Crawling arthropod intercepting device and method

• US 20110225873A1
• Filed: 05/31/2011
• Published: 09/22/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 05/06/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: J. T. Eaton & Company Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Purdue Research Foundation and Susan Mcknight Incorporated
• Inventors: Wang, Changlu, McKnight, Susan
• Granted Patent: US 9,066,511 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 43/123
• CPC Class Codes: A01M 1/026 combined with devices for monitoring insect presence, e.g. termites bait stations A01M1/2005; detecting other animals in a given area A01M31/002
• CPC Class Codes: A01M 1/10 Catching insects by using Traps using suction effect A01M1/06
• CPC Class Codes: A01M 1/103 for crawling insects
• CPC Class Codes: A01M 1/2011 for crawling insects
• CPC Class Codes: A01M 29/00 Scaring or repelling devices, e.g. bird-scaring apparatus
• CPC Class Codes: A01M 29/30 preventing or obstructing access or passage, e.g. by means of barriers, spikes, cords, obstacles or sprinkled water
• CPC Class Codes: A01M 29/34 specially adapted for insects
• CPC Class Codes: Y02A 50/30 Against vector-borne diseases, e.g. mosquito-borne, fly-borne, tick-borne or waterborne diseases whose impact is exacerbated by climate change

Abstract

An intercepting device (e.g. a furniture coaster device) is placed under furniture (bed, sofa, chair. etc.), other climable 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.

Claims

1-24. -24. (canceled)

25. A method of intercepting bed bugs between a climbable upstanding surface of an object and a floor, comprising placing a bed bug intercepting device under the climbable surface of the object with the climbable surface of the object received in an inner receptacle of the intercepting device forming a first pitfall trap and with a second outer receptacle of the intercepting device forming a second outer pitfall trap having an upstanding, exterior bed bug-climbable surface, and trapping bed bugs in the inner receptacle, the outer receptacle, or both as a result of the bed bugs being unable to climb out.

26. The method of claim 25 including visually inspecting the device to monitor any trapped bed bugs.

31. The method of claim 25 including providing fibrous material on the bed bug-climbable surface.

32. The method of claim 25 including providing slippery pitfall trap surfaces so that bed bugs cannot climb out of the pitfall traps.

33. The method of claim 32 wherein the slippery pitfall trap surfaces have a surface roughness Ra of about 100 microinches or less.

34. The method of claim 32 including lubricating the pitfall trap surfaces to be slippery.

27. A method of intercepting bed bugs between furniture and a floor, comprising placing a bed bug intercepting device under a furniture leg with the furniture leg received on the intercepting device wherein multiple pitfall trap surfaces are disposed between the furniture leg and an upstanding, exterior bed bug-climbable surface of the intercepting device to form multiple pitfall traps, and trapping bed bugs in one or more of the multiple pitfall traps as a result of the pitfall trap surfaces being slippery so that bed bugs cannot climb the pitfall trap surfaces and are trapped in the device.

28. The method of claim 27 including visually inspecting the device to monitor any trapped bed bugs.

35. The method of claim 27 including providing fibrous material on the bed bug-climbable surface.

36. The method of claim 27 wherein the slippery pitfall trap surfaces have a surface roughness Ra of about 100 microinches or less.

37. The method of claim 27 including lubricating the pitfall trap surfaces to be slippery.

29. A method of intercepting bed bugs moving between a climbable upstanding surface of an object and a floor, comprising placing the climbable upstanding surface on an intercepting device, providing upstanding pitfall trap surfaces of the device between the climbable upstanding surface of the object and an upstanding exterior climable surface of the intercepting device, and trapping bed bugs as a result of the pitfall trap surfaces being slippery so that crawling arthropods cannot climb out and are trapped in a manner preventing them from moving between the object and the floor.

38. The method of claim 29 including providing fibrous material on the bed bug-climbable upstanding surface.

39. The method of claim 29 wherein the slippery pitfall trap surfaces have a surface roughness Ra of about 100 microinches or less.

40. The method of claim 29 including lubricating the pitfall trap surfaces to be slippery.

30. A method of intercepting bed bugs, comprising placing a bed bug intercepting device on a floor or ground wherein the intercepting device comprises an upstanding, exterior bed bug-climbable surface that bed bugs can climb and first and second pitfall traps disposed inwardly of the bed bug-climbable surface for trapping bed bugs, wherein the first pitfall trap comprises an inner receptacle and the second pitfall trap comprises an outer receptacle, and trapping bed bugs in the inner receptacle, outer receptacle, or both as a result of their being unable to climb out.

41. The method of claim 30 including providing fibrous material on the bed bug-climbable surface.

42. The method of claim 30 including providing slippery pitfall trap surfaces so that bed bugs cannot climb out of the pitfall traps.

43. The method of claim 42 wherein the slippery surfaces have a surface roughness Ra of about 100 microinches or less.

44. The method of claim 42 including lubricating the pitfall trap surfaces to be slippery.