Abstract
The present invention relates to a trap (10) for bed bugs (2) comprising an inner element (20) having an outer surface (24) delimited by a first base (22) and a first top (26), and an outer element (80) being hollow and having a second base (86) and a second top (88) delimiting an inner surface (84). The outer element is positioned around the inner element with the second top adjacent the first top and the second base adjacent the first base, whereby a tapering space (12), tapering towards the first top, is defined between the outer surface of the inner element and the inner surface of the outer element. The tapering space is accessible to bed bugs crawling on the outer surface of the inner element through a base opening defined between the outer surface of the inner element and the second base. An adhesive (6) is provided on at least part of the inner surface of the outer element for adhering to the dorsal side (4) of a bed bug crawling on the outer surface of the inner element. The invention further relates to a method of detecting and/or trapping bed bugs.
Claims
1. A trap (10) for bed bugs (2) comprising: an inner element (20) having an outer surface (24) delimited by a first base (22) and a first top (26), and an outer element (80) being hollow and having a second base (86) and a second top (88) delimiting an inner surface (84), the outer element being positioned around the inner element with the second top adjacent to the first top and the second base adjacent to the first base, a tapering space (12) being defined between the outer surface of the inner element and the inner surface of the outer element, the tapering space tapering towards the first top, wherein the distance between the outer surface of the inner element (20) and the inner surface of the outer element (80) decreases towards the first top (26), and wherein the distance between the outer surface of the inner element (20) and the inner surface of the outer element (80) is zero at the first top (26), the tapering space being accessible to bed bugs crawling on the outer surface of the inner element through a base opening defined between the outer surface of the inner element and the second base, wherein an adhesive (6) is provided on at least part of the inner surface (84) of the outer element for adhering to a dorsal side (4) of bed bugs crawling on the outer surface of the inner element.
2. The trap (10) according to claim 1, wherein the inner element (20) is hollow and comprises a lure compartment (54) therein, and wherein a hole (28) for establishing fluid communication between the lure compartment and the tapering space (12) is provided in the outer surface (24).
3. The trap (10) according to claim 2, wherein the inner element (20) comprises a plurality of individual lure compartments (54), and wherein the outer surface (24) of the inner element comprises a plurality of holes (28) for establishing fluid communication between a corresponding lure compartment and the tapering space (12).
4. The trap (10) according to claim 2, wherein at least one of the plurality of holes (28) is covered by a puncturable seal or a tearable cover (42).
5. The trap (10) according to claim 1, wherein the inner element (20) is made from paper or plastic.
6. The trap according to claim 1, wherein the inner element is made out of a lure material.
7. The trap (10) according to claim 1, wherein at least one groove (56) or ridge (58), extending at least partly from the first base (22) towards the first top (26), is provided in or on the outer surface (24) of the inner element (20).
8. The trap (10) according to claim 1, wherein the inner surface (84) of the outer element (80), and/or the outer surface (24) of the inner element (20) is provided with at least one spacing element (58, 102) for ensuring a minimum distance (δ) between the outer surface of the inner element and the inner surface of the outer element at the second base.
9. The (10) trap according to claim 1, wherein the outer element (80) has a top opening (88) at the second top (88), the top opening being configured for receiving the first top (26) so that at least part of the first top extends through the top opening.
10. The trap (10) according to claim 1, wherein the first base (22) has a larger cross sectional area than the first top (26), and wherein the second base (86) has a larger cross sectional area than the second top (88).
11. The trap (10) according to claim 1, wherein the inner element (20) has a conical, frustoconical, pyramidal or truncated pyramidal shape, and the outer element (80) has a conical, frustoconical, pyramidal or truncated pyramidal shape.
12. The trap (10) according to claim 1, wherein an area (104) of the inner surface (84) of the outer element (80) adjacent the second top (88) is devoid of adhesive.
