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A study published in the ESA’s May 2025 issue of the Journal of Medical Entomology by researchers at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) has identified a gene mutation in bed bugs associated with potential insecticide resistance. A Virginia Tech news article reports the research was initiated as a molecular skill-building exercise for graduate student Camille Block.
It involved analyzing deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) from 134 unique bed bug populations collected by North American pest control companies between 2008 and 2022. Screening these samples revealed the presence of a specific gene mutation in two distinct populations.
Notably, this mutation is the same one known to create resistance to certain insecticides in certain populations of German cockroaches (Blattella germanica) and whiteflies (Aleyrodidae). Further investigation confirmed all individuals within these two bed bug populations possessed the mutation.
The team was led by urban entomologist Dr. Warren Booth, the university’s Joseph R. and Mary W. Wilson Endowed Urban Entomology Associate Professor. He explains the resistance mechanism in German cockroaches is linked to a nervous system gene (Rdl) known to confer resistance to dieldrin, an insecticide with the same mode of action as fipronil. While dieldrin has been off the market since the 1990s, fipronil currently is used with great success in consumer flea and tick treatments for pets and in the professional pest control industry for several general household pests. It is important to note that fipronil is not labeled for bed bugs.
Since that study was published, Dr. Booth teamed with Drs. Jin-Jia Yu and Changlu Wang from Rutgers University to sequence 227 populations of C. lectularius, primarily collected over a 15-year period (2010–2024) from New York, New Jersey and Indiana, to investigate the distribution of and any discernible general insecticide resistance patterns in three gene mutations in bed bugs. That study was published in the March 2026 issue of the Journal of Pest Science.
With this study, the team concluded that, based on the low income, multifamily housing from which the majority of the collected specimens originated, the more varied treatment was with active ingredients and different techniques at a given apartment building, the fewer instances of the insecticide resistant gene were found.
For more on the study, visit: Booth-lab.org
Bed bug treatment devolops
Experiencing bed bugs in a Paris hotel while attending the 2024 Summer Olympic Games with her family spurred Sophie Keane to create the “Bed Bug Bait Box.”
The glue trap uses an electrical circuit and heated brass rods to mimic a human heartbeat and temperature to lure bed bugs away from their harborage. It turns on with the flick of a switch, and her hope is to commercialize it for airplanes, trains and hotels to stop the bugs’ spread. Keane has won three national prizes and counting in her native Ireland for the device. At press time, a patent was pending for the technology.
One more fun fact: Keane is 17 years old.
Watch Keane’s presentation of the trap here: instagram.com/reels/DWZXW0hDwAg/
