Seen At 11: Professor Braves Thousands Of Bed Bug Bites In Name Of Research

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NEW YORK(CBSNewYork) Bed bugs have been frustrating New Yorkers for years, piggybacking on clothes, hitching rides in taxis, and worst of all cozying up in bed at night.

As CBS2s Tracee Carrasco explained, researchers may be on the brink of a breakthrough against the virtually indestructible insects.

Isnt it amazing how this one insect causes this internal panic? entomologist, Ralph Maestre said.

Now, its the bed bugs turn to worry, Maestre said. Thanks to a major scientific breakthrough that could lead to the first ever bed bug trap.

Its going to be a tremendous tool, Maestre said.

A tremendous tool because bed bugs are very difficult to detect and even more difficult to get rid of.

We decided to concentrate on chemical signals, Professor Gerhard Gries, Simon Frazier University, explained.

Professor Gries and his team spent eight years and a whole lot of blood, sweat, and tears to come up with a breakthrough. His wife Regine, a fellow biologist, acted as a guinea pig.

At the peak of the research they were feeding at least 1,000 on this arm, and a thousand on the other arm every week, or sometimes even more, she said.

She endured as many as 180,000 bed bug bites so the team could pinpoint the exact set of chemicals or pheromones that attract bed bugs and lead them to take shelter in one spot.

Excerpt from:
Seen At 11: Professor Braves Thousands Of Bed Bug Bites In Name Of Research

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