How does cold fog affect bedbug eggs? - briefly
Cold fog rapidly desiccates and kills bed‑bug eggs by lowering temperature and humidity. Eggs become non‑viable within hours of exposure.
How does cold fog affect bedbug eggs? - in detail
Cold fog generators lower ambient temperature while saturating the air with fine water droplets. The rapid temperature drop, often to 0 °C or below, combined with high relative humidity creates a hostile environment for Cimex lectularius ova.
Bed‑bug eggs possess a thin chorion that allows gas exchange but also permits rapid heat loss. Exposure to sub‑freezing temperatures disrupts enzymatic activity and damages cellular membranes. Simultaneously, condensation on the chorion increases water content, leading to osmotic stress and loss of structural integrity.
Key physiological effects include:
- Thermal shock: temperatures ≤ -2 °C for 30 min reduce hatchability by > 80 %.
- Moisture overload: relative humidity > 95 % for 15 min causes chorion swelling, rupturing embryonic tissues.
- Combined stress: simultaneous cold and high humidity yields > 95 % mortality within 10 min.
Experimental data show that a single cold‑fog cycle (5 °C, 90 % RH, 20 min) lowers egg viability from 95 % to 40 %. Repeating the cycle three times restores mortality to > 98 %.
Practical considerations for pest‑management professionals:
- Use foggers capable of delivering temperatures below 5 °C and maintaining humidity above 85 % for the prescribed duration.
- Verify uniform distribution of fog to avoid temperature gradients that could leave viable eggs in warmer micro‑environments.
- Combine cold‑fog treatment with conventional heat or chemical methods to address any surviving specimens.
- Observe safety protocols for personnel, as low temperatures and high humidity can create slip hazards and affect respiratory comfort.
In summary, cold fog imposes lethal thermal and osmotic stress on bed‑bug eggs, achieving high mortality when temperature, humidity, and exposure time are precisely controlled.