Researchers from Rutgers University found that bed bugs that were allowed to feed after being treated with insecticides had greater survival rates and rates of survival or took longer to die, according to an article on the Infection Control Today website.
In one case, bed bugs that were unable to feed after being sprayed with an insecticide had a mortality rate of 94 percent. But bed bugs that did feed after being sprayed with the same insecticide had a mortality rate of just 4 percent after 11 days.
Most experiments that test the efficacy of insecticides against bed bugs are performed in labs. However, in the field, bed bugs can feed after being treated with an insecticide.
"Many of the insecticides labeled for bed bug control may not be as effective as claimed, because of the inadequate testing method," said Dr. Narinderpal Singh, a study co-author.
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