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theses

The German cockroach, Blattella germanica L. (Blattodea: Blattellidae), and the common bed bug, Cimex lectularius L. (Hemiptera: Cimicidae), are two common indoor pests of significant medical, economical, and social importance. In my studies, I evaluated several novel approaches for managing German cockroaches and bed bugs in apartment buildings. My researches involved both field and laboratory studies. In my first study, I determined the effect of a community-wide cockroach integrated pest management (IPM) on cockroach and pyrethroid residue reduction in a complex consisting of 258 units within 40 buildings in New Brunswick, New Jersey. At 7 mo after IPM implementation, 85% of the cockroach infestations found in the initial survey were eliminated. After 7 mo, the average number of detected pyrethroids decreased significantly from 6 ± 1 mean (± SEM) and 5 ± 1 to 2 ± 1 and 3 ± 1 in the kitchen and bedroom, respectively; the average concentrations of targeted pyrethroids residue decreased significantly from initial concentrations of 1.45 ± 0.39 and 3.31 ± 2.22 ng/cm2 to 0.29 ± 0.17 and 0.80 ± 0.61 ng/cm2 in the kitchen and bedroom, respectively. In my second study, I investigated the spatial distribution patterns of German cockroach infestations in a 188-unit high-rise apartment building before and after building-wide IPM implementation, and determined the optimum cockroach monitoring method in apartments. I found that the cockroach infestations among the apartments within the building were not independently distributed at 0 mo; infestations facing each other across the hallway, sharing walls, and sharing ceiling/floor were correlated to each other. However, infestations at 12 mo after IPM implementation were independent from each other. New infestations at 6 and 12 mo after IPM implementation were independent from existing infestations. Compared to 2 d trap placement, 14 d trap placement not only had higher trap catch, but also detected more infestations; therefore a longer period of trap placement is recommended for cockroach monitoring. In my third study, I evaluated the toxicities of various essential oils, silicone oils, and paraffin oil against bed bugs. The LD50 values of the most effective essential oil (blood orange), paraffin oil (C5-20 Paraffins), and the most effective silicone oil (Dodecamethylpentasiloxane) were 0.184 ± 0.018, 0.069 ± 0.012, and 0.036 ± 0.005 mg/bug, respectively. Direct spray of 1% water solution of 3-[Hydroxy (polyethyleneoxy) propyl] heptamethyltrisiloxane, the only silicone oil that mixes well with water, resulted in 92% bed bug mortality after 1 d. Results of this study indicated silicone oils and paraffin oil have the potential to be used as a safer alternative bed bug control materials. In my fourth study, I evaluated the effect of moxidectin, an anthelmintic drug, on bed bug feeding, development, fecundity, and mortality. High concentrations of moxidectin reduced the fecundity of bed bug females. One time feeding on rabbit blood containing 20 and 40 ng/ml moxidectin significantly reduced digestion rates and nymph molting rates. Therefore, moxidectin treatment is a promising addition to the existing bed bug management tools if its use on human can be approved in the future.

ETD_8291

Ph.D.

Includes bibliographical references

by Chen Zha

doi:10.7282/T3TM7F8C

ETD doctoral

The author owns the copyright to this work.