Bed bugs only feed on their hosts for a short time before hiding until it’s time for their next meal. British entomologists have found that this behavior is due to triglycerides on human skin, which repel the insects. Credit: Photo by Matt Barton
University of Kentucky entomology researchers have found that skin triglycerides, or lipids, deter bed bugs from staying on human hosts for very long. Their discovery could lead to new management strategies for this important human pest.
“We already knew that human body odors, carbon dioxide, and heat attract bed bugs to feed on humans. Our latest research shows that the reason they don’t stay on people like other pests like lice is due to lipids or triglycerides in our skin causing them to leave their hosts and settle in nearby places like beds and mattresses hide,” he told Zach DeVries, assistant professor of urban entomology at the UK College of Agriculture, Food and Environment.
DeVries and Sudip Gaire, UK postdocs, tested this latest finding by rubbing a strip of filter paper over participants’ skin to collect samples. Research participants represented a wide range of ages and ethnicities. They also tested the theory on several populations of bed bugs grown in the lab and collected in the field.
“Our results were consistent across all triglyceride types, all participant groups, and all bed bug populations,” DeVries said. “Bed bugs almost always preferred the control filter strip to the one with skin triglycerides.”
“The bed bugs don’t like to sit on skin triglycerides and refuse to stay on surfaces that contain triglycerides,” Gaire said. “We’ve had tremendous results using only a small amount of triglycerides.”
While more research is needed to find out why bed bugs dislike triglycerides and whether there are other potential bed bug repellents in human skin, DeVries and Gaire believe this could be an important start to more effective bed bug control.
“Our finding could reveal several potential management opportunities,” DeVries said. “It’s possible that our findings could be used to discourage bed bugs from hitchhiking on people’s property, thereby reducing their spread.”
The results were first published in the journal Scientific Reports.
Reference: “Human skin triglycerides prevent bed bug (Cimex lectularius L.) arrest” by Sudip Gaire, Zachary C DeVries, Russell Mick, Richard G Santangelo, Grazia Bottillo, Emanuela Camera and Coby Schal, December 8, 2021, Scientific Reports .
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-01981-1
Other researchers in the study include Russell Mick, Richard Santangelo and Coby Schal
” data-gt-translate-attributes=”[{“attribute”:”data-cmtooltip”, “format”:”html”}]”>North Carolina State Universityand Grazia Bottillo and Emanuela Camera from the San Gallicano Dermatological Institute in Rome, Italy.
The researchers were funded by grants awarded by the United Kingdom from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development and the National Institutes of Health, and grants awarded by North Carolina State University from the National Science Foundation, the US Department of the Army, the US Department of Housing and Urban Development and North Carolina State University received the Blanton J. Whitmore Foundation.
The research reported in this publication was supported by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development in an award KYHHU0061-20 totaling $400,000, 100% funded by HUD.
Research reported in this publication was supported by the Office of the Director of the National Institutes of Health under grant number DP5OD028155. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.
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