Two recent university studies suggest new ways to improve bed bug control, especially when dealing with insecticide-resistant pests.
Research from two U.S. universities show how bed bug control can be improved. One study offers practical advice to use now, and the other holds promise for more effective pesticides in the future.
1. Containerized Fumigation Eliminates Insecticide-Resistant Bed Bugs from Vehicles and Household Items
Virginia Tech University researchers have documented the efficacy of sulfuryl fluoride in eliminating bed bugs from vehicles and trailers filled with furniture and personal belongings.
According to Dr. Dini Miller and Dakotah Todd, a master’s student in the Virginia Tech entomology program, the field evaluation achieved 100 per cent mortality of bed bug eggs, nymphs and adults.
Todd believes fumigation is superior to other bed bug treatment methods for vehicles because the molecule size of sulfuryl fluoride can access spaces that spray insecticides cannot. And unlike heat, it will not damage console screens and sensitive electronic equipment found in today’s vehicles. “Fumigation is the only tool we have for getting 100 per cent penetration into cracks, crevices and under plastic panels,” he explains.
Using containerized fumigation, it also was possible to eliminate bed bugs from infested furniture, household items and personal belongings loaded into trailers. This lets clients keep items that may be difficult or costly to replace. It also offers a solution for eliminating insecticide-resistant bed bug populations and for treating sensitive items like artwork.
Containerized fumigation is a small-scale operation (compared to structural fumigation), so it is relatively inexpensive to undertake. It can be performed in a customer’s driveway or at the pest control company’s facility. While special training is required, it is not a difficult process to learn, says Miller.
“You don’t have to be in the business of structural fumigation to offer this as an option for treating vehicles or household items. Fumigation is a proven and reliable method for bed bug control,” she says.
Learn more about performing containerized fumigation per the University of Virginia field study.
2. Essential Oils Restore Pyrethroid Effectiveness Against Bed Bugs
Researchers from Purdue University have discovered how plant-based essential oil compounds act on bed bug physiology and how these oils can improve the lethality of pyrethroids.
“Our findings show that essential oils can kill bed bugs, but the combination of essential oils and pyrethroid insecticides has a synergistic effect,” says Ameya Gondhalekar, a research associate professor in entomology.
This is especially important when dealing with bed bugs that have developed resistance to pyrethroids like deltamethrin.
Resistant bed bugs possess multiple mechanisms to resist pyrethroids, including overactive levels of an enzyme called cytochrome P450, which degrades deltamethrin. Gondhalekar and former Ph.D. student Sudip Gair, however, found that essential oil compounds (thymol from thyme, carvacrol from oregano and thyme, eugenol from clove) can bind to and deactivate that enzyme. This lets deltamethrin do its job on the bed bug’s nervous system, killing the pest.
The researchers combined single doses of deltamethrin and essential oil compounds, which they anticipated would kill 25 to 50 per cent of resistant bed bugs. Instead, they found the combination killed more than 90 per cent of the resistant bed bugs.
“The essential oil compounds were able to neutralize those enzymes, allowing the deltamethrin to do its job,” explains Gaire.
Gondhalekar’s lab is researching potential formulations of essential oils and pyrethroids with the hope of maximizing insecticide effectiveness.
Learn more about these findings, which originally were published in the journal Pesticide Biochemistry and Physiology in 2020 and 2021.
Millennials want to do business on chat, and businesses need to catch up.
Chat is the next big thing for commerce, with 82 per cent of millennials wanting to make purchases via chat apps like the ones they use to talk to friends and family, according to a recent survey by Clickatell, which helps companies engage customers through SMS, WhatsApp and other social channels.
Already, 88 per cent of smartphone users aged 26 to 39 years old use chat to communicate with businesses.
The survey of more than 1,000 U.S. millennials conducted by Dimensional Research underscored the desire of younger consumers to move to chat not only for customer service but to also complete business transactions.
