Over the years we have used glue board traps extensively and trained landlords on how to build and use them as well. We have noted that it is entirely possible, given the right circumstances and tenant cooperation, to remove all bed bugs from a suite with nothing more than heat sterilizing the beds and stuffed furniture and setting up glue board traps under the bed and couch legs (see previous post entitled “modified glue board traps, chemical free eradication, and the requirements for success”).
I contracted with Dr. Richard Naylor (bed bug specialist with experience in bed bug lab trials) to evaluate the hard floor variant modified glue board trap. After some prework Richard suggested limiting the waxy bottom substrate to 5mm or 6mm beyond the cut glue board edge and this was incorporated into the trial. He set up separate arenas (with floors simulating a hardwood floor) for both Climb Up Interceptors and the modified glue board trap. Each arena was provided with 15 adult recently fed bugs and 15 unfed bugs (30 bugs total) in a corrugated paper harbourage and provided Co2 and heat source lures in a day night cycle for 2 weeks.
After two weeks the climb up interceptor caught 3 out of 30 bugs (10%) and the modified glue board caught 24 out of 30 (80%). It appears that my observations are broadly similar to Richard’s trial with the glue board outperforming the Climbup eight to one.
I very much appreciated discussing these trials with Richard and valued his suggestions. Normally when I talk bed bugs with my exterminator peers I just get blank looks. I do recommend his services.