Crawling arthropod intercepting device and method

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9253973-B2
Application number	US-38764509-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 5, 2009
Priority date	May 6, 2008
Publication date	Feb 9, 2016
Grant date	Feb 9, 2016

Abstract

An intercepting device (e.g. a furniture coaster device) is placed under furniture (bed, sofa, chair. etc.), other climbable object, or the floor adjacent an object to intercept crawling arthropods and other crawling pests. The intercepting device can be used to monitor the presence of crawling arthropods and other crawling pests (such as bed bugs, ants, cockroaches, beetles, spiders, etc.), reduce pest numbers, and monitor efficacy of pest control procedures. The intercepting device includes pitfall trap surfaces that form multiple pitfall traps.

First claim

We claim:

1. A bed bug intercepting device for placement under a support leg of furniture or other object toward or from which bed bugs travel, comprising an upstanding, exterior climbable surface that bed bugs can climb and first and second pitfall traps disposed inwardly of the climbable exterior surface for trapping bed bugs, wherein the first pitfall trap comprises a bait-free inner, support-leg receiving receptacle for receiving the support leg of furniture or other object wherein the inner receptacle is bounded by an upstanding peripheral surface that has a surface roughness which is slippery to prevent bed bugs from climbing out and the second pitfall trap comprises a bait-free outer receptacle wherein the outer receptacle includes upstanding inner and outer peripheral surfaces that form the outer receptacle therebetween and that each have a surface roughness which is slippery to prevent bed bugs from climbing out, wherein bed bugs are trapped in the inner receptacle or outer receptacle as a result of being unable to climb out and wherein the inner receptacle includes a bottom surface on which the support leg is received such that bed bugs traveling from the furniture or other object are trapped in the inner receptacle and bed bugs traveling toward the furniture or other object are trapped in the outer receptacle.

2. The device of claim 1 wherein the exterior surface has a bed bug tarsal claw-engageable surface roughness so that the exterior surface is readily climbable by the bed bugs.

3. The device of claim 2 wherein the exterior surface has a surface roughness Ra greater than about 300 microinches.

4. The device of claim 3 wherein the exterior surface is molded or machined with roughness to render the exterior surface readily climbable by the bed bugs.

5. The device of claim 2 wherein the exterior surface roughness is formed by fibrous material.

6. The device of claim 5 wherein the fibrous material comprises fabric, sawdust, sandpaper or paper pulp disposed on the exterior surface wall.

7. The device of claim 1 wherein the outer receptacle is annular in shape.

8. The device of claim 1 wherein the first pitfall trap includes said upstanding peripheral surface that forms with the bottom surface the inner receptacle wherein said upstanding peripheral surface has lubricating powder thereon so that bed bugs cannot climb out of the first pitfall trap.

9. The device of claim 8 wherein said lubricating powder comprises a dusted powder layer.

10. The device of claim 1 wherein said upstanding peripheral surface has the surface roughness Ra of about 100 microinches or less.

11. The device of claim 10 wherein the said upstanding peripheral surface comprises a polymer surface.

12. The device of claim 1 wherein said upstanding inner and outer peripheral surfaces that form the outer receptacle therebetween have lubricating powder thereon so that bed bugs cannot climb out of the second pitfall trap.

13. The device of claim 12 wherein said lubricating powder layer is a dusted powder layer.

14. The device of claim 1 wherein the upstanding inner and outer peripheral surfaces have the surface roughness Ra of about 100 microinches or less.

15. The device of claim 14 wherein the upstanding inner and outer peripheral surfaces comprise polymer surfaces.

16. A bed bug intercepting device comprising an upstanding, exterior climbable surface that slopes upwardly at an angle to vertical and that bed bugs can climb and first and second pitfall traps disposed inwardly of the climable exterior surface for trapping bed bugs, wherein the first pitfall trap comprises a bait-free, support-leg receiving inner receptacle having a bottom surface configured to receive the support leg of furniture or other object wherein the inner receptacle is bounded by an upstanding peripheral surface that has a surface roughness which is slippery to prevent bed bugs from climbing out and the second pitfall trap comprises a bait-free outer receptacle formed between an upstanding inner peripheral surface that is connected to the peripheral surface of the inner receptacle and an upstanding outer peripheral surface and wherein the inner peripheral surface and the outer peripheral surface of the outer receptacle each have a surface roughness which is slippery to prevent bed bugs in the outer receptacle from climbing out, said outer receptacle being accessed by bed bugs approaching the intercepting device by the upstanding, exterior bed bug-climbable surface that is connected to the outer peripheral surface of the outer receptacle, wherein the upstanding peripheral surface of the inner receptacle and the upstanding inner peripheral surface of the outer receptacle ascend to a common peripheral rim.

17. The device of claim 1 wherein the exterior climbable surface slopes upwardly at an angle to vertical.

Assignees

• Mcknight Susan
• Wang Changlu
• Purdue Research Foundation
• Susan Mcknight Inc

Inventors

• Mcknight Susan
• Wang Changlu

Classifications

• A01M1/103 Primary

  for crawling insects · CPC title

• A01M29/34 Primary

  specially adapted for insects · CPC title

• A01M1/2011

  for crawling insects · CPC title

• A01M29/30

  preventing or obstructing access or passage, e.g. by means of barriers, spikes, cords, obstacles or sprinkled water · CPC title

• A01M1/10

  Catching insects by using} Traps {(using suction effect A01M1/06) · CPC title