A Case Study on Tropical Bed Bug, Cimex hemipterus (Hemiptera: Cimicidae) Infestation and Management in Dormitories

• Published in: Journal of economic entomology Vol. 116; no. 1; pp. 5 - 11
• Main Authors: Kong, Delong, Han, Dongliang, Zhai, Ruyue, Wang, Changlu, Zhang, Jingsheng, Xia, Yanwei, Nian, Xiaoge, Liu, Chaofeng, He, Yurong, Wang, Desen
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: US Entomological Society of America 10.02.2023; Oxford University Press
• Subjects: Animals; Bedbugs; Case studies; Cimex hemipterus; Cimicidae; Computer industry; control; Diatomaceous earth; Diatomaceous earth dust; Distribution patterns; Dormitories; Dust; Hemiptera; Housing; Insect pests; Insects; Spatial distribution; SPECIAL COLLECTION: PERSPECTIVE ON BIOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT OF BED BUGS; Steam; United Kingdom; Hungary; United States; China; control; steam; Diatomaceous earth dust; Cimex hemipterus
• ISSN: 0022-0493; 1938-291X; 1938-291X
• DOI: 10.1093/jee/toac055

Numerous bed bug research papers have been published in the past 20 yr as a result of bed bug (Cimex spp.) (Hemiptera: Cimicidae) resurgence in the world.Yet, few of them focused on the management of the tropical bed bug, C. hemipterus (F.). Here, we describe a case of tropical bed bug infestation in two dormitory buildings and effectiveness of a tropical bed bug treatment program. The study site consisted of 125 dormitories in two buildings. An initial building-wide monitoring with ClimbUp interceptors revealed 25 infestations. The spatial distribution of bed bug infested rooms showed a significant aggregated distribution pattern with same infestation status for neighboring units sharing walls. All infested rooms were monitored every 2 wk and treated using a combination of steam and diatomaceous earth (DE) dust application if bed bugs were still found. For the 25 initially identified infested rooms, after 14 wk treatment, 44% of them no longer had bed bugs, and the mean number of bed bugs captured per room decreased by 94.1%. A combination of steam and DE dust treatment is an effective strategy for suppressing tropical bed bug infestations in dormitory environment.