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5 April 2016 Bed Bugs: Prevalence in Low-Income Communities, Resident's Reactions, and Implementation of a Low-Cost Inspection Protocol
Changlu Wang, Narinderpal Singh, Chen Zha, Richard Cooper
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Abstract

We examined bed bug prevalence in 2,372 low-income apartments within 43 buildings in four New Jersey cities using a combination of resident interviews, brief visual inspections, and monitoring with Climbup Insect Interceptors. Infestation rates ranged from 3.8 to 29.5% among the buildings, with an overall infestation rate of 12.3%. Within each apartment, the bed area trapped significantly more bed bugs per trap than the sofa (or upholstered chair) area. African American residents had a proportionally higher number of bed bug infestations than white residents. Women were more likely to report bed bug bite symptoms than men. Only 68% of the residents who experienced bed bug infestations reported symptoms after being bitten (n = 475). Among those with self-reported symptoms (n = 319), the frequency of the reported symptoms was: pain 90%, itchiness 20%, welts 13%, and insomnia 8%. Fifty-nine percent of the residents (n = 539) who experienced bed bug infestations applied insecticides to control bed bugs. Climbup interceptors detected 89 ± 1% and brief visual inspections detected 72 ± 3% of the infestations. Only two out of 291 infestations were not detected by brief visual inspection or interceptors. Assuming US$50 per hour labor rate, the average per apartment cost for the building-wide bed bug monitoring protocol was US$12 per apartment. Forty-nine percent of the infestations detected by the protocol were in apartments whose residents were unaware of the bed bug activity.

© The Authors 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com
Changlu Wang, Narinderpal Singh, Chen Zha, and Richard Cooper "Bed Bugs: Prevalence in Low-Income Communities, Resident's Reactions, and Implementation of a Low-Cost Inspection Protocol," Journal of Medical Entomology 53(3), 639-646, (5 April 2016). https://doi.org/10.1093/jme/tjw018
Received: 2 October 2015; Accepted: 18 February 2016; Published: 5 April 2016
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KEYWORDS
Cimex lectularius
integrated pest management
low-income housing
monitoring
urban pest control
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