Bedbug (Cimex lectularius) infestation and its control practices in two selected settlements in Ilorin, Kwara State, Nigeria

Abstract

Bedbugs are cosmopolitan insects of public health importance. Their characteristic biting and blood feeding activities result in both physical symptoms and psychological distress in affected hosts. This study investigated the incidence of bedbug and control practices among students and indigenes living in two different settlements in Ilorin, Nigeria. Bedbug were surveyed and collected from household materials from fifty apartments randomly selected from each of the new and old student hostels and family houses in Tanke and Oja-Oba area of Ilorin. Bedbugs collected were persevered in 70 % alcohol and identified using taxonomic keys. A structured questionnaire was used to obtain information on respondent’s demography, perception about bedbug infestation and control practices in sampled houses in the study areas. Sampled data were analysis using percentages. Results from the survey revealed that the number of respondents with knowledge of bedbug was not significant (p>0.05) compared with those without. Family houses in indigenous Oja-Oba study location were the only site with bed-bug infestation. Higher numbers of bedbugs were collected on mattresses. Out of the 200 respondents, 20 (10 %) employed the use of chemical method in bedbug control and precisely, 12 (60%) of these use a locally made formulation named otapiapia. The intensity of infestation in Oja-Oba and insignificant knowledge of bedbug among the respondents suggest the need to raise the level of public awareness and also canvass for an improved living conditions in the affected areas.

Keywords: Bedbug, Cimex lectularius, Infestation, Control practices, Ilorin