managing bed bugs in multi- family housing€¦ · bed bugs are back! “the new york metro area...

Jeffrey WhiteJeff.white@bedbugcentral.com

Managing Bed Bugs in Multi-Family Housing

Bed Bugs Are Back!www.bedbugregistry.com

“The New York metro area has the worst infestation in the

United States, with over 4000 bed bug

reports.”

“Toronto is the bed bug capital of Canada, with

2270 reports.”

Vancouver

New York San Francisco Toronto

There are lots of other ways that bed bugscan find their way into your lives...

• Travel (business or leisure)• Overnight guests• Camps and day care• At school or college• The work place • Consignment shops, flea markets, garage sales...• In house services (nanny’s, cleaning services, home

health care...)• Laundromats, public transportation, theaters etc....

Humans greatest enemy is….

IGNORANCE!!!

© Copyright Bed Bug Central

2006 Bed Bugs Get Going!

Apartments & Condos

Rapidly Reservoiring in the Lower Socio Economic Center!

Shelters & Group homes,Section 8 (affordable housing),

Slumlords, and Congested urban areas

How Much Damage Can One Person Do?

Bite Symptoms!

Courtesy of holidayinn.com

Courtesy of holidayinn.com

Courtesy of holidayinn.com

Reaction to bites• Univ. of Sheffield study

– 46% exhibited delayed symptoms (7-11 days after bites occurred)

– 54% participants did not react at all to first bites

• Univ. of Kentucky– 30% did not react– Only age group that reacted less

than everyone else was senior citizens

Delayed or No Reaction to Bites

Rutgers ResearchIn a high-rise senior living building, approximately 50% of residents were

unaware they had bed bugs

Study supports the statement to property managers: “however many infestations you know of, you probably have 2-3 times that”

Wang et al, 2010

Bed BugsMove Between Units in Multi-Occupancy

Buildings

Movement Between Units is a Big Problem in Multi-Occupancy Settings

Adjacent units infested 25%of the time

High-rise Senior Living• Rutgers research has found that

surrounding units may be infested upwards of 80% of the time or better

• Not only do surrounding units need to be inspected at the time of treatment but periodically as well

The Generally Accepted Way to Use Monitors

10 or Less Bugs Present• Visual Inspection can be unreliable

–Research suggests 50-70% effective at detecting low levels

• Can we implement monitors to aid in detection

• Early detection is key!

Detection Options• Visual Inspection• Passive Monitors• Active Monitors• Canine Scent Detection• Others….

Visual inspections are highly unreliablewhen it comes to detecting low level

infestations!

© Copyright Bed Bug Central

© Copyright Bed Bug Central

© Copyright Bed Bug Central

Just Because You Don’t Find ThemDoesn’t Mean They Aren’t There!

Passive monitors - Glueboards

Commercially Viable CO2 Production

www.bedbugsupply.com

DIY Sugar-Yeast Trap

Developed at Rutgers University

• Helps offset the limitations of a visual inspection

• More efficient & less invasive than visual inspections

Canine Scent Detection

© Copyright Bed Bug Central

© Copyright Bed Bug Central © Copyright Bed Bug Central

How Effective are Canines?Research has found on any given day they

are 10-90% effectiveResults will differ by day and by companyCanines are a tool but should be verifying

what they say If you can’t visually confirm, monitor the

area for a few weeks after inspection

Interception Devices

Pit Fall Trap – Intercepts bugs away from sleeping and/or resting areas as they seek a blood meal

Changlu Wang

Monitor Model• Periodically Install Monitors or Inspect• Goal to detect infestations early on

– Easier treatment = less time• May need help from maintenance/management• If infestation is detected…

– Reduced Cost– Free

Installation• Install interception

devices under beds and couches

• Inspect 1-2 weeks later• Quarterly maintenance

w/ 2 week follow-up inspection

Under the Leg Interception Devices

Pit Fall Trap – Intercepts bugs away from sleeping and/or resting areas as they seek a blood meal

Changlu Wang

Rutgers Research Interception devices will detect 70% of low

level infestation (20 or less bugs) over the course of one week Interception devices will detect 90% or

better of low level infestations over the course of two weeks

Mass Interceptor Installation• Rutgers study found:

–16 infestations known by management at the start of the project

–55 identified through interceptor installation

• Management not aware of 71% of infestations

• Reduced infestation rates from 15% to 2.2% after 12 months

Cooper et al, 2015

SenSci Volcano

SenSci Volcano• Discreet – blends in with environment• Clear bottom for ease of inspection• Dust is not a factor – cannot collect on

trap walls• Virtually maintenance free

SenSci Activ• Lure developed at Rutgers• Lure inside packet and absorbed

in a towelette• Carefully tear open along tear

line• DO NOT REMOVE

TOWELETTE• Opening packet will begin

release of lure

SenSci Activ• Carefully tear open along tear line• DO NOT REMOVE TOWELETTE• Opening packet will begin release of

lure

SenSci Activ• Increases catch of a device by up to 2-fold• Can be used with many devices• Attracts bed bugs as they move around (think of

it as a bait for an interception device)• Preliminary lab tests have shown the lure to be

attractive to bed bugs 2-3 months after exposure to air

With Lure WithOut LureApt. 1 9 5Apt. 2 219 97Apt. 3 2 1Apt. 4 106 78Apt. 5 135 69Apt. 6 188 69Total 659 319

Lure in Centrifuge Tubes in BlackOuts

Field Trial – Homeless Shelter

Homeless Shelter• ActivVolcano and Volcano alternated

around the perimeter of room and under beds (every 3-5 feet)

• Checked every 2 weeks • Placements switched to account for

infestation variance

Field Trial – Homeless ShelterDay Monitor

Type1-2

Instars3-5

InstarsAdults Total

Day 7 AV 15 3 2 20

Day 7 V 10 1 2 13

Day 14 AV 32 4 4 40

Day 14 V 17 3 1 21

Total AV 47 7 6 60

Total V 27 4 3 34

Field Trial – Aparment Complex in Canton, OH

• 199 Apartments• Sporadic activity – management can’t

seem to make progress• Primarily affordable housing, senior-

living complex

Canton, OH - Treatments• 3 different treatments:

–2 ActivVolcano’s under bed–ActivVolcano’s next to legs–Volcano’s next to legs

• Wait 2 weeks, inspect• Conclude study at 4 weeks – visual

inspection

Monitors Next to Legs

2 Monitors at Head

05

101520253035

Prior to Study After Monitoring and Inspection

Total Number of Infestations Detected (Entire Study)))

Results

Results

02468

101214161820

Infestations Detected byMonitors (2 Weeks)

Infestations Detected byMonitors (4 Weeks)

Infestations Detected byVisual Inspections

Total Number ofInfestations Detected

Number of Low-Level Infestations Detected by Monitors over Time

Results• ActivVolcano and Volcano detected

@70% of low level infestations within 4 weeks

• Visual inspection detected 58% at time of inspection

• Combining ActivVolcano w/ visual inspections found the most infestations

Summary• Monitors can be used to:

– help with eliminating infestations– detect infestations early on

• Monitoring programs can:–Reduce infestation rates among

communities– Improve the quality of life of residents

Questions?