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A fungal biopesticide that shows promise for the control of bed bugs is highly effective even against bed-bug populations that are insecticide resistant, according to research conducted by scientists at Penn State and North Carolina State universities.
The study suggests that Aprehend, a mycoinsecticide developed at Penn State, likely will provide an important new tool for managing bed-bug infestations, which have surged in recent years.
"Bed bugs were all but eradicated from the United States and other industrialized nations after World War II, likely due to the use of DDT and other broad-spectrum insecticides," said study co-author Nina Jenkins, senior research associate in entomology, College of Agricultural Sciences, Penn State. "But in the last few decades, they have re-emerged globally as an important public-health pest."
The researchers noted that pyrethroid insecticides are a mainstay of bed bug control, but there is compelling evidence that many bed-bug populations have developed resistance. In addition, this resistance may lead to cross-resistance to other classes of insecticides.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 24 2017, @06:49PM
Fast forward 25 years where fungal biopesticide is finally acknowledged as the primary cause of Zombie Apocalypse.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 24 2017, @06:57PM (4 children)
Seal up whatever they are infesting in a container.
Evacuate said container or fill with a high density non-oxygenated inert gas.
Give it a few minutes/hours.
Remove from container.
Assuming you did this with all infested materials at once, or used an 'airtight' covering for something too large to place in a sufficient airtight container, you have just solved your pest problem, with no chemical hazards to yourself, your pets, or anything beneficial that was not in the container when you did it.
Given that they have nitrogen generators now for inflating car tires, I can't imagine it would be that hard (although it would be somewhat expensive) to produce enough gas/draping material to do this even on a house scale, and allow you to kill off any pest you needed that was not anaerobic/suspended animation capable in nature.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 24 2017, @07:15PM
Even the eggs?
(Score: 4, Interesting) by JoeMerchant on Friday March 24 2017, @07:33PM
>any pest you needed that was not anaerobic/suspended animation capable in nature.
There's a surprising number of those. Most of your crusty shelled insects can go for long periods with no air, and extremely long periods with just a little available oxygen. You'll find that the nitrogen generators used for filling car tires still leave a bit of oxygen in the output air, and you'll also find it hard to do a complete flush of most spaces that you can't pull a good vacuum on.
https://www.google.com/search?q=how+long+can+a+cockroach+live+without+air [google.com]
http://www.atlascopco.com/nitrogenus/products/nitrogen_generators/membrane_nitrogen/ [atlascopco.com]
Now, if your pests are living in a glass jar and you can seal the lid tight, sure... squirt in a few drops of alcohol, set it on fire, and close the lid - bye bye bugs.
Україна досі не є частиною Росії Слава Україні🌻 https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2023/06/24/7408365/
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 24 2017, @08:09PM
Please send your recommended procedure to all hotels with bed bug infestations.
(Score: 2) by butthurt on Friday March 24 2017, @10:08PM
It was proposed in a 1995 National Review article, and is now legal in Oklahoma. I'm not aware that it's actually been used.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inert_gas_asphyxiation#Capital_punishment [wikipedia.org]
(Score: 3, Interesting) by rts008 on Friday March 24 2017, @09:19PM (2 children)
Bedbugs are easy to be rid of, if you are diligent and patient.
1) get a small(500 ml) bottle of ivermectin pour-on for livestock, and use it on ALL household members. About 5mls for the avg. adult.(1 ml per 50 lb's)
Test by using a few drops on back of hand/arm, observing several hours for adverse reaction first. Fairly safe, and hard to over-dose.
All means all, including mammalian pets.(see P.S. below for cautionary note)
GET YER REVENGE ON THE SUCKERS!!
This will kill any bedbugs that feed on a dosed individual, and they can only go 5-6 weeks between feedings. Bite me and DIE, SUCKERS!!!! You all have to use the ivermectin for4 months, minimum, to be sure. Pour on skin, let the alcohol carrier evaporate, and good to go for a month. Just be sure to wait 5 or 6 hours before bathing/showering/swimming to allow for it to completely absorb through the skin.(it needs to get in the bloodstream to be effective)
The eggs will still be viable, though.
