Scientists find chemical attractants that trap the insects.
While bedbugs were once thought to be eradicated in the U.S., recent years have seen big increases in infestations in not only housing but also hotels, stores, and other public establishments. The disease-carrying parasites may have met their match, however, as researchers from Simon Fraser University have identified unique chemical attractants, or pheromones, that successfully lure bedbugs into traps.
Bedbug Aggregation Pheromone Finally Identified, published in Angewandte ChemieI, notes that a combination of five volatile components attract bedbugs to safe shelters and another less aggressive component causes the bugs to stay where they are whether or not they’ve recently fed. To take the new development to the next level of viability, the scientists have partnered with a pest solutions company to perfect the trap’s design and expect to have the lures commercially available by next year.
