More than twenty four hundred entomologists gathered in Reno, Nevada to take part in the Entomological Society of America annual conference. Having attendees come from 49 different countries, the year 2011 marked the 59th annual meeting. The conference was packed with loads of interesting information about bed bugs. Mike Merchant PhD, an entomologist for Texas AgriLife Extension, has pin-pointed some of the interesting topics from the conference in his article titled “Insects in the City.”
Here are a few highlights from the conference…
Research was done at Rutgers University on the practical uses of carbon dioxide to control bed bug infestations. The study has shown that when you place three pounds of dry ice in a yard waste plastic bag together with twenty two pounds of cloths, or other items, for 24 hours, all stages of bed bugs will be killed. Despite its efficiency, working with dry ice does pose some safety hazards and is not always easy to come by for consumers.
Dini Miller from Virginia Tech provided information on a study of Nuvan Prostrips. Pest management professionals beware; the results were less than satisfactory at killing all levels of bed bugs. Not very encouraging news for this widely used bed bug killing product. Research was presented from a study on commonly sold bug bombs that was completed at Ohio State University. Five pyrethroid resistant populations and one susceptible population were tested. Many New Jersey pest control professionals agree that consumer use of bug bombs is often problematic in the treatment of bed bug infestations as it causes the bugs to hide and spread rather than meet their demise. It is not surprising that in each test completed, the bug bombs proved to be ineffective at killing bed bugs.
Look for more interesting information from the Entomological Society Of America Conference coming soon to Allison Pest Control.