Beating bedbugs

Bedbug infestations are notoriously hard to eliminate, but University of Florida (UF) researchers have developed a low-cost, low-tech method to kill the bloodsucking insects in furniture and bedding, using heat.

With less than $400 (£245) in equipment they created a portable chamber big enough for a bed or dresser. Heaters inside the chamber gently raise its air temperature to a minimum of 113^oF - enough to destroy the insects but not damage the items.

Treatment takes from two to seven hours, said urban entomologist Phil Koehler, a professor with UF’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. The method killed 100 per cent of bedbugs in nine out of 11 trials conducted in dormitories and apartments.

’You’re very limited in what you can do to fight bedbugs,’ he added. ’This is a good way to relieve infestations in bedding and other items people have close contact with, and it controls all life stages of bedbugs.’