You couldn't blame Rutgers University researcher Changlu Wang for not wanting to bring his work home with him. Wang, an entomologist, studies the feeding habits of the dreaded blood-sucking bedbug, which has made a comeback of late in the urban Northeast.
Wang is working with researchers from other universities to develop methods to detect, capture and eradicate the pests.
Q. Why has the bedbug made a resurgence?
There are several reasons. None is the deciding factor: increased international travel, a lack of effective pesticides, immigrant workers, insecticide resistance and a lack of detection tools. People don't find them early enough to stem an outbreak. … My interest is in developing some monitoring methods and tools. Visual inspection is often difficult and there are many by the time you see them.
Q. Is New Jersey vulnerable?
It's very common in New Jersey. There are lots of people in multifamily units and we are one of the most densely populated states. We've seen in apartment buildings that they can spread down the hall.
Q. What can people do to prevent an infestation?
Don't accept any used furniture until you're absolutely sure it doesn't have any bedbugs. Also be careful if you are visiting someone's home. Home health-care workers are very concerned; sometimes they can literally see the bedbugs crawl out of someone's sofa. If someone is visiting you, make sure there are no bedbugs in their luggage.
Some of the pesticides that were most effective, such as DDT, were banned for fear of their effect on human health.
Q. What chemical-free solutions are there to repel and get rid of the pests?
You can buy special bedding encasement; they will die because they cannot get out. You can put some barriers under furniture. Some companies also use hot steam machines to apply to furniture to kill the bed bugs. There are heat chambers. Some companies freeze them, but that is relatively expensive. It's difficult. No matter how careful you are, you probably can't get them all.
Q. Do you worry that your work will come home with you?
I've gotten bedbugs several times. I went to apartments with several thousands of them. But they can be easily killed if you quickly wash them and your clothes when you go home.
Maybe in the future we can develop a repellent.
Source: http://www.northjersey.com/news/education/81947572_Rutgers_itching_to_eradicate_pesky_bedbugs.html
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