Bedbug trapping device and method

Abstract

To provide a bedbug trapping device that is simpler and less expensive than when using carbon dioxide gas cylinders, and that can maintain the bedbug-attracting effect for a longer period than when using solid carbon dioxide.SOLUTION: The bedbug trapping device includes a trap having an adhesive surface for capturing bedbugs, and an attractant placed above the trap. The attractant comprises solid ammonium bicarbonate, and a breathable bag that accommodates the ammonium bicarbonate.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a bed bug trapping device and method for attracting and trapping bed bugs. [Background technology]

[0002] Bed bugs (Cimex lectularius Linnaeus), also known as bedbugs, are blood-sucking insects. After being distributed nationwide, bed bugs were rarely seen for a time, but recently, damage has been increasing again across the country. Because bed bugs do not actively move from their hiding places except to feed on blood, they are less likely to be caught in sticky traps designed for walking insects. Therefore, to increase the likelihood that bed bugs will encounter sticky traps, a bed bug trap device has been proposed that combines a sticky trap with an attractant. Patent Document 1 discloses this type of bed bug trap device.

[0003] The bed bug trapping device disclosed in Patent Document 1 (particularly paragraphs 0057-0063 and Figures 10-13 of the specification) comprises a base and a cover that, when combined, form an insect opening that allows insects to enter the trapping device, a heating device disposed on the base, an adhesive surface disposed around the heating device, and an attractant disposed on the heating device or the adhesive surface. The heating device provides the trapping device with a temperature sufficient to attract the insects. Since blood-sucking insects are strongly attracted to components released by mammals and birds during breathing, the attractants may be olfactory attractants such as carbon dioxide, methanol, methane, furan, and pyridine, which are contained in human breath. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] International Publication No. WO2007 / 027601 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] When carbon dioxide gas is used as an attractant as described above, carbon dioxide gas cylinders or solid carbon dioxide (i.e., dry ice (registered trademark)) have traditionally been used as carbon dioxide sources. Carbon dioxide gas cylinders are large and expensive devices equipped with regulators, flow meters, etc. Furthermore, solid carbon dioxide easily sublimes under normal pressure, making it difficult to continuously supply carbon dioxide over long periods of time.

[0006] The present disclosure has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and its purpose is to provide a bed bug capture device that is simpler and less expensive than those that use carbon dioxide gas cylinders, and that can maintain its bed bug attracting effect for a longer period of time than those that use solid carbon dioxide. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to solve the above problem, a bed bug trapping device according to one aspect of the present disclosure includes: a trap having an adhesive surface for capturing bed bugs; an attractant disposed on the trap; The attractant comprises solid ammonium bicarbonate and a breathable bag containing the ammonium bicarbonate.

[0008] Further, a bed bug capturing method according to one aspect of the present disclosure includes: A trap having an adhesive surface for capturing bed bugs is placed; ammonium bicarbonate contained in a breathable bag is placed on the trap; The carbon dioxide gas produced by the decomposition of the ammonium bicarbonate attracts bedbugs to the trap and traps them. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] According to the present disclosure, a bed bug capture device can be provided that is simpler and less expensive than a device that uses a carbon dioxide gas cylinder, and that can maintain its bed bug attracting effect for a longer period of time than a device that uses solid carbon dioxide. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing the overall configuration of a bed bug trapping device according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of a bed bug trapping device according to a modified embodiment. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a plan view of the test apparatus. [Figure 4] Figure 4 is a graph showing the relationship between environmental temperature and the number of catches obtained from the test results. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0011] Next, an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. Fig. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing the overall configuration of a bed bug trapping device 1 according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Fig. 1, the bed bug trapping device 1 according to this embodiment includes a trap 2 and an attractant 3. The bed bug trapping device 1 is used by being placed on the floor of an indoor space where bed bugs are present, on furniture in the indoor space, or the like.

[0012] The trap 2 has a main body 20 that captures bed bugs that have invaded the trap. The main body 20 has at least one opening on its side through which bed bugs can enter. The main body 20 also has an adhesive surface 21 covered with an adhesive 22 on its inner bottom. The illustrated main body 20 is a cylinder with a trapezoid cross section and openings on both ends. However, the shape of the main body 20 is not limited to this embodiment and may be any three-dimensional shape with at least a top and bottom surface, such as a cylinder with a rectangular cross section, a cylinder with a semicircular cross section, or a rectangular parallelepiped. The material of the trap 2 is not particularly limited, and may be paper or synthetic resin. The trap 2 is installed so that the opening faces parallel to the installation surface, allowing walking bed bugs to enter the main body 20 through the opening.

