Title
A Case Study of Cimex lectularius L. (Hemiptera: Cimicidae) Infestations in an Office Environment
Date Issued
03 August 2019
Access level
open access
Resource Type
journal article
Author(s)
Sked S.
Wang C.
Hacker K.
University of Pennsylvania
Publisher(s)
Oxford University Press
Abstract
Most field studies on Cimex lectularius are conducted in residential or hospitality industrial settings. Cimex lectularius infestations in office settings are reported, but are rarely studied. An office environment (~875 m2) consisting of 105 cubicles or pod-seating areas with persistent C. lectularius sightings over a 2-yr period was evaluated for 90 d through intensive trapping to determine C. lectularius distribution and to eliminate the infestation. The study area was partially occupied during the study period. Two treatments of amorphous silica dust (112.5 g dust in total) were applied 29 and 57 d after the first day of monitoring. A total of 32 C. lectularius were captured by interceptors over a period of 55 d. Dry ice traps captured eight additional C. lectularius. Visual inspections identified one chair with live C. lectularius and eggs. The infestation was eliminated on 69 d after initial installation of interceptors. Spatial analysis using Ripley's K and L functions showed a high level of aggregation up to a 15 meter scale. Dispersal of C. lectularius in office settings was limited. Intensive trapping plus limited insecticide dust treatments effectively detected and eliminated C. lectularius.
Start page
1821
End page
1830
Volume
112
Issue
4
Language
English
OCDE Knowledge area
Ingeniería industrial Ingeniería ambiental y geológica
Scopus EID
2-s2.0-85071064963
PubMed ID
Source
Journal of Economic Entomology
ISSN of the container
00220493
Sponsor(s)
This study was supported by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture Hatch project 1001098, through the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station, Hatch project NJ08127, and by the National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center (SESYNC) under funding received from the National Science Foundation DBI-1052875. We would also like to offer our appreciation to Dr. Richard Cooper for his support and consultation towards this project. C.W. is the coinventor of “Crawling arthropod intercepting device and method” (U.S. patent number #US9253973B2), on which the ClimbUp Interceptor was designed. This is New Jersey Experiment Station publication # D-08-08127-01-18.
Sources of information: Directorio de Producción Científica Scopus