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Changing the game on bed bug detection with Alex Ko

Talking TruDetx™ Bed Bug Rapid Test with Alex Ko

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Alex Ko, Ph.D Product Development Manager, Envu Professional Pest Management

Bed bugs can pose health threats, cause embarrassment and uproot lives during the treatment process. For years, PMPs have relied on antiquated detection methods that are resource-intensive and still don’t reliably detect low-level infestations.

Now, change is finally here with a revolutionary, science-based technology: TruDetx™ Bed Bug Rapid Test. To learn more about this game changer, we sat down with Alex Ko to discuss what it means for PMPs and the future of the industry.

What makes bed bugs such a tough pest to manage?

Alex Ko

The whole process of inspecting for bed bugs is difficult — for the pest management professional and the customer. It can be incredibly invasive. Bed bugs can be difficult to find, so inspections require flipping mattresses over and tossing sheets. You're essentially disassembling the room.

When a customer calls and says, “I think I've got bed bugs,” the pest manager must conduct a thorough inspection. It's pretty traumatic when you feel like you can't sleep in your own bed without being bitten.

How will TruDetx Bed Bug Rapid Test help PMPs?

Peter Jardine

Bed bugs can be hard to find. They hide in cracks, crevices and other protected sites close to where people sleep. This means they are often not visible or obvious to the naked eye. If there is a moderate to low infestation, the pest management professionals could miss it very easily. Previously, there had not been a reliable tool to detect low-level bed bug infestations.

With TruDetx Bed Bug Rapid Test, pest management professionals now have a reliable, science-based tool to confirm bed bug residue is present so that they can go ahead and solve the problem. This type of specificity and accuracy — results are proven to be over 90% accurate* — is completely new for the industry.


"Pest management professionals now have a reliable, science-based tool."

Why is accuracy so important with bed bugs?

Peter Jardine

You need to be confident when you talk to your customer and you can show this and say, “This is what I'm recommending based on what I found.” The technology that we're bringing to the industry is able to provide that confirmation

How does the technology work?

Peter Jardine

Well, the technology is new to this market, but this type of lateral flow testing has been around for a long time. Everybody has probably seen the COVID-19 self-test and it works very similarly. So it's something that people are very familiar with.


Alex Ko

It's essentially an environmental collection swab. The PMP swabs around areas where bed bugs may harbor, like mattresses, chairs, couches and elsewhere. After they swab to collect residue, they put the cap on and break the seal. Once that liquid is drained down into the swab, they just agitate it lightly and then put four drops into the sample. After five minutes, results are available. Just like a COVID-19 self-test, if two lines are present, that’s a positive result.

What have you been hearing from PMPs about this new test?

Peter Jardine

Game-changing. Powerful. Confidence. Those are the kinds of things we’re hearing. I think PMPs recognize that this is another important tool in their toolbox that makes them feel much more confident in doing their job.


"Game-changing. Powerful. Confidence. Those are the kinds of things we’re hearing."

What does the introduction of this new technology mean for the future of the industry?

Peter Jardine

This is the first launch of a new product for Envu in the Professional Pest Management industry. This is the type of thinking and technology Alex and our team have been working on long and hard. There are many more to come.

If you take technology like this, that makes things super easy, and put it in the hands of a professional, you've really got a winning combination. This exemplifies what we stand for at Envu. It's not just about chemistry — this has no chemistry. It is a device and it's science-based and smart. I think it sends a clear message that we're committed to finding new ways to solve our customers’ problems and make their jobs easier.


"This exemplifies what we stand for at Envu."

For more information, contact your Envu representative. 


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*Ko, Alexander & Choe, Dong-Hwan. Development of a lateral flow test for bed bug detection. Scientific Reports 10:13376 (2020).

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