[0013] The attractant 3 is a carbon dioxide gas generating agent that generates carbon dioxide gas. Specifically, the attractant 3 is composed of solid ammonium bicarbonate 31 and a bag 32 that surrounds the ammonium bicarbonate 31. However, the shape of the bag 32 is not limited thereto, and it may be in the form of a sheet that encases the ammonium bicarbonate 31. The bag 32 is breathable in both directions, from the inside to the outside and from the outside to the inside. Furthermore, it is preferable that the bag 32 be water-resistant. For example, the bag 32 can be composed of a porous material such as a perforated sheet, a perforated film, or a nonwoven fabric. When solid ammonium bicarbonate is left in the air at room temperature and normal pressure, it absorbs moisture from the air. This water reacts with the ammonium bicarbonate to produce ammonia, carbon dioxide, and water. In such attractant 3, the breathable bag 32 is interposed between the ammonium bicarbonate 31 and the outside air, which somewhat inhibits contact between the ammonium bicarbonate 31 and the outside air, making the hydrolysis reaction of the ammonium bicarbonate 31 slower, and making it possible to maintain the generation of carbon dioxide gas over the extermination period (for example, one week or more) with an economical and manageable amount of ammonium bicarbonate.

[0014] The attractant 3 is placed on the trap 2. Because the carbon dioxide gas generated from the attractant 3 is heavier than air, the attractant 3 is preferably placed near the trap 2 and at a higher position than the trap 2.

[0015] As described above, in the attractant 3, water is generated by the decomposition of the ammonium bicarbonate 31. This water may accumulate in or around the trap 2 or may penetrate into the trap 2. Therefore, the bed bug trapping device 1 may further include a tray 4 between the trap 2 and the attractant 3 above and below to catch the water generated by the attractant 3. The tray 4 is made of a waterproof material. By using the tray 4 to catch the water generated by the attractant 3, it is possible to prevent the water from diffusing and penetrating into the trap 2. To retain water in the tray 4, a water-absorbing material 40 such as a water-absorbent polymer may be laid on the tray 4. Alternatively, a sheet-like water-absorbing material 40 with a waterproof underside may be provided instead of the tray 4. Alternatively, the upper surface of the trap 2 may have a surrounding embankment and be made of a waterproof material so as to function as the tray 4.

[0016] In the bed bug trapping device 1 configured as described above, the attractant 3 is packaged in moisture-proof packaging to prevent moisture absorption before use. When starting to use the bed bug trapping device 1, the attractant 3 is removed from the packaging and placed on the trap 2. By removing the attractant 3 from the packaging, the ammonium bicarbonate 31 of the attractant 3 comes into contact with moisture in the air, and carbon dioxide gas is generated by the hydrolysis reaction of the ammonium bicarbonate 31. The carbon dioxide gas generated from the attractant 3 diffuses into the bed bug trapping device 1 and its vicinity, attracting bed bugs. Bed bugs attracted by the attractant 3 enter the trap 2 and are captured by the adhesive 22.

[0017] In the bed bug trapping device 1, the attractant 3 must be removed from its packaging and set up before use. To simplify this process, the attractant 3 is preferably placed on the main body 20. Furthermore, since water is generated from the attractant 3 during use, the attractant 3 is preferably placed on the main body 20 to prevent the adhesive surface 21 for capturing bed bugs from getting wet. However, the placement of the attractant 3 is not limited to the main body 20. For example, the attractant 3 may be placed adjacent to the main body 20 of the trap 2, on the side of the main body 20. Alternatively, the attractant 3 may be placed on the inner bottom of the main body 20, surrounded by the adhesive surface 21. In either case, the attractant 3 is preferably placed on the tray 4 together with the water absorbent 40.