2) CO2 @ 12% atmospheric concentration or higher, is deadly to them, and they succumb quickly. Seal stuff in plastic bags[1], along with a chunk of dry ice wrapped in a towel for overnight works just dandy.
3) 140F or hotter, will also kill them quickly, and their eggs too. Check your clothes drier w/ thermometer, if 140 or hotter, TUMBLE ROAST them!
4) 10F or colder, will also kill them in several hours. Deep-freeze their tiny asses...and their little dogs-I mean eggs, too!*wicked-witch cackles* Sorry, got carried away.
After our house burned to the ground in Jan. 2016, the rent house we had to take turned out to be infested. When we finally found another place, we used the tactics above(except freezing) to successfully move us into the new place bug-free.
[1] I even used plastic sheeting, taped to a smooth concrete floor, to 'gas' the few pieces of furniture we had.
My initial(and only) research on bedbugs was from wikipedia, and the techniques were devised by me, though I doubt I was the first, or only one to think of these methods. :-)
P.S. I am a certified Veterinary Technician, and was already well and truly familiar with the ivermectin pour-on, and have been repeatedly, and frequently, accidentally 'dosed' working with cattle and horses in the past, with no ill effects. Caution is advised using ivermectin on Border Collies, though..."DANGER, WILL ROBINSON!!" Talk to your vet first. :-) (also a kick-ass heartworm preventative and treatment for dogs)
(Score: 2) by butthurt on Friday March 24 2017, @11:17PM (1 child)
I'm guessing you used ivermectin topically rather than taking the pills because you had the topical preparation available due to your veterinary work, and to avoid a visit to a (possibly unco-operative) GP?
Here are some things I found with a quick search of the Web:
In the recent study, only three out of five bed bugs who snacked on the ivermectin blood died, and that was three hours after their blood meal. And bad news, the bugs that survive the tainted blood would be more likely to develop and pass on resistance to ivermectin, which has developed in other parasites.
-- http://www.businessinsider.com/ivermectin-wont-eradicate-bed-bugs-2012-11 [businessinsider.com]
If you have traveled or lived in West or Central Africa, you may be infected with certain parasites (such as Loa loa, African trypanosomiasis) that could cause problems with ivermectin treatment. These effects could rarely result in serious (possibly fatal) effects on the brain (such as encephalopathy).
-- http://www.webmd.com/drugs/2/drug-1122/ivermectin-oral/details [webmd.com]
Oral ivermectin has been studied as a treatment for scabies.
http://www.aafp.org/afp/2003/0915/p1089.html [aafp.org]
(Score: 2) by rts008 on Saturday March 25 2017, @10:22AM
It never occurred to me to go to a doctor for this, and yes, the ivermectin pour on is topical.
Also, cost. Locally, a bottle of ivermectin pour-on runs about $12-14, while just the office visit to my GP is double that. Then add on Rx costs, and well, it was decided. We had just lost everything, and insurance for the house was not settled yet. Every dollar had to be stretched.
Resistance was futile. Apparently there were no survivors, as I have not even thought about bedbugs for a year, much less seen any.
I never claimed to have the ultimate answer, just some useful info(as the title of my comment stated) that I had used successfully today, compared to the article's 'maybe someday in the future' solution. I gave my methodology, my sources, and some background info, so people could judge and research for themselves. Some may find it useful, as I did. If that's not for you, so be it. You are supposed to think for yourself, make up your own mind. Being informed helps that process, but YMMV.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday March 25 2017, @12:57AM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=za-vIdak3bI&feature=youtu.be&t=4616 [youtube.com]
"Paul Stamets full presentation on how mushrooms can help us and the entire planetary ecosystem heal. From UPLIFT 2012 in Byron Bay."
If you watch to the end, he also (claims to have) cured his mother of breast cancer with mushrooms when she was given a prognosis of less that three months to live by her cancer doctors... (A compound in Turkey Tail mushrooms defeated the process by which cancer cells evade the immune system.)
(Score: 2) by Techwolf on Saturday March 25 2017, @02:10AM (1 child)
Is DDT still toxic? I remember reading the original reasons for the ban has been debunked or found the true cause of the toxic ills.
(Score: 2) by dry on Saturday March 25 2017, @05:57AM
Doesn't really matter, the bugs evolved to like DDT and those genes are still around.