Stony Brook Researchers Find Way to Trap Bed Bugs

Stony Brook University researchers have found a way to make sure the bed bugs won't be climbing into your bed at night. 

Researchers at Stony Brook University's Center for Advanced Technology have developed a new nanotechnology that uses a man-made web of microfibers 50 times thinner than a human hair that entangles bed bugs and other insects, trapping them, reports Laboratory Equipment.

"Our nanotechnology produces entanglements that are millions of times more dense than woven products such as fabrics or carpets,” said lead researcher Miriam Rafailovich, a Stony Brook Distinguished Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, told Laboratory Research. “The microfibers trap them by attaching to microstructures on their legs taking away their ability to move, which stops them from feeding and reproducing.”

Others involved in the research include scientist Ying Liu, a scientist with Stony Brook University’s Advanced Energy Research and Technology Center, and graduate students Shan He and Linxi Zhang.

Fibertrap, a private company that uses non-toxic pest control methods, is already looking to commercial this patent-pending technology. 

Read more on Laboratory Equipment about the new found technology.