Pheromones in shed skins may aid fight against bed bugs

RIVERSIDE, Calif., July 20 (UPI) -- A new study shows bed-bug skins continue to emit pheromones after they've been shed. Researchers at the University of California, Riverside are working isolate these pheromones and use them to attract and trap the blood-sucking pests.

As bed bugs grow, they shed their skin. The excised skins are called exuviae. New research shows pheromone glands remain in these skins and continue to release four pheromone compounds called aldehydes.

The new study also showed that living bedbugs prefer to settle in the vicinity of these discarded skins, suggesting the volatile compounds could be used to attract the pests.

"This could be a key development in the search to find new methods to detect bed bugs," researcher Dong-Hwan Choe, an assistant professor of entomology, said in a news release.

Researchers measured the release of volatile compounds from the shed skins in the lab. Though the skins release less of the four pheromones over time, the aldehydes were still detected as many as 99 days after being initially shed.

Scientists are now considering ways to use their findings to develop monitor traps capable of catching living bed bugs. Monitor traps are key to identifying the early stages of infestation.

The research was published in the journal PLOS ONE.