scholarly journals Dynamics of bed bug infestations and control under disclosure policies

2019 ◽  
Vol 116 (13) ◽  
pp. 6473-6481 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sherrie Xie ◽  
Alison L. Hill ◽  
Chris R. Rehmann ◽  
Michael Z. Levy

Bed bugs have reemerged in the United States and worldwide over recent decades, presenting a major challenge to both public health practitioners and housing authorities. A number of municipalities have proposed or initiated policies to stem the bed bug epidemic, but little guidance is available to evaluate them. One contentious policy is disclosure, whereby landlords are obligated to notify potential tenants of current or prior bed bug infestations. Aimed to protect tenants from leasing an infested rental unit, disclosure also creates a kind of quarantine, partially and temporarily removing infested units from the market. Here, we develop a mathematical model for the spread of bed bugs in a generalized rental market, calibrate it to parameters of bed bug dispersion and housing turnover, and use it to evaluate the costs and benefits of disclosure policies to landlords. We find disclosure to be an effective control policy to curb infestation prevalence. Over the short term (within 5 years), disclosure policies result in modest increases in cost to landlords, while over the long term, reductions of infestation prevalence lead, on average, to savings. These results are insensitive to different assumptions regarding the prevalence of infestation, rate of introduction of bed bugs from other municipalities, and the strength of the quarantine effect created by disclosure. Beyond its application to bed bugs, our model offers a framework to evaluate policies to curtail the spread of household pests and is appropriate for systems in which spillover effects result in highly nonlinear cost–benefit relationships.

EDIS ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 2009 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip G. Koehler ◽  
Robero M. Pereira ◽  
M. Pfiester ◽  
Jeff Hertz

Revised! ENY-227, a 7-page illustrated fact sheet by P. G. Koehler, R. M. Pereira, M. Pfiester, and Jeff Hertz, describes these blood-sucking insects, their life cycles, and control methods. Includes new techniques for bed bug control and a table of insecticides labeled for bed bug control. Published by the UF Department of Entomology and Nematology, November 2008. ENY-227/IG083: Bed Bugs and Blood-Sucking Conenose (ufl.edu)


2020 ◽  
Vol 113 (6) ◽  
pp. 2850-2857
Author(s):  
Ikkei Shikano

Abstract Bed bugs spend most of their lives hiding in harborages, usually in the seams of mattresses and box springs and in crevices of bed frames. For insecticidal products that target these shelters, the repellency of the products for bed bugs may influence their duration of contact. Bed bugs are known to avoid contacting surfaces treated with certain insecticides. The fungal biopesticide Aprehend contains spores of the entomopathogen, Beauveria bassiana. It is sprayed around bed frames, box springs, and furniture where bed bugs are likely to walk, which includes potential shelters. Here, I investigated the influence of a permethrin-impregnated cover, ActiveGuard, on bed bug sheltering behavior and the effectiveness of combining ActiveGuard with Aprehend. Bed bugs avoided harboring in a shelter constructed with ActiveGuard compared to a nontoxic encasement-type cover. This avoidance behavior reduced mortality induced by ActiveGuard shelters compared to forced continuous contact on the ActiveGuard cover. However, while bed bugs also avoided Aprehend-treated ActiveGuard shelters, the combined treatment induced almost complete mortality and more quickly than Aprehend-treated shelters made of the encasement-type cover. This suggests compatibility between the two integrated pest management (IPM) tools even though the bed bug’s avoidance behavior would suggest otherwise. Since Aprehend is highly effective against pyrethroid-resistant bed bugs, its use would provide more effective control where bed bug populations are more resistant to the permethrin-impregnated cover.


