Unlike many of the other pests we encounter, bed bugs cannot be reasoned with. No amount of sanitation, exclusion, sealing and caulking will solve this problem; quite simply, if you do not kill them, they will not go away.

We have a variety of methods that kill bed bugs; many of them are non-chemical. Our industry is currently going through the vetting process for vacuums, steamers, heat treatments and freezing. It may be a while before we settle on the best methods and the best combination of methods to produce consistent effective results. But however it turns out, it is most likely that the vacuum cleaner will play a central role.

The vacuum cleaner is the ultimate tool in the category of mechanical control. You can effectively eliminate every bed bug you can find. It is equally effective on all non-egg stages, and you walk out the door with everything you found.

As with any method, though, the vacuum has several disadvantages. It does not appear to be very effective at gathering eggs, and it leaves completely unaffected every bug you could not find. It is labor-intensive and works best when you have two people on the crew. But with the exception of fumigation and heat treatments, all the other methods require a thorough inspection of the premises, so you might as well vacuum up the bugs you find along the way.

Vacuum ‘Management’
In a disconcerting turn of events, it seems many, if not most bed bugs live through the vacuuming experience. Anyone who has vacuumed cockroaches is familiar with the sodden mass of mutilated cockroaches in the reservoir of the vacuum after you have finished. Only a few mangled specimens manage to survive the corrugated hose of death. Bed bugs, on the other hand, survive in great numbers. Knowing this, we must manage the vacuum — otherwise, we risk spreading the infestation as we transport the vacuum from job to job and on to the vehicle and back to the office.

To manage the process, you can simply empty, clean and treat the vacuum after every job. Some companies have airtight containers in which to keep their equipment to avoid spreading an infestation to the vehicle.

Another popular, if unconventional method is to use knee-high nylon stockings as a primary filter to catch bed bugs before they even enter the hose. Knee-highs are like the sock version of pantyhose, and can be purchased anywhere pantyhose are sold. Stuff the knee-high down the hose of the vacuum like a filter, and use the crevice tool attachment to hold it in place. The knee-high will catch bugs, debris and anything else removed by the vacuum. At the end of the job, the knee high can be removed, tied off and simply disposed. However, there may be a better use for bed bugs…

Bed Bugs Wanted
Dealing with bed bugs would be easier if we knew more about them. The research that is going on at universities across the continent is making headway into the mysteries of the bed bug. One of the biggest impediments to bed bug research these days is the difficulty of raising bed bugs for experiments. You can take a knee-high full of bed bugs and send them to a number of researchers who are actively seeking large samples of field populations. This means they do not want bed bugs combined from several jobs, or even several different apartments; rather, each group should be from the same house, same dorm room, or same apartment.

The tied-off knee-high should contain the bugs well enough, but they need to be packaged for shipment to the researcher. I put them in a one-pint mason jar with a coffee filter lid. They do not need a water source, so do not give them any. All the bugs really need is something to rest on, and the knee-high is already suitable harborage for them.

Send groups of 50 or more with a written description of where and when you got them, the city, state, and the situation from which they were obtained (apartment, dorm room, rental center, etc.), and the date.

The following researchers would be grateful for a shipment of bed bugs from the field. You may contact them as listed below. They will give you instructions for packing and shipment.

Dr. Steve Kells
University of Minnesota
kells002@umn.edu

Dr. Dini Miller
Virginia Technical
dinim@vt.edu
(50 bugs or more)

Dr. Mike Potter
University of Kentucky
mpotter@uky.edu
(50 bugs or more)

Dr. Coby Schal
North Carolina State University
coby_schal@ncsu.edu 
(10 bugs or more)