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1 December 2013 Cold Tolerance of Bed Bugs and Practical Recommendations for Control
Joelle F. Olson, Marc Eaton, Stephen A. Kells, Victor Morin, Changlu Wang
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Abstract

Bed bugs were exposed to freezing temperatures for various exposure times to determine cold tolerance and mortality estimates for multiple life stages. The mean supercooling point for all bed bug life stages ranged from -21.3°C to -30.3°C, with the egg stage reporting the lowest value. A probit analysis provided a lower lethal temperature (LLT99) of -31.2°C when estimates from all life stages were combined, demonstrating that all stages of bed bugs are not capable of surviving temperatures below body freezing and are therefore freeze intolerant. At conditions above the LLT99, bed bug mortality depended on temperature and exposure time at temperatures above LLT99. Based on our model estimates, survival was estimated for temperatures above -12°C even after 1 wk of continuous exposure. However, exposure to temperatures below -13°C will result in 100% mortality in d to ensure mortality of all life stages. Unfortunately, sublethal exposure to lower temperatures did not prevent subsequent feeding behavior in surviving stages. Practical recommendations for management of potentially infested items are discussed.

© 2013 Entomological Society of America
Joelle F. Olson, Marc Eaton, Stephen A. Kells, Victor Morin, and Changlu Wang "Cold Tolerance of Bed Bugs and Practical Recommendations for Control," Journal of Economic Entomology 106(6), 2433-2441, (1 December 2013). https://doi.org/10.1603/EC13032
Received: 16 January 2013; Accepted: 1 August 2013; Published: 1 December 2013
JOURNAL ARTICLE
9 PAGES

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KEYWORDS
bed bug
cold tolerance
Freezing
nonchemical control
supercooling point
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