Development of a lateral flow test for bed bug detection

Lateral flow strip tests are a cost-effective method for detecting specific proteins in biological samples, which can be performed in the field without specialized expertise. While most recognizable in the pregnancy tests, there are many other applications for lateral flow strip technology. The pest control industry has increasingly emphasized the importance of pest monitoring to reduce unnecessary applications, focus interventions into locations with active pest infestations, and to develop records of pest infestation. Due to their cryptic behavior, the detection of bed bugs necessitates labor-intensive, time-consuming and invasive visual inspections. A lateral flow strip test for the detection of bed bugs would represent a novel use for a well-established technology, which can enable pest control operators to rapidly confirm the presence or absence of bed bugs in a room. In the current report, we present an effort to develop and calibrate the lateral flow test devices for the detection of a bed bug residue. A variety of bed bug residue samples were prepared by varying several parameters: bed bug infestation level (low / med / high), surface type (wood / fabric), feeding status (fed / unfed), and bed bug time-on-surface (1 d / 7 d). We will discuss how lateral flow devices can be an effective tool to determine the presence or absence of bed bug residue, and showcase the latest iteration of our bed bug detection device, TruDetx.