The rate of bed bug infestations continues to increase with each passing year since the pests re-emerged throughout the US two decades ago. While the pest control industry has managed to develop reliable methods of eliminating active bed bug infestations, monitoring, prevention and baiting control tactics are still lacking. For years, researchers have been attempting to develop indoor bed bug monitoring stations that work by using pheromones, carbon dioxide, or another attractant as a lure to trap bed bugs. When several of these traps are placed around beds, furniture, and probable bed bug harborage sites, the number of individual bed bugs captured in each trap indicates where in a home the largest number of bed bugs are hiding. These monitors do not kill bed bugs, they will not prevent nighttime bites, and they will only capture a small minority of bed bugs within an infested home, but they can be useful for the purpose of monitoring. However, a new tech start up has recently earned several awards for their innovative new bed bug control product that they hope will become a standard tool for pest control professionals.

The new product is called the Spotta bed pod, and it was first released in Europe where it has since become popular in the pest control and hospitality industry for preventing bed bug infestations. The product is now available in the US, and it’s a bed attachment that works by luring bed bugs into a trap, or “pod.” The product’s AI technology analyzes the organism to determine its species. The pod also snaps a high definition photo of the bed bug, and this photo is automatically sent to the owner’s smart devices. The pod is most likely to capture bed bugs since its lure is designed to attract the pests, but no matter the species, the pod emails the photo as well as information on the captured pest to the owner of the product. The pod is constantly active and only needs to be recharged once per year. Hopefully, this product will notify pest control professionals of an indoor bed bug presence early before an extensive infestation takes form.

Do you think the Spotta bed bug control system works?