The report revealed that 93 per cent of millennials identified significant benefits to doing business on chat. These included the ability to:
Save time and easily get a quick response: 48%
Respond to a chat when it is convenient for them: 43%
Keep all conversations in the same place: 41%
Use an app they are already using on a regular basis: 38%
Keep conversations in one place so any agent can pick up with all history immediately available: 36%
Not have to install other apps: 34%
Easily have businesses verify their identity or personal information: 25%
Have businesses send offers specific to them or their account: 24%
Not have to speak to a live person: 19%
MEETING CONSUMERS WHERE THEY ARE. A full 71 per cent of millennials use chat apps daily, led by Facebook Messenger, Apple iMessage, WhatsApp, Snapchat and Instagram Chat, the research shows. This is occurring at a time when more than 6.1 billion monthly active chat users outnumber the more than 4.6 billion internet users, according to Statista 2021.
"Younger consumers have moved to chat and are ready to do business on chat," said Pieter de Villiers, CEO and co-founder of Clickatell, in a news release. "This research shows they value the convenience and speed of doing business via their favorite chat apps. Businesses will gain a competitive edge by meeting this increasingly influential group of consumers where they are, which is on chat.”
While millennials are ready, businesses have work to do, the research reveals. Only 10 per cent of millennials say brands "always" offer the digital communication channel of their choice — including chat app, social media and phone.
Other results of the research show that:
The survey results mirror comments stated by research firm Gartner in a recent report titled “What is the Future of Advanced Messaging in CPaaS Solutions?”
The report said: "Advanced messaging APIs constituting of apps, such as WhatsApp Business, Facebook Messenger, WeChat, RCS, RBM, ABC, Signal, Telegram, and Viber, are growing at a significantly faster pace (approximately 90% CAGR) and are projected to reach approximately $800 million by 2024. One key reason for this trend is that end users are increasingly turning to more advanced messaging channels for their daily conversations. Therefore, advanced messaging is a key way for enterprises to reach customers."
De Villers explained, "The macro drivers turning chat commerce into the next big thing are aligning. Consumers are broadly using chat apps with friends and family. They want to do the same with businesses, and leading brands are experimenting. We'll see increasingly rapid uptake in the months and years ahead. In the not-so-distant future, chat apps and commerce will be indelibly linked."
Chat apps work across industries, the research shows. The top things consumers want to do most via chat app include making hotel or airline reservations, asking questions of banks and retailers and ordering from restaurants.
But for budget-conscious small businesses, retail and word-of-mouth branding offer a work-around.
Half of consumers (50 per cent) said their opinion of a company is affected by corporate branding, such as advertisements highlighting a company’s values, according to a survey conducted by Visual Objects, which matches businesses with B2B service providers.
That said, only 22 per cent of consumers reported having seen corporate branding in the past year.
For a small business, diverting money to promote the company versus its products and services can be a challenge from a budget standpoint.
And touting values can come off as being disingenuous if the company doesn’t, in fact, live by those values. Crowing about your commitment to diversity, for example, is meaningless unless your branding materials reflect the diversity of your target audience, said Kate Bourque, a branding and web design consultant, in a news release.
She said consumers subconsciously associate a company’s identity with its brands, so how you brand your service is equally important. Telling consumers your business cares about the environment probably means less than selling eco-friendly products, she explained.
Consistency also is key. Maintaining a consistent style and tone in your communications — including your logo, website, images, social media and customer service experience — can help a company develop an authentic brand voice and reputation.
Retail branding, which 37 per cent of consumers reported encountering in the past year, also played an important role in how consumers viewed a company. This type of branding creates the atmosphere customers experience in a physical retail space (its look and feel), but the same principles apply to the ecommerce experience.
When consumers shop online, they look for convenience and tools that assure them they are making the best purchase decision. A website's layout, design and loading speed all contribute to this user experience, which affects whether consumers will buy your service.
Service branding also happens through word-of-mouth, which 36 per cent of people said they relied on the last time they hired a company to provide a service, found the Visual Objects survey.