[0018] The main body 20 of the trap 2 of the bed bug trapping device 1 according to the embodiment described above is three-dimensional, having a top surface and a bottom surface, and the adhesive surface 21 is not exposed to the outside, making the bed bug trapping device 1 easy to handle. However, the main body 20 of the trap 2 is not limited to being three-dimensional and may be flat. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of a bed bug trapping device 1A according to a modified embodiment. In the modified bed bug trapping device 1A, the main body 20A of the trap 2 has an upper surface covered with an adhesive 22 and is flat, having an adhesive surface 21 on the upper surface. In this case, the attractant 3 may be placed approximately in the center of the adhesive surface 21 of the main body 20A of the trap 2. Preferably, the attractant 3 is placed on the adhesive surface 21 while being placed on the tray 4 together with the water absorbent 40. In the bed bug trapping device 1A having this configuration, bed bugs attracted by the attractant 3 enter the adhesive surface 21 from the periphery of the flat plate-shaped main body 20A and are trapped on the adhesive surface 21.

[0019] Example Here, a test conducted to confirm the bed bug attracting effect of the bed bug trapping device 1 will be described.

[0020] -Test equipment- Figure 3 is a plan view of the test apparatus. As shown in Figure 3, the test apparatus includes a rectangular plastic container 41 measuring 44 cm x 33 cm x 16 cm in plan view, a bed bug trapping device 1 placed at one longitudinal end of the container 41, a 90 mm diameter glass ring 42 placed at the other longitudinal end of the container 41, and filter paper 44 placed within the glass ring 42. The filter paper 44 is a 55 mm diameter qualitative filter paper (Advantec Toyo Co., Ltd., No. 2) folded like an accordion. The test insects used were adult male bed bugs collected from an infested facility and fasted at 25°C for at least six days. A comparative bed bug trapping device was also prepared by omitting the ammonium bicarbonate 31 (attractant 3) from the bed bug trapping device 1.

[0021] -Test method- (1) With no bed bug trapping device 1 installed in the container 41, 10 test insects were released into the glass ring 42 and left to stand in a bright container 41 at a temperature of 25°C and a relative humidity of 50%RH. (2) After 24 hours had passed since the start of the standing, the bed bug trapping device 1 was placed in the container 41, and the attractant 3 was allowed to come into contact with the air. After that, the glass ring 42 was removed from the filter paper 44, and the container 41 was quickly darkened. (3) After 24 hours had passed since the container 41 was darkened, the bed bug trapping device 1 was removed from the container 41, and the number of test insects trapped by the bed bug trapping device 1 was counted. (4) A control test was conducted using a comparative bed bug trapping device instead of the bed bug trapping device 1, following the same steps as in (1)-(3) above. (5) Just before placing the bed bug trapping device 1 in the container 41 in step (2) above, the temperature inside the container 41 (i.e., the ambient temperature) was changed to 10, 15, 20, 30, and 35°C, and a test consisting of steps (1) to (3) above was carried out. The test was repeated five times for each temperature.

[0022] -Analysis method- (a) Comparison of the number of captures with and without attractant 3 at an environmental temperature of 25°C. (b) Comparison of the number of captures when the environmental temperature was changed to 10, 15, 20, 30, and 35°C. (c) Analysis of the relationship between environmental temperature and catch numbers; The analysis software used was KyPlot 6.0 (manufactured by Kaience Co., Ltd.).

[0023] -Test Results- Figure 4 is a graph showing the relationship between environmental temperature and the number of catches obtained from the test results. The test results will be explained based on Figure 4. (a) At 25°C, the [mean number of captured ± standard deviation] in the presence of attractant 3 was [2.8 ± 1.3] individuals, while the [mean number of captured ± standard deviation] in the absence of attractant 3 was [0.6 ± 0.5] individuals. The p-value of the t-test was less than 0.05. Therefore, it was found that the number of captured individuals differed significantly depending on the presence or absence of attractant 3, i.e., the carbon dioxide gas generator. (b) The mean number of captures ± standard deviation at each temperature was 0.4 ± 0.5 at 10°C, 1.0 ± 1.0 at 15°C, 1.6 ± 0.5 at 20°C, 3.0 ± 1.2 at 30°C, and 3.6 ± 1.5 at 35°C. The p-value of the Tukey test was less than 0.05. Therefore, the number of captures at 10°C was significantly different from those at 25, 30, and 35°C, and the number of captures at 15°C was significantly different from those at 35°C. (c) Regarding temperature and number of catches, the Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient r was 0.74, and the p-value, which indicates the significance of the correlation coefficient, was less than 0.001. This means that there is a strong positive correlation between temperature and number of catches, and a significant difference was observed. In other words, a relationship was observed in which the number of catches increases as the temperature increases.

[0024] From the above test results, it was confirmed that the attractant 3 of the bed bug trapping device 1, that is, the carbon dioxide gas generated from the ammonium bicarbonate 31 as a carbon dioxide gas generating agent, can attract bed bugs.

