Abstract
The scarcity of bed bugs in many countries over the last 50 years has resulted in a lack of modern research into the toxicology of this pest. Although bed bugs resurged in the late 1990s, published research related to insecticides has lagged behind and only began to appear in 2006. The difficulty in controlling bed bugs triggered the interest of both private and academic sectors to determine the value of currently available insecticides. What follows, is updated information on effectiveness of products, studies on insecticide susceptibility, identification of mechanisms of insecticide resistance and chemical strategies proposed to overcome resistance in modern bed bug populations.
Highlights
The scarcity of bed bugs in many countries over the last 50 years has resulted in a lack of modern research into the toxicology of this pest
To investigate the potential of piperonyl butoxide (PBO) to improve the efficacy of insecticide treatments, Romero et al [17] evaluated in the laboratory the effect of the addition of commercial formulations of PBO (Exponent®) or PBO-synergized pyrethrins (Kicker®) to deltamethrin (Suspend SC®)
Initial laboratory evaluations with field collected strains demonstrated a high prevalence of pyrethroid resistance in bed bug populations
Summary
Insecticides have been the principal means of controlling bed bug infestations. 1800s and early 1900s sprays for bed bug control were mainly based on arsenic, mercury and pyrethrum, the first two being highly toxic to humans [1,2]. These sprays were most effective against early stage infestations and direct contact of the insecticide solution with the insect was required to cause a lethal effect. Wide and continued use of DDT and later other insecticides such as malathion reduced substantially the incidence of bed bugs during the post-World. Control of bed bugs today is primarily based on intensive application of a limited number of insecticides, mainly pyrethroids [7,8,9]
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