Experts said word-of-mouth service branding often occurs on social media.
"Modern word-of-mouth referrals now mostly come through positive reviews from existing customers," said Robert Brandl, founder and chief executive of WebsiteToolTester, a website builder for small businesses.
To facilitate these reviews, Brandl suggested that companies add social sharing buttons to their websites.
Bed bug calls are on the rise again after a pandemic lull. This primer will help sharpen your vacuum, steam, cold and heat treatment skills for the busier days ahead.
As restaurants, travel, schools and workplaces return to business as usual and pandemic restrictions loosen, pest management professionals are seeing greater need for bed bug control.
“Our bed bug calls are up,” says Con Murphy, owner of Cranbrook Pest Control, which serves the Kootenay region of British Columbia. Even work at hotels and motels increased, he reports, despite lower levels of recreational travel.
According to the PCT 2021 State of the Bed Bug Control Market survey, sponsored by Bayer and conducted by independent research firm Readex Research, 44 per cent of PMPs said the pandemic had a negative impact, either modest or significant, on their commercial bed bug services, especially in the hospitality sector. However, 52 per cent expected the percentage of revenue generated by bed bug control services at their locations to increase in 2022.
While the higher demand for bed bug control is great for business, controlling the pests can be a challenge where anti-pesticide sentiment is high and regulations restrict the use of chemical products.
“We’re really limited with what we can do, so we’re getting innovative,” says Murphy, who developed a comprehensive program that relies less on chemical treatment and more on monitoring devices, mattress encasements, biological pesticide, vacuums and portable heat tents. “We’ve really changed our business model from chemicals; we’ve been forced to.”
Following are reminders from the Mallis Handbook of Pest Control (10th edition) to help PMPs hone their bed bug vacuum, steam, cold and heat treatment skills.
VACUUMING. Using a commercial vacuum, ideally with a HEPA filter, is an effective and efficient way to eliminate large numbers of bed bugs. But it must be done in a targeted, methodical manner, focusing on areas where the pests harbor or congregate. Crack and crevice attachments that channel the suction of the vacuum will increase your ability to remove bed bugs from harborages. Vacuums, however, often fail to remove bed bugs from cracks and are not very effective at dislodging eggs cemented to substrates.
It’s also important to take proper care of the vacuum itself so it does not become infested. After each use, remove the vacuum bag, seal it in a plastic bag and discard it immediately.
STEAMING. Portable commercial steam units reach temperatures of up to 220 degrees F (100 degrees C), which is more than sufficient to kill bed bugs and eggs upon contact. Research has found they’re capable of delivering lethal temperatures up to 6 cm deep within cracks and up to 2 cm beneath fabric surfaces. This penetrating ability makes them effective when used on the outer layers of upholstered furniture, as well as when applied to the cracks and crevices of furniture, moldings and mattresses. Bed bugs exposed to sublethal temperatures from steamers often are flushed from their harborages, where they can be exposed to steam, residual insecticide or removed by vacuuming.
Most commercial steam units have a variety of attachments. Larger steam heads tend to be more efficient and effective than smaller, nozzle-type attachments because they cover a greater surface area and reduce the force at which the steam is emitted. When applied at high pressure, steam can dislodge bed bugs and blow them off the substrate, allowing them to escape the lethal effects of the steam. To maintain lethal temperatures, keep the steam head in close contact with the surface being treated, because the heat diminishes rapidly as it mixes with cooler air the further the head is pulled from the surface.
Be aware that steam can damage leather, suede, silk and wooden furniture with a waxed or polished finish.
FREEZING. While a gradual freezing of bed bugs and eggs may require several weeks to be effective, the instantaneous drop to subfreezing temperatures causes mortality of all life stages upon contact. The Cryonite System is a tool that uses freezing temperatures to destroy insects and their eggs. It releases CO2 at -110 degrees F (-79 degrees C), producing dry ice “snow” that is lethal on contact. Like commercial steam units, this tool also flushes bugs out of harborages. Proper application distance is necessary so bed bugs are not dispersed by high pressure before they can be killed. According to the manufacturer, it is it is a good option for treating electronics, outlets and antiques.
