Effect of various concentrations of the pain medication ibuprofen in reconstituted human blood on feeding and fecundity of bed bugs (Cimex lectularius L.)

Recent resurgence in the common bed bugs (Cimex lectularius L.) infestation worldwide has created a need for renewed research on biology, behavior, population genetics and management practices. Pain medication is used by numerous individuals on a daily basis for acute or chronic pain. Ibuprofen is one such pain medication and is present in several prescribed and over the counter formulation. This research focuses on determining the effect of the pain medication ibuprofen in reconstituted human blood (RHB) on bed bugs biology including feeding and fecundity. Five ibuprofen concentrations (40, 80,120,160 and 200 ppm) were tested and control. The experimental design was a complete randomized design consisting of 20 adult bed bugs (10 males and 10 females) per treatment with 6 replications per treatment. The groups of 20 adult bed bugs were weighed, allowed to feed for 45 minutes and then weighed again to determine mass percent increase. They were then placed in a growth chamber undisturbed for 7 days to determine fecundity. An average mass percent increase of 125.65% (±4.59%) was recorded for the control treatment. Bed bugs fed on 200 ppm ibuprofen showed an average mass percent increases of 157.30% (± 5.80%). A total of 306 (average 51.00 ± 7.74) eggs were produced by bed bugs in control and 146 (average 24.33 ± 0.80) eggs produced by bed bugs fed on the highest ibuprofen concentration of adulterated blood. There was a negative correlation between the ibuprofen concentrations and the numbers of eggs produced. No correlation was observed between the ibuprofen concentration and the percent mass increase. Nymph emergence was greater than 94% for all treatments. These results suggested that increasing ibuprofen concentrations in RHB negatively impacted bed bugs egg laying capacity, but do not affect their ability to feed to repletion.