13. The trap (10) according to claim 1, wherein the outer element (80) is detachable from the inner element (20).
14. The trap (10) according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the inner and outer elements (20, 80) is made from a folded or bent planar sheet, the planar sheet preferably being provided with a fastener (34) for fastening one part (38) of the planar sheet to another part (32) of the planar sheet to maintain the planar sheet in a folded or bent configuration.
15. The trap (10) according to claim 1, wherein an adhesive (6) is provided on all of the inner surface (84) of the outer element for adhering to the dorsal side (4) of a bed bug crawling on the outer surface of the inner element.
16. The trap (10) according to claim 1, wherein the outer surface of the inner element (20) contacts the inner surface of the outer element (80) at the first top (26).
17. A method of detecting and/or trapping bed bugs (2), comprising the steps of: i. providing a trap (10) according to claim 1, and ii. positioning the trap with the first base towards a planar surface (1) in a locale where bed bugs are present or suspected of being present.
Description
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS AND DETAILED DESCRIPTION
(1) A more complete understanding of the above mentioned and other features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments in conjunction with the appended drawings, wherein:
(2) FIG. 1A is a perspective view of a first embodiment of the trap for bed bugs according to the first aspect of the present invention,
(3) FIG. 1B is a cross sectional view of the trap shown in FIG. 1A,
(4) FIG. 1C is a magnified partial view of the trap shown in FIG. 1A showing the space between the outer and inner surfaces,
(5) FIG. 1D is a top view of an embodiment of the outer element supplied as a flat sheet to be folded into the final shape as used in the trap in FIG. 1A,
(6) FIG. 1E is a top view of an embodiment of the inner element supplied as a flat sheet to be folded into the final shape as used in the trap in FIG. 1A,
(7) FIG. 1F is a side view of an embodiment of the inner element being a rigid hollow plastic element,
(8) FIG. 2A is a side view of an embodiment of the inner element being a rigid hollow plastic element with a plurality of holes for providing access to lure in a plurality of lure compartments in the inner element,
(9) FIG. 2B is a cross sectional view of the embodiment of the inner element shown in FIG. 2A,
(10) FIG. 2C is a perspective view of an embodiment of the inner element being a solid piece moulded from a lure material,
(11) FIG. 2D is a top view of the embodiment of the inner element shown in FIG. 2C,
(12) FIG. 3A is a perspective view of a second embodiment of the trap for bed bugs according to the first aspect of the present invention, this embodiment being characterized by having pyramidical inner and outer elements,
(13) FIG. 3B is a top view of an embodiment of the outer element supplied as a flat sheet to be folded into the final shape as used in the trap in FIG. 3A
(14) FIG. 3C is a bottom view of the embodiment of the outer element shown in FIG. 3B when folded into the final shape as used in the trap in FIG. 3A,
(15) FIG. 3D is a top view of an embodiment of the inner element supplied as a folded structure to be expanded into the final shape as used in the trap in FIG. 3A
(16) FIG. 3E is a bottom view of the embodiment of the inner element shown in FIG. 3D when expanded into the final shape as used in the trap in FIG. 3A,
(17) FIG. 4A is a bottom view of an embodiment of the trap for bed bugs according to the first aspect of the present invention having an inner element having a rectangular base and an outer element having a circular base, and
(18) FIG. 4B is a bottom view of an embodiment of the trap for bed bugs according to the first aspect of the present invention having an inner element having a circular base and an outer element having a rectangular base.
(19) In the figures and the description the same reference numeral is used to refer to the same feature. One or more ‘ added to a reference numeral indicates that the feature so referenced has a similar function, structure or significance as the feature carrying the reference numeral without the’, however not being identical with this feature.
(20) Further, a subscript numeral added to a reference numeral indicates that the feature so referenced is a further one of the feature carrying the reference numeral without the subscript numeral.
