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James Suchy (Public Health major)
"Dispersal Behavior of the Bed Bug Cimex lectularus to Control-Related Exposures"
Sponsor: Vernard Lewis, Environmental Science, Policy,and Management
Project Description
Within the past decade, bed bugs have made a startling reemergence in major cities throughout the developed world. Some attribute this epidemic to increasing international travel and trade, evolved pesticide resistance among bed bugs, and the banning of highly lethal chemicals, such as DDT. Nevertheless, these current conditions necessitate the creation of new, environmentally friendlier, pest-control strategies. The dispersal ecology of bed bugs is poorly understood. Studying their response to various forms of stimulation would reveal information about their behavior that could be utilized in controlling infestations. James will monitor the behavior response of bed bugs to three forms of environmental stimulation: aggregation pheromone, human perspiration, and heat. To further assess real-world application, James will work with laboratory and wild bed bug strains in both a lab and household environment.
Scholar's Photo
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Bed bugs are finicky eaters, so feeding them on a human arm can sometimes
be best. |
Scholar's Journal
While I had experience working with other insect systems, managing bed bugs in a lab was entirely new to me and required a great deal of familiarization. A lot of my time this summer was spent learning how to contain and rear these insects. This brought on a variety of challenges but has ultimately been of benefit to me in understanding bed bug behavior.
Early on, I decided to alter my experimental design in order to incorporate time-lapse cameras. The new system that I created took a couple weeks to plan and construct, but also offered advantages that were previously unavailable. For one thing, the cameras permitted me to record the bed bug’s spatial arrangement without having to come anywhere near them. The design also allowed me to monitor them throughout the entire day and have visual documentation of their movement.
Unfortunately, preliminary testing using heat and CO2 has only been able to elicit a weak response, nowhere close to what would be expected from a hematophagous (blood-feeding) insect. Despite these setbacks, I am still attempting to see if I can obtain some sort of predictable behavior through manipulation their environment.
My project has also involved work outside of the lab. Perhaps the most unforgettable experience of the summer was being able to witness a real infestation at a hotel in San Francisco. The building had been battling bed bugs for the past two years, with limited success. Upon arriving, the building’s PCO (pest control operator) directed my lab group to one of the many rooms that had been sprayed several times for bed bugs. We entered and began to carefully inspect all the common hiding places: inside of the bed frame, under the carpet, within furniture, etc. We quickly began to find traces of fecal matter, shed skins, and a few live adults. But our presence in the room didn’t go unnoticed for long. Within an hour, the walls and ceiling came alive with hungry hatchlings in search of a blood meal. A combination or odor, heat, and CO2 had likely drawn them out of hiding. Needless to say, this room truly was a testament to the pesticide resilience of the insect. We collected some samples, and then left as quickly as possible, disheartened by the fact that the hotel would undoubtedly continue to let people stay in the room.
Even now, as I begin my classes, the bed bug problem seems to have hit home. Just the other day, I overheard two Berkeley students taking about getting bitten by bed bugs. I asked when they had been bitten, presuming that they might have been attacked while traveling abroad over the summer. Such was not the case. In fact, their campus dorm room had been invaded! I was in disbelief, but I suppose it was only a matter of time.
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