Bed Bugs

SINCE TIME BEGAN : salus populi suprema est lex - the right of the people is the supreme law : IN TRUTH WE TRUST
CIMICOIDEA : INFRAORDER CIMICOMORPHA : BUGS LECTULO
ALWAYS BY OUR SIDE   Updated July 13th, 2017   BED BUG CENTRAL
BED BUGS & YOUR CIVIL RIGHTS  : *** TRAUMATIC INSEMINATION ***
IMAGES : UPDATE FUNGAL TREATMENTS : CLINICAL
COLD TOLERANCE REVIEWS
  • "Yes. Bed bugs have a high cold tolerance. They can remain active at temperatures as low as 46 degrees Fahrenheit, and they can survive at even lower temperatures. They're able to lower the freezing point of their bodily fluids, allowing them to live in the cold for a few days."
  • Journal Of Economic Entomology : Freezing Bed Bugs : July 12th, 2017
  • Science News : "Some studies have indicated that cold might kill bedbugs after as little as one hour of exposure. But new research published in the Journal of Economic Entomology finds that’s not the case. Cold can kill a bedbug, but only after days.
  • Joelle F. Olson of the University of Minnesota Twin Cities and colleagues froze bedbugs at various stages of life, fed and unfed, for varying lengths of time. The bad news was that the bugs didn’t die nearly as quickly as other studies had found, a mere hour or two at -16° or -17° Celsius. “In our study, bedbugs survived lower temperatures, with eggs surviving in short-term exposures … to temperatures as low as -25° C,” the researchers write. But the bugs are not freeze tolerant, the scientists found, and they can be killed — no matter their stage of life or feeding status. All it takes is 80 hours in temperatures of -16° C.
    The finding confirms a standard practice for museum collections and food commodities: Potentially infested items are frozen to kill any hidden insect pests. And it provides a completely safe method of control for regular folk, at least for items they can fit into the freezer. The researchers advise:
    Items suspected of infestation should be bagged before placement in the freezer to prevent bedbugs from exiting the items and perishing elsewhere inside the freezer. Bagging an item before placing it in a freezer will also protect it against changes in condensation or damage caused by moisture. Infested items should be placed in the freezer at -17.8° C (0° F) for a minimum of 3.5 [days], though time may be decreased to 48 [hours] if temperatures average below -20° C.
    Not addressed, though, was whether even lower temperatures might kill the bugs faster. Perhaps a carbon dioxide fire extinguisher (-66° C) or liquid nitrogen (around -200° C) could kill in an instant.    "
  1. UNIVERSITY : Abstract "Bed bugs were exposed to freezing temperatures for various exposure times to determine cold tolerance and mortality estimates for multiple life stages. The mean supercooling point for all bed bug life stages ranged from -21.3°C to -30.3°C, with the egg stage reporting the lowest value. A probit analysis provided a lower lethal temperature (LLT99) of -31.2°C when estimates from all life stages were combined, demonstrating that all stages of bed bugs are not capable of surviving temperatures below body freezing and are therefore freeze intolerant. At conditions above the LLT99, bed bug mortality depended on temperature and exposure time at temperatures above LLT99. Based on our model estimates, survival was estimated for temperatures above -12°C even after 1 wk of continuous exposure. However, exposure to temperatures below -13°C will result in 100% mortality in d to ensure mortality of all life stages. Unfortunately, sublethal exposure to lower temperatures did not prevent subsequent feeding behavior in surviving stages. Practical recommendations for management of potentially infested items are discussed."
  2. Joelle F. Olson
    Department of Entomology, University of Minnesota, 219 Hodson Hall, 1980 Folwell Ave., Saint Paul, MN 55108.
    Author for correspondence: 
    Marc Eaton
    Department of Entomology, University of Minnesota, 219 Hodson Hall, 1980 Folwell Ave., Saint Paul, MN 55108.
    Stephen A. Kells
    Department of Entomology, University of Minnesota, 219 Hodson Hall, 1980 Folwell Ave., Saint Paul, MN 55108.
    Victor Morin
    Ecolab Research Center, Pest Elimination Division, Ecolab, 655 Lone Oak Dr., Eagan, MN 55121.
    Changlu Wang
    Department of Entomology, Rutgers University, 93 Lipman Dr., New Brunswick, NJ 08901.
BIO-ALTERNATIVES : 2017 & FOREWARD
 
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