(2nd Place) Behavioral responses of bed bugs to common control products

Bed bugs (Cimex lectularius) are small, hematophagous insects that, in addition to being massive household pests, are classified as a public health concern by the CDC. The cryptic nature of bed bugs results in the need for effective residual insecticides in their control. While repellency is a benefit for various chemicals, insecticides used in bed bug control must be placed intentionally to cause mortality, and therefore repellency can reduce efficacy. There is disagreement among researchers over the repellency of pyrethroid products, and repellency of other common products such as CimeXa has been observed. This project aims to determine how bed bugs respond behaviorally to different commonly used pesticides. Real-time assays will be conducted using circular arenas with one side treated with the chemical of interest. Insects will be allowed to wander the arena and their behavior and time spent in each section will be monitored with video-tracking software. Additionally, harborage arrestment assays will be performed to assess repellency/excito-repellency in the presence of shelter for the insect. Thus far, we have completed method development for this experiment and completed control trials. These trials were done for both our positive control (DEET) and negative control (water) and verified that our arena designs worked. These trials also verified that that bed bugs will avoid the side of the arena that was treated with a repellent compound, and that bedbugs evenly distribute their time in each zone with the water treatment.