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Toxicity and potential utility of ivermectin and moxidectin as xenointoxicants against the common bed bug, Cimex lectularius L.

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Abstract

The recent resurgence of the common bed bug Cimex lectularius L. throughout western industrialized nations has been facilitated in part by the insect becoming pesticide-resistant. Novel control strategies, including xenointoxication, should be considered to combat C. lectularius. Ivermectin, a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved treatment for several human parasites, and the antiparasitic drug moxidectin, currently being explored in human clinical trials, were evaluated for efficacy against C. lectularius. Results showed that C. lectularius fed on ivermectin or moxidectin blood concentrations of >25 ng/mL and had significantly higher mortality (50–100 %) than controls (0–6 %) by day 13. Bed bugs that survived a blood meal containing >2.5 ng/mL of ivermectin suffered long-term sequelae including reduced fecundity, feeding difficulty, and incomplete ecdysis. Some insects that survived a blood meal containing ≤75 ng/mL moxidectin were able to feed and reproduce.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Katirina Coppolino, Nikhil Mallipeddi, and the Emergency Medicine Research Division (EMRD). We thank Dr. Tom McCormick for laboratory supplies and technical advice. We thank Megan Christopher and Dr. Kirby C. Stafford III (CAES) for reviewing the manuscript. We thank Nathan Morris, Ph.D. for statistical advice. We thank the UHCMC Department of Emergency Medicine.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Emergency Medicine, University Hospitals Case Medical Center and Case Western Reserve University, 11100 Euclid Ave. B-517K, Cleveland, OH, 44106, USA

    Johnathan M. Sheele

  2. The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, 123 Huntington Street, P. O. Box 1106, New Haven, CT, 06504, USA

    Gale E. Ridge

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  1. Johnathan M. Sheele
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  2. Gale E. Ridge
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Correspondence to Johnathan M. Sheele.

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Sheele, J.M., Ridge, G.E. Toxicity and potential utility of ivermectin and moxidectin as xenointoxicants against the common bed bug, Cimex lectularius L.. Parasitol Res 115, 3071–3081 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-016-5062-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-016-5062-x

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