(21) FIG. 1A is a perspective view of a first embodiment of the trap 10 for bed bugs according to the first aspect of the present invention. The trap 10 is characterized by a tapering annular space 12 defined between an inner element represented by inner cone 20, having a first base 22, an outer surface 24 and a first top 26, and an outer element represented by outer cone 80 having an outer surface 82, an inner surface 84, a second base 86 and a second top 88. A part of the outer cone 80 extends as a tab or carrying handle 90 for allowing the outer cone 80 to be positioned over and around the inner cone 20.
(22) The inner space 12 is defined by the inner and outer cones 20 and 80 due to the differing cone angles α and β of the respective inner and outer cones where β>α thus creating a distance δ between the outer surface 24 of the inner cone 20 and the inner surface 84 of the outer cone 80, as seen in FIG. 1B which is a cross sectional view of the trap shown in FIG. 1A. The distance δ will decrease along the inner cone 20 along the direction from the base 22 towards the first top 26. In use the trap 10 is placed or fastened with the base 22 of the inner cone 20 towards a flat (planar) surface 1. The base 86 of the outer cone is spaced apart from the base 22 of the inner cone 20, thus resulting in a distance D between the base 86 of the outer cone 80 and the flat surface 1, D preferably being larger than the distance a bed bug can reach. A base opening is defined at reference numeral 86 between the second base 86 and the outer surface 24. The base opening is shaped as an annulus, i.e. it is annular. As is evident from FIG. 1B and FIG. 1C which is a magnified partial view of the trap shown in FIG. 1A showing the space 12 between the outer and inner surfaces 24 and 84, a bed bug 2 crawling over the flat surface 1 encounter the outer surface 24 of the inner cone 20 and will, due to instinct and in some embodiments due to the scent escaping through the hole 28 from a lure placed inside the inner cone 20, explore the outer surface 24, and in particular be enticed by the relative low light conditions prevalent in the tapering space 12 to crawl over the outer surface 24 towards the first top 26. In order to capture or trap the bed bug an adhesive 6 is provided on the inner surface 84 of the outer cone 80 as seen in FIG. 1C. In the vicinity of the bases 22 and 86 of the inner and outer cones 20 and 80 the distance δ is preferably in the range of 0.5-10 mm, such as 1-10 mm or 2-10 mm allowing the bed bug 2 to easily crawl into the tapering space 12. Smaller δ can be used to ensure that only nymphs are able to enter the tapering space 12, while larger δ allow all different stages and sexes of bed bugs to enter the tapering space. However, as the bed bug 2 crawls towards the first top 26 the distance δ decreases until the adhesive 6 on the inner surface 84 contacts the dorsal side 4 of the bed bug 2. At this point the bed bug is caught and immobilized as illustrated by the bed bug 2.sub.2.
(23) Advantageously, due to the distance D, bed bugs crawling on the flat surface 1 will encounter the outer surface 24 of the inner cone 20 before encountering the inner surface 84 of the outer cone 80, i.e. the bed bugs cannot begin their crawling on the trap 10 on the outer cone 80, such as on the outer surface 82 thereof. This decreases the risk that the bed bugs, which by instinct are cautious and therefore would become alarmed and retreat from the trap if their legs should encounter any adhesive 6, are caught fully on their dorsal sides 4 by the adhesive 6 without any advance warning.
(24) Other alternatives are however possible where D is 0, and where a cutout, such as an inverted U-shaped incision is made in the outer element at the second base 86.
