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Can This Leaf Stop Bedbugs From Ruining Your Life?
By
Jen Carlson
Published Apr 10, 2013
Modified Apr 10, 2013
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Image courtesy of University of California-Irvine
By
Jen Carlson
Published Apr 10, 2013
Modified Apr 10, 2013
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Modern day humans have been forced on an endless quest to eradicate bedbugs, but could a solution come from those who battled them before us? According to a new study from by The Journal of the Royal Society Interface, scientists may have found some hope in bean leaves.
Turns out "generations of Eastern European housewives" battled the bugs by putting bean leaves on the floor of an infested room at night, according to the NY Times—and by morning, they would be trapped in the leaves, and then burned. Our Heroes the scientists are now trying to recreate the leaves, with artificial hooks, synthetically. Biologist Catherine Loudon told the Times:
“If someone had suggested to me that impaling insects with little tiny hooks would be a valid form of pest control, I wouldn’t have given it credence. You can think of lots of reasons why it wouldn’t work. That’s why it’s so amazing.”
Why not just use the actual leaves? Apparently "they dry out fairly quickly and lose their grasping ability. They also cannot easily be applied to clothing, bedding and other fabrics. If the inner workings of the trichomes can be determined, a synthetic alternative can be produced to be applicable to specific surfaces." In the meantime, we guess there's always glue traps.
The scientists even say that the leaves somehow, magically catch the bugs through their only vulnerable spot: their legs (“as soon as one leg gets caught, they are rapidly moving legs around and try to get away on the surface. That’s when they get multiply impaled")... and that's what they're trying to recreate. Are the bean leaves a bedbug kryptonite? The scientists behind the study believe that "bio-inspired microfabrication techniques have the potential to harness the bedbug-entrapping power of natural leaf surfaces.” GAME ON, buggerf*ckers.
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bed bugs
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Jen Carlson
Jen Carlson is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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