HEAT CHAMBERS AND WHOLE-UNIT HEAT TREATMENT. Exposure to high temperature can be very effective in destroying bed bugs and their eggs.
According to research by Dr. Stephen Kells, University of Minnesota, rapid mortality of bed bugs and eggs is achieved at a temperature of 122 degrees F (50 degrees C), but a longer timeframe is needed to achieve 100 per cent mortality at lower temperatures or at temperatures that rise gradually. At a slow rate of temperature increase (6.5 degrees F / 14.2 degrees C per hour), adult bugs survived up to 90 minutes in 113 degrees F (45 degrees C) conditions, while eggs survived up to 8 hours, but both died in less than a minute when temperatures reached 122 degrees F (50 degrees C). This has significant implications for structural heat treatments that rely on the gradual increase of temperature.
Portable heat chambers have been used effectively by the pest management industry to treat furniture and household items that are infested with bed bugs and cannot be put into a clothes dryer or treated with insecticide. Chambers can be built or purchased in various sizes.
Heat also can be applied to entire rooms or structures to control bed bugs. Commercially available systems use either direct-fired propane or electric heating units or a combination of the two. Propane heaters are more efficient, but their use may not be permitted in all municipalities. Electric heaters are less efficient but are an effective alternative to propane. However, harnessing enough electrical current to power these heaters for large jobs (e.g., apartment buildings) in a single visit may not be practical.
Challenges to heat treatment include excessive clutter and cool spots that allow the pests and eggs to survive. For instance, bed bugs may harbor under items where the heat cannot fully penetrate. As such, successful heat treatment requires continuous manipulation or moving of items in the environment to ensure lethal temperatures are reached and distributed to all areas where bugs and eggs may be present.
Fans help distribute the heat and temperature probes and sensors — placed in areas where airflow is limited like underneath cushions and between mattresses — help technicians monitor, regulate and document the heat treatment process.
The length of heat treatment varies, depending on the extent of the bed bug infestations, the type of items in the portable heat chamber, and the home’s construction (e.g., wood frame, slab, etc.), how well it is sealed, its contents and level of clutter.
Technicians require extensive training on how to achieve lethal temperatures while avoiding damage to personal items and the structure, and customers must be provided a thorough list of items to remove before treatment. This list can be extensive, and alternative treatment for these items may be necessary if they are infested.
Heat also provides effective control of other pests, such as cockroaches.
FROM THE REPORT. How much of an impact did the COVID-19 pandemic’s resulting downturn in the commercial market, particularly the hospitality sector, have on your bed bug business last year?
Source: Readex Research, August 2021; 184 respondents
How do you expect the percentage of revenue generated by your location's bed bug control services to change in the next year?
Bob Gilbert, training manager at Blue Sky Pest Control, wins a copy of Naturalist: A Graphic Adaptation.
GILBERT, Ariz. — Bob Gilbert, staff entomologist at Blue Sky Pest Control, Gilbert, Ariz., was announced as the winner of PCT’s recent giveaway of E.O. Wilson’s Naturalist: A Graphic Adaptation.
Gilbert has extensive experience in his field, as he studied environmental forest biology at Syracuse University and later received a master's in entomology from Clemson University. As staff entomologist, Gilbert oversees the training of new technicians, introducing them to standard operating procedures and teaching classes on topics such as rodent identification.
Gilbert says he is thrilled to receive this book and add it to his collection of other E.O. Wilson works, including the renowned Ants. Gilbert says he admires Wilson for his groundbreaking research, his thoroughness of investigation and his ability to make the information comprehensible to the average person. To learn more about Wilson, read PCT’s examination of his life from our April issue, including E.O. Wilson: A Field Biologist at Heart.