Henry Fox: Silver bullet for bed bugs is on its way – GoErie.com

New pesticide could spell the end for bedbugs.

When I mentioned to some friends and frequent readers of this column that I was actually contemplating writing another spiel regarding bedbugs, I was met with a mixed bag of reactions. Unfortunately, they ranged from scorns and dirty looks to threats of bodily harm and cancellations of their subscriptions.

I initially wasnt going to write ANYTHING about bedbugs, ever, but I caved in to requests and started to write my thoughts about this scourge. Six columns later, I thought I exhausted everyones interest and felt it was time to move on to greener pastures and friendlier vermin.

Then one day it happened. An email arrived in my inbox that changed my mind, and possibly, the fate of the bedbug plague. Researchers at my alma mater, Penn State, have discovered what appears to be the silver bullet for eradication: a naturally derived pesticide that uses the bugs behavior and needs to our advantage.

The creation of this biopesticide has actually been in the works for more than 30 years. Called Green Muscle, a fungal disease formulated in oil to control locusts and grasshoppers in Africa has been utilized with promising results. A similar product, known as Green Guard, has been used effectively in Australia to control flies and mosquitoes. The success of these products led the Penn Staters to speculate about other fungal formulations and potential target pests.

When a research assistant suggested that they focus on bedbugs. The pests died quicker with the same dose of materials than used on other pests.

The material contains Beauveria bassiana, a natural and indigenous fungus that causes disease in insects but is harmless to humans. Exposure to this material caused the bedbugs to become infected and die in 4-7 days. Interestingly, only a small percentage of the population needed to be exposed to the fungus to achieve almost 100 percent infection. This is probably due to the bugs tendency to aggregate together, sharing the wealth.

The fungus is a particulate. When the bugs cross it, the spores stick to them, like walking on sand with wet feet. Once they are covered, they spread them around by grooming themselves. This stimulates the spores to germinate and colonize the body, within 20 hours of initial exposure.

Using their needs (our blood), and a little common sense, researchers determined that if they placed their materials in strategic areas that the bugs had to cross to reach their favorite snack (us), they might be able to win the game. Perimeters of box springs, furniture legs, etc. were prime spots. Replicated applications all yielded success, driving the desire to market this newly created biopesticide.

Known as Aprehend, the researchers are benefiting greatly from all of the wondrous resources available to them at Penn State. They are actually planning on marketing the product themselves, rather than licensing the technology. There are multitudes of hurdles needed to be handled, including patents, regulatory issues, EPA product registration and others. The hope is for a launch of this silver bullet later this year.

This material appears to eliminate the need for hours of treatment preparation, as well as the potential for costly chemical re-treatments. When you factor in the grief, aggravation, paranoia and every other sentiment covered in those past six columns, this appears to be a true blessing.

With the outlook for bedbug control appearing to be very promising, professional pest control operators will need to start looking for other streaming sources of revenue. Regardless of which pest takes over the spotlight, one thing is certain: people will always have the need to protect their health and property from pests. And they will always hate bugs.

Henry Fox is the owner of Henry N. Fox Professional Pest Management. You can ask him questions at letstalkbugs@gmail.com.

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Henry Fox: Silver bullet for bed bugs is on its way - GoErie.com