Xenointoxication of a Rabbit for the Control of the Common Bed Bug Cimex lectularius L. Using Ivermectin
Gale E. Ridge,
Wade Elmer,
Stephanie Gaines,
Xiaolin Li,
Danie Schlatzer,
Kim McClure-Brinton,
Johnathan M. Sheele
Affiliations
Gale E. Ridge
The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, 123 Huntington Street, P.O. Box 1106, New Haven, CT 06504, USA
Wade Elmer
The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, 123 Huntington Street, P.O. Box 1106, New Haven, CT 06504, USA
Stephanie Gaines
University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center & Case Western Reserve University, Department of Emergency Medicine, 11100 Euclid Ave., Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
Xiaolin Li
Case Western Reserve University, 11000 Euclid Ave., Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
Danie Schlatzer
Case Western Reserve University, 11000 Euclid Ave., Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
Kim McClure-Brinton
Country Companions Veterinary Services, 116 Old Amity Road, Bethany, CT 06524, USA
Johnathan M. Sheele
University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center & Case Western Reserve University, Department of Emergency Medicine, 11100 Euclid Ave., Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
Human bed bug infestations have undergone a recent global resurgence. The human antiparasitic drug ivermectin has been proposed as a strategy to help control bed bug infestations, but in vivo data are lacking. We allowed separate populations of the common bed bug, Cimex lectularius L., to feed once on a rabbit before and after it was injected subcutaneously with 0.3 mg/kg of ivermectin, and bed bug morbidity and mortality were recorded. Ivermectin levels in the rabbit were measured using high-performance liquid chromatography and mass spectroscopy. Ivermectin blood levels of ∼2 ng/mL caused reductions in bed bug fecundity, and levels of >8 ng/mL caused bed bug death and long-term morbidity including reductions in refeeding, mobility, reproduction, and molting. Gut bacterial cultures from the fed bed bugs showed that ivermectin altered the bed bug gut microbiome.
