Erich Hardebeck’s scientific contributions

SUPPLEMENT Bed bugs are "top of mind" these days for most pest management professionals. Consumers have also become "edgy" — to the point where any questionable-looking bug spotted in a bedroom, hotel room, etc., could potentially be a bed bug. With such unease, it's understandable why similar looking pests might be a source of confusion. Such is the case with bat bugs and bird bugs, the topic of this article. In a recent survey of pest management firms conducted by Insight Express for PCT magazine, about one in five respondents (21 percent) said they noticed an increase in bat bugs in recent years, while 11 percent said the same about bird bugs. Of those reporting an increase, 59 percent felt it was due to more bat and bird infestations within buildings; 41 percent attributed the increase to heightened awareness of pests believed to be bed bugs. Whatever the reason, at times it will be necessary to distinguish between these pests and develop an appropriate course of action. ALL IN THE FAMILY. Bed bugs, bat bugs and bird bugs have many similarities. All are classified in the insect family Cimicidae, comprised of about 100 species, 16 occurring in North America. Cimicids are small, flattened, flightless parasites that feed solely on the blood of birds and mammals. Most species live within bat roosts or bird nests; only a few have adapted to HOLY COW…

One of the main constraints to stemming the surge of bed bugs has been a lack of effective residual insecticides. While the industry is blessed with efficacious materials for managing most indoor pests, bed bugs are an-other story. Given that they pierce and suck blood, baits are not an option at least in their current forms. Various dusts are effective, but there are limits to where they can prudently be applied. Several sprays and aerosols kill bed bugs contacted di-rectly, but lose their potency after the application has dried. Consequently they have negligible effects on any bed bugs and eggs that are overlooked, or re-introduced as hitch-hikers or through migration from nearby units in multifamily housing or public accom-modations. Most of today's residual insecticides used to combat bed bugs are pyrethroids. Their ef-fectiveness in the field has generally been inconsistent, and lab studies suggest resistance is prevalent throughout the country (Romero et al. 2008, Zhu et al. 2010). It's becoming apparent that bed bugs have a formidable arsenal of mechanisms to de-activate insecti-cides, including target site (nerve) insensitivity, metabolic detoxification and reduced penetration of insect cuticle. What makes this concerning is that there are few residually effective insecticides today with differing modes of action against bed bugs. Phantom (chlorfenapyr) is one, although the liquid formulation is relatively slow acting and often combined with faster-acting materials. pesticide manufacturing is the development of products with dual-active ingredients. The main intents are to broaden activity against a greater num-ber of target pests, and increase effective-ness against hard-to-control ones like bed bugs. Temprid (Bayer CropScience LP) and Transport (FMC Corp.) are two such products being used by a growing num-ber of pest controllers (Potter et al. 2011). Each contains a pyrethroid plus neonicoti-noid [(Temprid: ß-cyfluthrin + imidaclo-prid) and (Transport: bifenthrin + acet-amiprid)] in their formulations. Because pyrethroid and neonicotinoid insecticides have different modes of action, the hope is that the combination of ingredients pro-duces superior results against pyrethroid-resistant populations.