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Studies Bed bugs are becoming more resistant to pesticides
Nobody likes insects in his house. And certainly people do not want to have any bed bugs in their beds. Therefore, we use insecticide in a bed bug infestation to get rid of the pests. However, it seems that bed bugs are becoming increasingly resistant to such remedies.
If we detect pests in our bed, the grip on the insecticide or the call to the exterminator is close. But the problem may not be solved that easily in the future. A recent study found bed bugs to be increasingly resistant to so-called neonicotinoid insecticides. The researchers published the results of their study in the journal "Journal of Medical Entomology".
Many bedbugs have developed resistance to pesticides and are therefore difficult to eradicate. (Image: Sebastian Kaulitzki / fotolia.com) More and more bugs are developing resistance to neonicotinoid insecticides
No one would like to find bedbugs in his bed. In such moments usually helps an insecticide. But what happens if insecticides have no effect on these small pests? Neonicotinoid insecticides are the most common type of insecticide in the world today. So-called neonics are also used against bedbugs. Investigators have now found in an investigation that bedbugs actually develop more and more resistance to these remedies. The study shows that alternative pesticides need to be developed to effectively fight the bugs in the future.
Researchers are studying different bug colonies for resistance
The research team examined various bugs found in homes in Cincinnati and Michigan. They tested their ability to withstand four widespread insecticides. These agents include acetamiprid, dinotefuran, imidacloprid and thiamethoxam. In the study, the scientists tested how such insecticides act on various insect colonies. For this purpose, the physicians use the insecticides on the one hand against a colony, which they had collected in 2008 in New Jersey. Although the bugs were resistant to pyrethroids, they never had contact with novel insecticide combinations containing neonicotinoids. The researchers wanted to determine whether the resistance to pyrethroids helps the animals to form resistance even against novel insecticide combinations. In addition, the researchers studied two populations of bed bugs that were collected in 2012 in Cincinnati and Michigan. These pests already had different resistance to all neonicotinoids, the researchers report.
Enzymes help bugs build up resistance
The researchers were able to determine in their investigation that the insects from New Jersey indeed died, but already had little resistance to neonicotinoids. This resistance resulted from their so-called "detoxification enzymes". Such enzymes are used by bedbugs to control insecticides. Increased detoxification enzymes are induced by other classes of insecticides and could affect the performance of newer insecticides, warns Alvaro Romero. The two colonies of Cincinnati and Michigan, however, had much higher resistance to the neonicotinoids. The reason for this is that these two colonies, before they were caught, lived in a time when the use of pyrethroids and neonicotinoids was the order of the day, the researchers explain.
Recognize and act on emerging resistances at an early stage
Businesses need to be vigilant to see if the performance of their products with neonicotinoids is slowing, says Alvaro Romero. If bugs appear to be resistant to novel insect venoms, they should be checked in the lab. If a resistance is detected, products with a different mode of action must be used, combined with non-chemical methods, the physicians explain in their study.