[0025] [Summary] The bed bug trapping device 1, 1A according to the first aspect of the present disclosure is a trap 2 having an adhesive surface 21 for trapping bed bugs; and an attractant (3) disposed on the trap (2), The attractant 3 includes a solid ammonium bicarbonate 31 and a breathable bag 32 containing the ammonium bicarbonate 31 .

[0026] With the bed bug trapping device 1 configured as described above, the ammonium bicarbonate 31 in the attractant 3 absorbs moisture from the air and decomposes, generating carbon dioxide gas. Bed bugs are attracted to this carbon dioxide gas and enter the trap 2, where they are captured. The configuration of the bed bug trapping device 1 is relatively simple, providing a bed bug trapping device 1 that is simpler and less expensive than those that use carbon dioxide gas cylinders. Furthermore, the decomposition of ammonium bicarbonate 31 in a room at room temperature and normal pressure generates carbon dioxide gas more slowly than the sublimation of solid carbon dioxide, and the bed bug attracting effect can be maintained for a longer period of time than when solid carbon dioxide is used.

[0027] The bed bug trapping device 1 according to the second item of the present disclosure is the bed bug trapping device 1 according to the first item, in which the trap 2 is cylindrical with an opening on the side through which bed bugs can enter, has a main body 20 with an adhesive surface 21 on the inner bottom, and an attractant 3 is placed on or inside the main body 20.

[0028] In the bed bug trapping device 1 configured as described above, the adhesive surface 21 is disposed inside the main body 20, making it easy to handle.

[0029] The bed bug trapping device 1 according to the third aspect of the present disclosure is the bed bug trapping device 1 according to the first or second aspect, further comprising a tray 4 for receiving water produced from the attractant 3.

[0030] The water generated by the decomposition of the ammonium hydrogen carbonate 31 can be received by the tray 4. This prevents the water from diffusing into the trap 2 and its surroundings.

[0031] The bed bug trapping device 1 according to the fourth aspect of the present disclosure is the bed bug trapping device 1 according to any one of the first to third aspects, further comprising a water absorbing body 40 that absorbs water produced from the attractant 3.

[0032] The water generated by the decomposition of the ammonium hydrogen carbonate 31 can be absorbed by the water absorbent body 40. Therefore, even if the bed bug trapping device 1 is tilted, the water will not spill, making the bed bug trapping device 1 easy to handle.

[0033] A bed bug capturing method according to the fifth aspect of the present disclosure includes: A trap 2 having an adhesive surface 21 for capturing bed bugs is placed; Ammonium bicarbonate 31 contained in a breathable bag is placed on the trap 2, The carbon dioxide gas produced by the decomposition of ammonium bicarbonate 31 attracts bedbugs to the trap 2 and traps them.

[0034] The bed bug trapping method described above allows for the generation of carbon dioxide gas in a simpler and more cost-effective manner than using a carbon dioxide gas cylinder. Furthermore, the decomposition of ammonium bicarbonate 31 in a room at room temperature and normal pressure generates carbon dioxide gas more slowly than the sublimation of solid carbon dioxide, and the bed bug attracting effect can be maintained for a longer period of time than when solid carbon dioxide is used. [Explanation of symbols]

[0035] 1: Bed bug trap 2: Trap 22: Adhesive 3: Attractant 31: Ammonium bicarbonate 32: Nonwoven fabric 4: Tray

Claims

1. a trap having an adhesive surface for capturing bed bugs; an attractant disposed on the trap; The attractant includes solid ammonium bicarbonate and a breathable bag containing the ammonium bicarbonate. Bed bug trapping device.

2. The trap has a cylindrical body with an opening on the side through which bed bugs can enter, and the adhesive surface is disposed on the inner bottom thereof; The attractant is disposed on or in the body.

2. The bed bug trapping device of claim 1.

3. Further provided is a tray for receiving water generated from the attractant.

3. A bed bug trapping device according to claim 1 or 2.

4. Further provided is a water absorbing body that absorbs water generated from the attractant.

3. A bed bug trapping device according to claim 1 or 2.

5. A trap having an adhesive surface for capturing bed bugs is placed; ammonium bicarbonate contained in a breathable bag is placed on the trap; The bed bugs are attracted to the trap by the carbon dioxide gas produced by the decomposition of the ammonium bicarbonate, and are captured. How to trap bed bugs.

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