Bed Bugs Experiment

There are several different kinds of arthropods that feed off of and find nutrients from blood. These kinds of arthropods are also called “hematophagous,” or “bed bugs.” In this experiment, the researchers attempted to distinguish which chemicals would most effectively initiate and persuade feeding in different parts of a bed bug’s life. Various feeding stimulants, such as ATP, ADP, and AMP were used in a feeding system. Of these stimulants, it was found that the most effective chemical in initiating feeding was ATP. ATP was most effective in adult bed bugs and nymphs. AMP was the least effective of the three chemicals, and ADP was only effective some of the time. The purpose of this experiment was to research and develop ideas on how to create …show more content…
It has been shown that bed bugs can have a physiological and psychological effect on its human hosts. Bed bugs can cause severe skin syndromes and reactions, such as swelling blisters on the skin. Other physiological effects from bed bugs can be blood loss and iron deficit. Psychological effects due to bed bugs include anxiety, nervousness, extreme stress, insomnia, and tension. There are psychological effects along with physiological effects from bed bugs because these arthropods are associated with bedrooms. A person who has been bitten multiple times will associate places like these with bed bugs, therefore tying anxiety to that specific place. It has also been shown that bed bugs are active at night. Throughout the years, there have been various hypotheses as to how bed bugs locate a host. In 1932, it was hypothesized that the locating of hosts by bed bugs were completely random. In 1955, it was hypothesized that heat and CO2 emitting from a person is what attracted bed bugs. It was found in 2012 that bed bugs are not in fact attracted to human