With bed bug season in full swing, UF said it/s time to turn up the heat.
Researchers at UF have engineered a low-cost method to treat bed bug infestations using heat, according to a study published in this month/s issue of the Journal of Economic Entomology.
Using 8-by-4-foot plastic and foam panels, they constructed a chamber big enough to fit over a king-size bed, said entomologist Phil Koehler, a professor with UF/s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences.
Inside, they put two heaters, two fans for circulation and the items that needed treatment. Using digital thermometers, they waited until the temperature reached 113 degrees Fahrenheit, the ideal temperature needed to kill every last bloodsucker.
"This is like cooking a turkey," he said. "You don/t take the turkey out of the oven until it has reached a certain temperature and it/s cooked."
Moisture-resistant mattresses in the dorms are made of plastic and do not allow the critters to crawl, making it a bad environment for bed bugs, according to Wayne Walker, senior pest control technician for the department of housing and residence education.
However, infestations do occur in graduate and family-housing units.
At a conference in Baltimore, Md., this month, Walker met with residence representatives from universities nationwide to discuss the topic.
"Some people said they had 10 to 12 calls in one week," Walker said. "UF does not get 10 to 12 calls in one year."
But Koehler said students living off campus call him almost every day. He said they risk invasions when they buy used furniture, especially beds.
"You get a bargain," he said. "You get a mattress and bed bugs."
The process takes from two to four hours and is completely effective if done correctly, said Roberto Pereira, study co-author and associate research scientist at the entomology and nematology department.
The purpose of this study is to treat infestations in intimate areas like beds and clothing without spraying insecticides, Pereira said.
"The big problem is that bed bugs are lazy, and they like to live in places close to where they feed," Koehler said. "They come out around 3 or 4 in the morning and suck your blood while you/re sleeping."
Pest control operators have tried using heat treatments that cost $20,000 to $50,000 and warm the entire room, he said. Not only is it too expensive, but it also takes more than a day.
In addition, the use of pesticides is inefficient because bed bugs have claws instead of sticky pads on their legs. They do not absorb insecticides as other insects do.
He said the equipment used to create the portable oven cost about $312 and is practical for areas that are hard to vacate such as homeless shelters, hospitals and hotels.
Koehler described a case where a paraplegic/s wheelchair was infested. He could not move his legs or feel the bites, and being exposed to chemicals would have been harmful for his health. He said the heat chamber is ideal in these types of situations.
Pereira said they decided not to patent or license the system so that it would be readily accessible to pest control operators.
Walker said the technology is an integral part of the UF treatment program, and he uses pesticides in switch plates and tricky areas while the chamber cooks the bugs.
Adult bed bugs are about the size of an apple seed and the thickness of a business card, he said, and they expand when they feed.
The newborns, on the other hand, are about the size of a period at the end of a sentence in 11-point font. They are hard to spot because they are dark mahogany and transparent, he said.
They do not walk or fly, but they are skilled hitchhikers, catching rides on movable objects such as luggage, clothing and even laptops, according to Walker.
A female can lay three to five eggs per day, and it takes about eight to 10 days for them to hatch, he said. If they have a food source, bed bugs can reach adulthood in about 30 days. This can lead to infestations of more than 200 bugs in three months.
Although some people are unresponsive to their bites, reactions involve itching and irritation, Walker said.
"The idea of sleeping in a bed with them is what affects people psychologically," he said.
But Pereira said they are safer than mosquitoes because they don/t transmit diseases.
Bed bugs do not discriminate between human hosts and infest every social class and nation across the globe, Walker said.
"You can find them in thousand-dollar hotel rooms and homeless shelters and every place in between," he said. "It has nothing to do with cleanliness."