(25) The trap 10 is preferably supplied in an unassembled state. Accordingly FIG. 1D is a top view of an embodiment of the outer element or cone 80 supplied as a flat sheet to be folded into the final shape as used in the trap 10 in FIG. 1A. In addition to the features of the outer cone 80 shown in FIGS. 1A-1C the outer cone 80 in unassembled state may comprise a border 92 partitioning off an adhesive area 94 between the border 92 and the first edge 96 of the inner surface 84. The outer cone 80 is then assembled by folding/bending so that the second edge 98 is lined up with the border 92 where the adhesive area 94 contacts the outer surface 82 so as to form a cone shape. A reinforcement patch 100 may as shown in FIG. 1D be adhered to the outer surface 82 of the outer cone 80 to offset the increased bending resistance caused by the double layer material in the region of the adhesive area 94 to thereby ensure a more uniform conical shape of the outer cone 80, this being advantageous in creating an approximately constant distance δ around the circumference of the inner cone 20 (at each fixed vertical distance from the first base 22 of the inner cone 20). Alternatively, or additionally, spacing elements in the form of a number of dots or protrusions, one of which is designated the reference numeral 102, shown also in FIG. 1B, may be arranged on the inner surface 84 along the base 86 of the outer cone 80 to make point contact with the outer surface 24 of the inner cone 20 to thereby secure the distance δ.
(26) Preferably, in order to allow the outer cone 80 to easily be lifted of the inner cone 20 so that the inner surface 84 can be inspected in search of any caught bed bugs 2.sub.2 or other crawling insects, a contact area 104 closest to the top end 88 of the outer cone 80 is devoid of the adhesive 6 which otherwise covers the inner surface 84 of the outer cone 80 including the adhesive region 6, the adhesive of which may be the same as, or different from, the adhesive 6 used to catch the bed bugs.
(27) Likewise the inner element or cone 20 may be supplied in an unassembled form as a flat sheet to be folded into the final shape as used in the trap in FIG. 1A. In a similar fashion, on the inner surface 30 of the inner cone 20 a border 32 defines an adhesive area 34 together with a first edge 36 which may be adhered to the outer or inner surface 24 or 30 with the second edge 38 of the inner cone 20 arranged along the border 32. A reinforcement patch 40 may, similarly to reinforcement patch 100, be adhered to the inner surface 30 of the inner cone 20 to offset the increased bending resistance caused by the double layer material in the region 34 to thereby ensure a more uniform conical shape of the inner cone 20.
(28) Each of the inner and outer cones 20 and 80 supplied as shown in FIGS. 1D and 1E may be provided with release sheet (not shown) temporarily adhered to the respective adhesive areas 94 and 34, and for the outer cone 80 also covering all of the inner surface 84, to prevent inadvertent adhering of the respective cones. Accordingly several outer cones 80 and inner cones 20 may be provided stacked on top of each other in a flat package.
(29) Generally, in use, the outer cone 80 will need to be periodically removed for inspection of the inner surface 84 in search of bed bugs, and also optionally replaced, whereas the inner cone 20 generally will be used for a longer time. Accordingly the inner cone may be fashioned as in FIG. 1F, i.e. as a rigid hollow plastic cone 20′, although typically the inner cone 20 will be made from paper or cardboard.
(30) The trap 10 is preferably used with a scented lure. FIG. 2A is a side view of an embodiment 20″ of the inner cone being a rigid hollow plastic element with a plurality of holes 28 for providing access to lure in a plurality of lure compartments in the inner element, the holes being covered by peelable seals 42 allowing one or more holes 28 to be uncovered so as for example provide different scents, or providing a fresh lure when needed, which will be described in more detail in relation with FIG. 2B. The inner cone 20″ further includes as optional features a through-going hole 44 to be pierced by a retaining rod or pin 46. This allows the removal of an outer cone 80, once placed on the inner cone 20″, to be prevented due to the interference of the ends of the retaining rod or pin 46 with the top end 88 of the outer cone 80 until the retaining rod or pin has been removed from the through going hole 44. This allows the outer cone 80 to be removable yet prevents inadvertent removal. Optionally a string 48 with knot 50 may be attached to the top end 26 of the inner cone 20″, to allow the trap 10 to easily be lifted and handled.
(31) Now turning to FIG. 2B which is a cross sectional view of the embodiment of the inner cone 20″ shown in FIG. 2A, it can be seen that the interior of the inner cone 20″ is divided by partitioning walls 52 into several, in this case four, lure compartments 54, each compartment holding a piece of scent lure 8, 8′,8″,8′″ which preferably are of slightly different composition so as to appeal to different types of bed bugs, thus allowing the trap 10 to be adapted to catching specific bed bug types by peeling of the corresponding seal 42.
