Evaluation of two structural sealing methods for sulfuryl fluoride fumigation against bed bugs (Hemiptera: Cimicidae)

The bed bug, Cimex lectularius (L.) (Hemiptera: Cimicidae), has become a well-established pest in houses within the United States. This is partly because bed bugs have been so successful at invading the many void spaces that exist in homes. Fumigation with sulfuryl fluoride (Vikane) at the 1.9× dosage rate is one of the few control methods that can access all bed bug harborage spaces in these homes and potentially eliminate all insecticide-resistant bed bug life stages in a single treatment. The objective of this study was to evaluate the labor costs and efficacy of two different home sealing methods that are typically used when conducting structural fumigation: covering the home with a tarpaulin or sealing cracks of doors and windows with tape ("tape-and-seal" method). It was found that the tarpaulin fumigations required a significantly greater number of labor hours (42.6 ± 2.3 SEM) than the tape-and-seal fumigations (24.2 ± 5.0 SEM) due to the more detailed preparation requirements (requiring more laborers) and longer fumigant holding periods. Only the tarp fumigations achieved 100% mortality of sentinel bed bug eggs. In the tape-and-seal fumigations, hatching was observed for 22% of the eggs, with 10% of the hatched nymphs surviving. This lack of complete bed bug mortality was because two tape-and-seal fumigations were unable to reach the 1.9× dosage rate.