Photos courtesy of Dr. Changlu Wang
NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. — Mark Rober, a former NASA and Apple engineer turned YouTuber, and his team recently visited Dr. Changlu Wang’s entomology lab at Rutgers University to “take a deep dive to the fascinating world of bed bugs.” The end result was a fast-paced, entertaining and educational YouTube video Rober titled “Bed Bugs — What You've Been Told is Totally False.”
“The team was quite serious in keeping the contents both accurate and entertaining,” Wang told PCT. “I enjoyed the experience working with them.”
Wang said he is unsure why Rober and his team chose his lab, but he surmises they came across him and the popular Rutgers bed bug Web page through online research.
Prior to filming, Wang and his lab assistants met with Rober to answer bed bug questions and review the different types of experiments that can be done.
“I provided the knowledge of effective and ineffective materials and methods used by consumers and what experiments can be done in my lab,” Wang recalled. “I offered to start the experiment two weeks before their visit to my lab so they can see the results.”
Rober and team also brought a variety of materials to test while they were in Wang’s lab. Wang said that Rober ran numerous experiments, but not all experiment results were reported due to time limitations or because results could cause confusion.
Wang was impressed with how Rober illustrated bed bug biology and behavior. “For example, the cartoons showing how bed bugs get trapped in the pitfall traps, how bed bugs climb a bed to find a host, how traumatic insemination works, etc.”
Generally speaking, the results of Rober’s experiments were as expected, Wang said, including:
• Pyrethroid-based sprays, aerosols, and foggers had no effect on survival of a field strain of bed bugs
• Diatomaceous Earth dust was most effective among the products tested
• Ultrasonic repellers do not work
• Bed bugs are attracted to vertical objects
“All these are very important for educating the public,” Wang said. “The repellency effect of moth balls, baking soda, and dryer sheets is somewhat unexpected. Traps surrounded by these materials had less bed bugs.” Also, Wang said, the video properly explained the results by saying that if a host is nearby, bed bugs would readily cross these materials and reach the host.
Wang said he has been pleasantly surprised by the success of the video, which at press time, had 6.8 million views. “It brings both science and entertainment to the public. It also helps people to learn about our urban entomology research.”
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