title: Toxicity and potential utility of ivermectin and moxidectin as xenointoxicants against the common bed bug, Cimex lectularius L.
abstract: The recent resurgence of the common bed bug Cimex lectularius L. throughout western industrialized nations has been facilitated in part by the insect becoming pesticide-resistant. Novel control strategies, including xenointoxication, should be considered to combat C. lectularius. Ivermectin, a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved treatment for several human parasites, and the antiparasitic drug moxidectin, currently being explored in human clinical trials, were evaluated for efficacy against C. lectularius. Results showed that C. lectularius fed on ivermectin or moxidectin blood concentrations of >25 ng/mL and had significantly higher mortality (50-100 %) than controls (0-6 %) by day 13. Bed bugs that survived a blood meal containing >2.5 ng/mL of ivermectin suffered long-term sequelae including reduced fecundity, feeding difficulty, and incomplete ecdysis. Some insects that survived a blood meal containing ≤75 ng/mL moxidectin were able to feed and reproduce.
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, University Hospitals Case Medical Center and Case Western Reserve University, 11100 Euclid Ave. B-517K, Cleveland, OH, 44106, USA. jsheele@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Johnathan M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Sheele
authors.affiliation: The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, 123 Huntington Street, P. O. Box 1106, New Haven, CT, 06504, USA.
authors.forename: Gale E
authors.initials: GE
authors.lastname: Ridge
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001511:Bedbugs / Q000187:drug effects*; D004351:Drug Resistance; D004478:Ectoparasitic Infestations / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006801:Humans; D007306:Insecticides / Q000494:pharmacology*; D007559:Ivermectin / Q000494:pharmacology*; D018942:Macrolides / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D007306:Insecticides; D018942:Macrolides; D007559:Ivermectin; C027837:moxidectin
keywords: Bed bug; Cimex lectularius; Ivermectin; Mortality; Moxidectin; Treatment; Xenointoxication