(32) Alternatively, the inner cone may be fashioned as a solid piece 20′″ moulded from a lure material as shown in FIGS. 2C and 2D. This is possible for lures which are formulated to be relatively solid at room temperature. Moulding the inner cone 20′″ allows for simple inclusion of further features such as longitudinal grooves 56 for further enticing the bed bugs to crawl over the outer surface 24′ from the base 22′ towards the top end 26, or circumferentially spaced moulded spacing elements 58 to ensure a proper distance δ to the inner surface 84 of the outer cone 80.
(33) FIG. 3A is a perspective view of a second embodiment 10′ of the trap for bed bugs according to the first aspect of the present invention, this embodiment being characterized by having pyramidal inner 20″″ and outer 80′ elements instead of the inner and outer cones 20 and 80. The inner element 20″″ similarly to the inner element shown before comprises a first base 22″ and an outer surface 24″ as well as a first top 26′. The outer element 80′ also comprises an outer surface 82′, an inner surface 84′, a second base 86′ and a second top 88′. Similarly to the trap shown in the preceding figs the angles of the inner and outer pyramidal elements differ so that a tapering space 12′ is defined there between, in which space the bed bugs 2 enter and eventually are trapped by the adhesive 6 on the inner surface of the outer pyramidal element 80′.
(34) The trap 10′ may be advantageous in that it is easier to obtain from the non-folded flat state as shown in FIG. 3B which is a top view of the outer pyramidal element 80′ supplied as a flat sheet to be folded into the final shape as used in the trap in FIG. 3A. Thus the outer pyramidal element 80′ is divided into four segments by three fold lines 106, 106.sub.1 and 106.sub.2, an additional border and folding line 92′ defining, similar to what is shown in FIG. 1D, an adhesive area 94′ together with the first edge 96′, allowing the outer pyramidal element 80′ to be assembled by folding along the fold lines and attaching the adhesive area 94′ to the inner or outer surface 84′ or 82′ with the second edge 98′ arranged along the border 92′ so as to form a four-sided pyramid. Optional parallel cuts 108 (not shown in FIG. 3A) across the folding lines 106, 106.sub.1, 106.sub.2 and across the additional border and folding line 92′ define invertible areas 110 which may be inverted, once the outer pyramidal element 80′ has been assembled, thus forming spacing elements extending towards the center axis of the outer pyramidal element 80′, as seen in FIG. 3C which is a bottom view of the outer element shown in FIG. 3B when folded into the final shape as used in the trap in FIG. 3A.
(35) FIG. 3D is a top view of an embodiment of the inner element 20″″′ supplied as a folded structure to be expanded into the final shape as used in the trap in FIG. 3A. The inner element 20″″′ is supplied as a collapsed pyramidal shape which has been collapsed so that two opposite fold lines or edges 60 are adjacent each other. The inner element may for example have been assembled similarly to as described in relation to FIG. 1E, i.e. by adhering the edge 38′ along the border 32′ defining with the edge 36 the adhesive area 34′. Cutouts 62 define spacing elements 64 which project out from the outer surface 24″ when the inner pyramidal element 20″″′ has been assembled, as shown in FIG. 3E which is a bottom view of the inner pyramidal element shown in FIG. 3D when expanded into the final shape as used in the trap in FIG. 3A, to thereby ensure a proper distance δ between the inner and outer pyramidal elements 20″″′ and 80″. The inner pyramidal element also as an optional bottom 66 with adhesive flap 68 which can be used to seal the hollow interior of the assembled inner pyramidal element 20″″′ once for example a lure has been positioned within it. In this case the inner element 20″″′ may be provided with an aperture 28 as shown in FIGS. 1B, 1F, 2A and 2B.
