
Cumulative Award Amt.
$30,000.00
Proposal No.
2013-04538
Multistate No.
(N/A)
Project Start Date
Sep 1, 2013
Project End Date
Aug 31, 2015
Grant Year
2013
Program Code
[QQ.NE]- Integrated Pest Management - Northeast Region
Recipient Organization
RUTGERS, THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW JERSEY
3 RUTGERS PLZA
NEW BRUNSWICK,NJ 08901-8559
Performing Department
SEBS - Entomology
Non Technical Summary
Bed bugs continue to be an important public health pest in the U.S. and are very difficult to control. Low-income communities suffer disproportionally higher bed bug infestation rates. Once infestations are reported, pesticide sprays are typically used extensively to control bed bugs, regardless of bed bug distribution and population levels. After treatment, the results are not monitored and retreatment is dependent on resident complaints, which are highly unreliable. Professional pest control companies usually require residents to prepare their residence, following an extensive preparation list. The preparations are time-consuming, labor intensive and often over burdensome, especially for elderly individuals or individuals with disabilities. Furthermore, the exhaustive nature of these preparations facilitates bed bug dispersal and complicates treatment due to relocation of the infested personal items. These practices cause chronic infestations, large amount of insecticide usage, and high risk of pesticide exposure to humans, as well as exacerbating the development of insecticide resistance in field populations of bed bugs. This, in turn, results in more pesticide applications and even higher risks of pesticide exposure. There is a critical need to design and implement cost-effective and safer bed bug management programs. Our objectives for this project is to evaluate the effectiveness of a threshold-based bed bug management program thatuses integrated pest management (IPM) technique; This IPM program differs from those current practices in that: 1) it will not require residents to do comprehensive treatment preparation; 2) it provides post treatment inspection and monitoring to determine bed bug numbers, guide treatment, and determine when infestations have been eliminated; and 3) it uses a threshold-based system to limit the use of pesticides.
Animal Health Component
100%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
0%
Applied
100%
Developmental
0%
Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)Subject of Investigation (SOI)Field of Science (FOS)Percent
21631101130100%
Knowledge Area
216 - Integrated Pest Management Systems;

Subject Of Investigation
3110 - Insects;

Field Of Science
1130 - Entomology and acarology;
Goals / Objectives
Evaluate the effectiveness of a threshold-based bed bug IPM program with limited resident preparation and the program's impact on pesticide use and labor cost reduction.
Project Methods
Components of the program include: 1) delivery ofeducational sessions and printed materials on bed bug prevention and control to property management staff, pest control staff, and all residents of the study sites; 2) nuilding-wide inspection of all apartments at 0, 6, and 12 months to identify bed bug infestations, establish infestation rates, rank the severity of infestations, and measure the overall effectiveness of the IPM program; 3) identification of units with potential challenges in implementing IPM; 4)assistance to units with challenges; 5) application of non-chemical and chemical control methods based on a pre-determined protocol; and6) biweekly monitoring of all infested units until elimination. Trained in-house pest control staff and property managers will carry out the bed bug IPM program. Rutgers University researchers will provide technical guidance and evaluateprogram effectiveness.

Progress 09/01/13 to 08/31/15

Outputs
Target Audience:Low-income communities in New Jersey, housing management staff, pest management professionals Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Two housing staff were trained on how to use monitors to monitor bed bugs, and how to use steamer to treat bed bug infestations. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?We will disseminate the result in May 2016 during a conference. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? We treated 36 bed bug infested apartments. The apartments were divided into four treatment groups based on bed bug count and treatment methods: I- Integrated Pest Managment (IPM)with no chemical use in apartments with 1-15 bed bugs, II- IPM with limited chemical use in apartments with >15 bed bugs, III- chemical control only in apartments with 1-15 bed bugs, and IV- chemical control only in apartments with >15 bed bugs.Apartments were treated and monitored every two weeks. Re-treatment was conducted when necessary. After 24 weeks, the elimination rate in the four treatment groups (I to IV) was 75, 89, 89, and 88%, respectively. In apartments with low level infestations (≤15 bed bugs), non-chemical treatment (I) and insecticide treatment (III) eliminated bed bugs at similar rate. In apartments with > 15 bed bugs, IPM (treatment III) did not cause faster bed bug elimination than chemical treatment (treatment IV), but reduced insecticide use by 68%. The average number of days required to eliminate an infestation in treatment I-IV was: 48 ± 7, 101 ± 13, 83 ±17, and 107 ± 20 days, respectively. Bed bug infestations can be eliminated using threshold-based IPM with little to no insecticide usage. Extensive and over burdensome resident preparations of apartments are unnecessary for eliminating most of the infestations. .

Publications

  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Submitted Year Published: 2016 Citation: Effectiveness of a Threshold-based Integrated Pest Management Protocol for Bed Bug Management in Apartment Buildings


Progress 09/01/13 to 08/31/14

Outputs
Target Audience: Residents who are infested with bed bugs,housing management staff, pest management professionals Changes/Problems: About 5 apartments were difficult to treat due to lack of collaboration from the residents. These included: 1) two residents often refused bed bug bi-weekly service in spite of their apartments still had bed bugs; 2) one resident's apartment is too cluttered; 3) one resident slept on a sofa which was very difficult to treat; 4) one resident introduced new bed bugs during the study and he did not want his apartment to be monitored and re-treated. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? One postdoc and one graduate student. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Nothing Reported What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? We will conduct a post-program survey of the apartments to determine whether bed bugs re-appeared. Data will be summarized into a manuscript and will be submitted for publication in a peer-reviewed journal. We will present the findings in professional meetings and training opportunities to the public and pest mangement professionals.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Among 37 bed buginfested apartments and were treated, 31 of them no longer had bed bugs. Residents were all very satisfied with the results.

Publications