Experiment Update

As introduced I have bottled a number of bed bugs at various age stages in order to examine feeding behaviors and longevity without feeding.

It is purported that bed bugs can live for 365 days (or more) relatively quietly while waiting for their next meal to arrive. Actually many bugs reliant on blood feeding have this same trait. I have seen documentaries about tics in the desert that bury themselves into the sand until a passing buffet disturbs the ground and they wake up and jump on for a feed.

Well, I bottled my samples five months ago and most of the samples are still going strong. There have been a few deaths, a few babies but mostly adults. I cannot say for certain how old the adults I captured were already, but this is what I have noticed.

-Most of the adults have died.
-The babies who have never fed before who were born a few months ago are still alive.
-The babies who have fed and have shed their skin and morphed to the next stage are still alive.
-The gang, adults and young ones held in an airtight container are not doing as well as those in a fresh air container.

One bottle group I put mesh over the opening, and another I put cotton cloth and have intermitently fed them by placing the material against my skin.

First I blow through the material to activate the bottle with CO2 and then tip it onto my wrist or arm, and then observe who is feeding and how long it takes.

My first purpose was to test if they could bite through material, and if so, how thick a layer can they effectively bite through. My second purpose was to have a control group, a group that is fed periodically versus a group that is not fed and to test the longevity of both.

This is what I have noticed about the material thicknesses:

-The adults do not bite through the cotton. They take no interest in it. Even if they have not eaten in months! However the newly hatched babies and the young ones not yet morphed into an adult seem to recognize skin through the cloth and eagerly chow down.
-The adults and the babies do recognize skin through mesh however and feed heartily.
-The bugs also prefer to bite at the edge of the opening rather than the middle, however if the places around the rim are taken they will snug in next to their neighbors or just wait their turn.

The latter point proves to me my theory that bed bugs prefer to feed where they perceive shelter. I quite often find a line of bites running up my shin. When I sleep I do so on my side. My leg is lying on the bed and where the mattress is in contact with my leg, along the edge there is where the feeding takes place.

In this way I can tell from this pattern, the bites occurred while I was lying down.

I also have had a line or grouping of bites across my foot near my toes and realized that the line matches exactly the straps on my sandals so that means that the bites are occurring while I am standing or sitting somewhere for long lengths of time, probably at my desk, and should investigate that area for bed bugs.

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Bed Bug Experiments Journal, Introduction

During Bed Bug sweeps of the bed area I capture live bugs in all stages with eggs and store them in old plastic pill bottles. This makes a good home because they cannot climb up the sides so I can open the top to make adjustments without fear that they will escape.

I have run a few tests on them to see how resilient they are.

In this journal, I will be reporting my findings and observations.

Let me bring you up to date so far.

Exhibit 1 (March 2009)

My first intension was simply to test the theory about how long an adult bed bug can survive without a feeding. It is purported that they can stay relatively quiet and resting for up to one year between feedings. I am sure this is true, so I wanted just to see it for myself.

I popped one in a bottle and called it Exhibit 1. It died after three months.

Of course, the adult I captured could have been already close to one year old, there is no way for me to tell. It could have also been that by not removing the lid to let in fresh air and moisture it asphyxiated. Further, it could have been that I did not provide anything to shelter under so it died from anxiety.

Exhibit 2 (May 2009)

I caught and stored two bugs and bottled them. There was no shelter again. I observed that they piled up on top of each other providing each other shelter. I lifted the lid weekly to let in fresh air. I threw in a corner of paper towel and they separated and found their own spot to settle in.

Exhibit 3 (June 2009)

I had laid down some sticky traps in the hallway to see what kind of insect traffic there was there. A bed bug got trapped on his back. His legs were not stuck to the glue, only a part of the back. its head was also not stuck. Every now and then I checked the trap and noted to my amazement the trapped bed bug remained alive for more than six months! Finally, it stopped kicking when I blew on it.

Exhibit 4 a&b July 2009

I captured two adult bugs and put them into one bottle each. I soaked a corner of paper towel with the spray liquid post a pest controller visit to the building and added it to one bottle. The other, I sprinkled Boric Acid powder. The adult in the boric acid died within 48 hours. The adult in the chemical soaked paper towel bottle lived for two weeks and finally died. I captured another adult and added it to the boric acid bottle and it too died within two days. Noted this for future treatment options.

Exhibit 5 (October 2010)

I found a nest, not just stray bugs, on the corner of the pillow under the inside flap of the pillow case of all things. I scrapped off the eggs and dropped them into a bottle and caught the little babies and adults tending to them. I added a corner of paper towel and closed it up. Within 14 days some of the eggs hatched but unfortunately the scraping killed most of the eggs.


Exhibit 6 (November 2010)

I found another nest in the pillows, this time on the pillow case. I sacrificed the case by cutting the section where about 20 eggs were laid and where a few babies and adults were hiding and popped it into a bottle. I hardly disturbed them.  I also picked up any strays I found and added them. This starting colony had four adults, several nymphs in various stages, and about 20 eggs. This time, all of the eggs hatched.

Future postings titled "Bed Bug Experiments Journal" will provide updates.