Category Archives: Bed Bugs Canada

Pheromones lure bedbugs into a trap where chemicals immobilise them A cocktail of six different chemicals was needed to make an effective lure Researchers hope to have commercial trap available within the next year Wife of scientist leading the study acted as the host who fed the bedbugs during tests with her own blood She believes she has been bitten 180,000 times in the hunt for the lure

By Richard Gray for MailOnline

Published: 11:39 EST, 23 December 2014 | Updated: 11:51 EST, 23 December 2014

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They are among the most dreaded and persistent pests to invade our homes, but groundbreaking research has provided a new way to combat bedbugs.

Scientists have discovered a set of pheromones, the chemical signals given off by insects, that can lure bedbugs into traps.

They have also identified an extra component that can then, crucially, keep the biting insects in the trap and away from their human food.

Bedbug infestations cause misery for millions around the world but scientists have developed a new lure that can trap the insects by mimicking pheromones that the parasites release to signal they are in a 'safe haven'

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No more itching! Scientists discover a 'cocktail of chemicals' that lures bedbugs into traps - and keeps them there

VANCOUVER -- A British Columbia biologist has endured 180,000 bites with the intention of sucking the life out of the worldwide bedbug epidemic.

Once thought eradicated in industrial countries, the pests have reappeared over the past two decades, infesting everything from low-income housing to pricey hotels.

A team from Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, B.C., including biologists, a chemist and students, has now identified a set of chemical attractants that lure the bedbugs into traps and keep them there.

But those findings required biologist Regine (reh-GINA') Gries, who is immune to the bites, to act as a host so the pests could feed while scientists gathered skin and feces from the bugs to analyze.

The team is now working with a company based out of Victoria, B.C., to develop the first effective and affordable trap to detect and monitor infestations.

SFU Prof. Gerhard Gries, the husband of Regine, says the trap will help landlords, tenants and pest-control professionals to determine whether a premise has a bedbug problem.

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Scientist endures 180,000 bed bug bites

Keven Drews, The Canadian Press Published Monday, December 22, 2014 6:00PM EST Last Updated Monday, December 22, 2014 9:36PM EST

VANCOUVER -- Enduring 180,000 bites is the scientific price a British Columbia biologist had to pay so her team of researchers could suck a little life out of the worldwide bedbug epidemic.

A team of biologists, a chemist and students from Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, B.C., announced Monday that they have identified a set of chemicals that can lure bedbugs into traps and keep them there.

The findings are significant because the pests, which were once thought eradicated in industrial countries, have reappeared over the past two decades, infesting everything from low-income housing to pricey hotels and causing health concerns, too.

Biologist Regine Gries, who with her husband Prof. Gerhard Gries, form part of the team, said she was initially a little reluctant and disgusted to act as a host so the pests could feed and scientists could gather and analyze the bugs skin and feces.

She said she got over those feelings because she, unlike others, was resistant to the bites.

"I calmed myself down thinking when human beings were still living in caves, they were probably bitten by bedbugs, by fleas, by mice and who knows what, all these insects associated with humans," she said. "So I think humans can endure this, and I'm lucky enough that I have no side effects, that I just can handle it."

Not only can bedbug bites cause rashes and itching, but a recent study linked them to Chagas, a disease that can cause serious heart and digestive problems in those who are infected, said SFU Chemistry Prof. Robert Britton, who is also a team member.

The team is now working with a company based out of Victoria, B.C., to develop the first effective and affordable trap to detect and monitor infestations.

The discoveries were made in three separate phases and began when the Gries and their students began the research about eight years ago.

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Scientist endures 180,000 bed bug bites to help develop trap

Regional News of Saturday, 13 December 2014

Source: GNA

The Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) is threateing to disconnect power from the Ashanti School for the Deaf for owing the company accumulated electricity bill of GH?80, 127.96.

The school authorities told Ghana News Agency (GNA) in an interview that the school is financially handicapped to settle such a whopping amount.

Mr Ofosu Boachie, Headmaster of the school who expressed worry over the disconnection threat said when it is carried out the pupils would not be able to communicate or study at night.

The schools only source of income is government feeding grants of GH?2.20p per pupil per day, which has, in recent times, been raised to GH?3.30 but has not been effected.

It is the feeding grant we rely on. It does not come regularly, that is what we manage to do maintenance, buy fuel and fire wood etc. We cant even pay our creditorsthey are always on us and we have to lie to them all the time, Mr Boachie said.

He said though the school has a standby generator donated to it by Sokpo, a non-governmental organisation from the Netherlands, the authorities could not afford to pay the GH?75.00 worth of fuel required to run it.

The cooks use fire wood, though the school has Liquefied Petroleum Gas tank which has been empty for nearly a year due to lack of funds.

The 595 disability students are living in bed-bugs-infested dormitories for two years and the authorities say they are financially weak to fight the pest-ridden creatures, because the charge for the fumigation process is GH?1,200.00.

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ADD Bed Bug Infestation - ECG threatens to disconnect ...