” Our findings corresponded across all triglyceride types, all individual groups, and all bed bug populations,” DeVries stated. “Bed bugs almost constantly preferred the control filter strip to the one containing skin triglycerides.”
” The bed bugs do not like to rest on skin triglycerides and refuse to remain on surface areas that contain triglycerides,” Gaire stated. “We got significant outcomes by utilizing just a percentage of triglycerides.”
While further research study is needed to explore why bed bugs do not like the triglycerides and if there are other possible bed bug repellents in human skin, DeVries and Gaire believe this might be an essential beginning to more reliable bed bug control.
” There might be numerous possible management opportunities from our finding,” DeVries said. “Its possible that our findings might be used to prevent bed bugs from hitchhiking on peoples personal belongings, therefore lowering their spread.”
The findings were first reported in the journal Scientific Reports.
Reference: “Human skin triglycerides prevent bed bug (Cimex lectularius L.) arrestment” by Sudip Gaire, Zachary C. DeVries, Russell Mick, Richard G. Santangelo, Grazia Bottillo, Emanuela Camera and Coby Schal, 8 December 2021, Scientific Reports.DOI: 10.1038/ s41598-021-01981-1.
Extra researchers in the study include Russell Mick, Richard Santangelo and Coby Schal from North Carolina State University, and Grazia Bottillo and Emanuela Camera from the San Gallicano Dermatological Institute in Rome, Italy.
The scientists were moneyed by grants UK received from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and National Institutes of Health and grants North Carolina State University got from the National Science Foundation, U.S. Department of the Army, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Blanton J. Whitmore Endowment.
Research study reported in this publication was supported by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development as part of an award KYHHU0061-20 amounting to $400,000, 100% of which was funded by HUD..
Research study reported in this publication was supported by the Office of the Director of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number DP5OD028155. The material is exclusively the obligation of the authors and does not necessarily represent the main views of the National Institutes of Health.
Bed bugs only feed on their hosts for a brief time before moving away to conceal until it is time for their next meal. UK entomologists have actually discovered this habits is because of triglycerides on human skin that repel the bugs. Credit: Photo by Matt Barton
University of Kentucky entomology researchers have actually found that skin triglycerides, or lipids, keep bed bugs from staying extremely long on human hosts. Their finding could result in brand-new management techniques for this crucial human insect.
” We already understood that human body smells, carbon dioxide, and heat draw in bed bugs to feed upon individuals. Our newest research study shows the factor they do not remain on human beings like other pests, such as lice, is because of lipids or triglycerides in our skin that trigger them to leave their hosts and hide in close-by locations, such as beds and mattresses,” said Zach DeVries, assistant professor of metropolitan entomology with the UK College of Agriculture, Food and Environment.
DeVries and Sudip Gaire, UK postdoctoral scholar, tested this most current finding by rubbing a strip of filter paper on participants skin to collect samples. Research individuals represented many ages and ethnic cultures. They likewise checked the theory on multiple populations of bed bugs raised in the lab and gathered in the field.
Bed bugs just feed on their hosts for a short time before moving away to hide until it is time for their next meal. UK entomologists have actually discovered this behavior is due to triglycerides on human skin that ward off the bugs. DeVries and Sudip Gaire, UK postdoctoral scholar, tested this newest finding by rubbing a strip of filter paper on individuals skin to gather samples. They also evaluated the theory on numerous populations of bed bugs raised in the laboratory and gathered in the field.