Author(s):  
Xianhui Shi ◽  
Changlu Wang ◽  
James E Simon ◽  
William Reichert ◽  
Qingli Wu

Abstract The common bed bug, Cimex lectularius L., resurged as an important urban pest in the last 20 yr. Yet, there are no commercial repellent products labeled for bed bugs available in the United States. We evaluated the repellency of two catnip oils from newly developed cultivars, CR3 and CR9, and compared each to 10 and 25% N,N-diethyl-meta-toluamide (DEET). CR3 contains 63.4% E,Z-nepatalactone and 27.5% Z,E-nepatalactone, and CR9 contains 94.9% Z,E-nepatalactone. Arena studies showed that CR3 and CR9 oils were more effective than DEET within a 24-h period. At 10% concentration, both CR3 and CR9 oils exhibited a repellency of over 94% during the first 8 h. At 25% concentration, the repellency of CR3 and CR9 oils increased to 100%, and repellency of DEET was 92% during the first 24 h. Repellency of 25% CR3 and CR9 oils became lower than 25% DEET after being aged for 3 d. After 28-d aging, repellency of 25% CR3, CR9, and DEET reduced to 25, 64, and 92%, respectively. Soiled socks were placed above repellent treated bands to determine if the repellent can protect soiled socks from being infested. The 20% CR3 oil prevented 100% of bed bugs from infesting soiled socks showing that it was more effective than DEET. These results indicate that catnip oils from CR3 and CR9 cultivars are more repellent than DEET over a 24-h period following application, but their longevity is shorter than DEET after 72 h.


1997 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 102-114 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yong-Jin Cha

The purposes of this study are to examine the nature of air pollution control and available policy instruments in the United States. Focusing on command-and-control (CAC), emission tax, bubble policy and emission offset policy, this study analyzes their theoretical frameworks and limitations. The analysis of this study suggests that the U.S. air pollution control policies have been evolved to deal with economic inefficiencies from the CAC approach. Reforming the pollution policy to market incentive systems could achieve the efficiency of pollution control. Possible policy implications are also discussed.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qimin Huang ◽  
Martial Ndeffo-Mbah ◽  
Anirban Mondal ◽  
Sara Lee ◽  
David Gurarie

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has created major public health and socio-economic challenges across the United States. Among them are challenges to the educational system where college administrators are struggling with the questions of how to reopen in-person activities while prioritizing student safety. To help address this challenge, we developed a flexible computational framework to model the spread and control of COVID-19 on a residential college campus. The modeling framework accounts for heterogeneity in social interactions, activities, disease progression, and control interventions. The relative contribution of classroom, dorm, and social activities to disease transmission were explored. We observed that the dorm has the highest contribution to disease transmission followed by classroom and social activities. Without vaccination, frequent (weekly) random testing coupled with risk reduction measures (e.g. facial mask,) in classroom, dorm, and social activities is the most effective control strategy to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 on college campuses. Moreover, since random screening testing allows for the successful and early detection of both asymptomatic and symptomatic individuals, it successfully reduces the transmission rate such that the maximum quarantine capacity is far lower than expected to further reduce the economic burden caused from quarantine. With vaccination, herd immunity is estimated to be achievable by 50% to 80% immunity coverage. In the absence of herd immunity, simulations indicate that it is optimal to keep some level of transmission risk reduction measures in classroom, dorm, and social activities, while testing at a lower frequency. Though our quantitative results are likely provisional on our model assumptions, extensive sensitivity analysis confirms the robustness of their qualitative nature.


2011 ◽  
Vol 55-57 ◽  
pp. 567-572
Author(s):  
He Li ◽  
Guo Ying Zhou ◽  
Ju Nang Liu ◽  
Huai Yun Zhang

The pine is an important tree species in China, while the pine wilt disease is a devastating disease of pine trees. Pine wood nematode (Bursaphelechus xylophilus Steiner & Buhere, 1934 Nickle, 1981) is a world recognized major alien species in the world. It’s from the United States, but pine wood nematode does not seriously endanger the pine in China; the most endangered place is Japan, after several decades of research and control, it has been basically able to control the occurrence of pine wilt disease. The spread trend of pine wilt disease in China grows more and more obvious, which has become an important intrusion pathogenic organism. It not only causes a devastating threats the million hectares pine forest in southern China, but also affects China’s economy and social sustainable development, what’s more, it will damage some of famous scenic spots and cultural heritage sites in China. Meanwhile, the pine wood nematode is a technical barrier, which seriously impacts on China’s import and export trade. The pathogen, pathogenesis, modes of transmission and means of distribution patterns, rapid detection and control methods of pine wilt disease are reviewed in this paper, and we hope that it can provide references for effective control of pine wilt disease in China.


