New York City and New Jersey residents may be interested to know that a researcher has created an inexpensive homemade bed bug detector. A researcher at Rutgers University in New Brunswick placed dry ice pellets into an insulated jug and left the pour hole open a little bit to allow carbon dioxide to leak out of the jug at room temperature. Bed bugs are attracted to carbon dioxide.
He stood the jug in a plastic cat food dish and taped a piece of paper on the outside of the dish which served as a ramp to the rim. He applied some talcum powder to the slippery inside of the jug to prevent the odious bed bugs from crawling out of the jug trap.
He claims in tests performed in apartments the homemade bed bug detector did as good or better than two brands of professional exterminating equipment. This inexpensive device will let people know if bed bugs are lurking in their residence. New Jersey and New York City residents can then ask a bed bugs pest control expert to destroy the critters.