(36) Other combinations of inner and outer elements are also possible for providing the tapering space 12 as shown in FIG. 4A which is a bottom view of an embodiment of the trap for bed bugs according to the first aspect of the present invention having the inner element 20″″ with a rectangular or square base and an outer element 80 having a circular base, and FIG. 4B which is a bottom view of an embodiment of the trap for bed bugs according to the first aspect of the present invention having the opposite arrangement, i.e. an inner element 20 having a circular base and an outer element 80′ having a rectangular or square base.
EXAMPLE
(37) Materials and Methods
(38) Four prototype traps, two being designated trap A, and two being designated trap B, according to embodiments of the first aspect of the present invention were fabricated and evaluated.
(39) Trap A consisted of an inner and an outer paper cone, each being produced by bending a planar sheet of paper into a conical shape. A piece of adhesive tape was applied to one edge of the thus formed cone to maintain the bent configuration. The cone angles of the inner and outer cones were different, where the outer element was represented by the cone having the larger cone angle, and the inner element being represented by the cone having the smaller cone angle. The inner cone had a height of about 6 cm and a width at the first base of about 5 cm and the outer cone had a height of about 4 cm, resulting in a distance D see FIG. 1B, of 0.7 cm, noting that a top opening of the outer cone allowed the top of the inner cone to extend about 2 cm through it. The width of the outer cone at the second base was about 5.6 cm resulting in a distance δ at the base opening of the outer cone/element of about 0.4 cm. Before folding the planar sheet for the outer cone a layer of double sided adhesive tape (TESA carpet tape) was affixed to the side of the sheet becoming the inner surface of the outer cone when bent into the conical shape.
(40) Trap B had the same construction as A, however the TESA carpet tape was replaced by a double sided adhesive tape of the make Stokvis.
(41) Tests on the traps were performed as follows. Two bed bug lures (comprising (E)-2-hexenal, (E)-2-octenal, 2-hexanone (E)-2-hexenoic acid and 2-octenoic acid) were placed spaced apart from each other in a test arena consisting of a circular tray having a diameter of 520 mm.
(42) In a first test round each of the two A traps was placed over a corresponding one of the lures and 10 bed bugs (adult, male, fed state) were released in the middle of the test arena and allowed to move freely during 30 minutes.
(43) In a second test round the test was repeated with the B traps placed over the lures.
(44) Results
(45) The bed bugs were not alarmed by the traps; rather the bed bugs quickly began to investigate them. After the first test round (30 minutes) a total of 5 bed bugs were found trapped, by the adhesive having contacted their dorsal sides, in the two A traps.
(46) In the second test round after the same amount of time a total of 2 bed bugs were found trapped, by the adhesive having contacted their dorsal sides, in the two B traps.
FEASIBLE MODIFICATIONS OF THE INVENTION
(47) The invention is not limited only to the embodiments described above and shown in the drawings, which primarily have an illustrative and exemplifying purpose. This patent application is intended to cover all adjustments and variants of the preferred embodiments described herein, thus the present invention is defined by the wording of the appended claims and the equivalents thereof. Thus, the equipment may be modified in all kinds of ways within the scope of the appended claims.
(48) It shall also be pointed out that all information about/concerning terms such as above, under, upper, lower, etc., shall be interpreted/read having the equipment oriented according to the figures, having the drawings oriented such that the references can be properly read. Thus, such terms only indicates mutual relations in the shown embodiments, which relations may be changed if the inventive equipment is provided with another structure/design.
(49) It shall also be pointed out that even thus it is not explicitly stated that features from a specific embodiment may be combined with features from another embodiment, the combination shall be considered obvious, if the combination is possible.
(50) Throughout this specification and the claims which follows, unless the context requires otherwise, the word “comprise”, and variations such as “comprises” or “comprising”, will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated integer or steps or group of integers or steps but not the exclusion of any other integer or step or group of integers or steps.