Author(s):  
Danny Gallenberger ◽  
Min Xiong ◽  
Tony Z. Zhuang ◽  
Kai Sun ◽  
Elena G. Tolkacheva ◽  
...  

Abstract As a leading cause of death in 325,000 adults per year in the United States, a significant proportion of sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) result from arrhythmias. To better understand the onset of arrhythmias and its potential treatment with more rapid and effective control approaches, a two-dimensional 50 × 50 cellular automata (CA) model is used in this study to illustrate the propagation of electrical waves across its tissue, and a constant diastolic interval (DI) control mechanism is adopted to help stabilize and prevent cardiac arrhythmias. Simulations of various scenarios including normal conduction and spiral waves in the presence of scar, normal conduction and alternans under control conditions are shown. The results validate that the CA model and constant DI control method are very efficient and effective in the study of dynamics and control of cardiac arrhythmias.


Author(s):  
Xiangrong Shen ◽  
Daniel Christ

This paper describes the design and control of a new chemomuscle actuation system for robotic systems, especially the mobile systems inspired by biological principles. Developed based on the pneumatic artificial muscle, a chemomuscle actuation system features a high power density, as well as similar characteristics to the biological muscles. Furthermore, by introducing monopropellant (a special type of liquid fuel) as the energy storage media, the chemomuscle system leverages the high energy density of liquid fuel and provides a compact form of high-pressure gas supply with a simple structure. The introduction of monopropellant addresses the limitation of pneumatic supply on mobile devices and thus is expected to facilitate the future application of artificial muscle on biorobotic systems. In this paper, the design of a chemomuscle actuation system is presented, as well as a robust controller design that provides effective control for this highly nonlinear system. To demonstrate the proposed chemomuscle actuation system, an experimental prototype is constructed, on which the proposed control algorithm provides good tracking performance.


2022 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deshun Sun ◽  
Xiaojun Long ◽  
Jingxiang Liu

As of January 19, 2021, the cumulative number of people infected with coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) in the United States has reached 24,433,486, and the number is still rising. The outbreak of the COVID-19 epidemic has not only affected the development of the global economy but also seriously threatened the lives and health of human beings around the world. According to the transmission characteristics of COVID-19 in the population, this study established a theoretical differential equation mathematical model, estimated model parameters through epidemiological data, obtained accurate mathematical models, and adopted global sensitivity analysis methods to screen sensitive parameters that significantly affect the development of the epidemic. Based on the established precise mathematical model, we calculate the basic reproductive number of the epidemic, evaluate the transmission capacity of the COVID-19 epidemic, and predict the development trend of the epidemic. By analyzing the sensitivity of parameters and finding sensitive parameters, we can provide effective control strategies for epidemic prevention and control. After appropriate modifications, the model can also be used for mathematical modeling of epidemics in other countries or other infectious diseases.


Insects ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 50
Author(s):  
Faith Oi

The global economic impact of termites is estimated to be approximately USD 40 billion annually, and subterranean termites are responsible for about 80% of the total impact. Twenty-eight species of termites have been described as invasive, and these termites are spreading, partially due to global trade, making effective control methods essential. Termite control is complex, as is the biology and behavior of this social insect group. In the U.S., termite prevention and control (with claims of structural protection) is regulated by more than one industry (pest control and building construction), and at the federal and state levels. Termite prevention has historically relied on building construction practices that do not create conducive conditions for termite infestations, but as soil termiticides developed, heavy reliance on pesticides became the standard for termite control. The concern for human and environmental health has driven the development of termite control alternatives and regulation for products claiming structural protection. Product development has also provided unprecedented opportunities to study the biology and behavior of cryptobiotic termites. Technological advances have allowed for the re-examination of questions about termite behavior. Advances in communications via social media provide unrestricted access to information, creating a conundrum for consumers and science educators alike.


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