Beating Bed Bugs

Research Leads

Nina Jenkins
CEO, ConidioTec
Senior Research Associate, Department of Entomology

Giovani Bellicanta
Postdoctoral Scholar, Department of Entomology

Product

Aprehend^TM is a fungal-based biopesticide spray that safely kills bed bugs by sticking to the insects, which then carry the fungi back to hiding places to infect other bed bugs.

Why It's Important

• One out of five Americans has had a bed bug infestation in their home or knows someone who has encountered bed bugs at home or in a hotel.
• Traditional bed bug insecticides can be harmful to human health.
• Conventional chemical insecticides require multiple applications to be effective, and chemical resistance is building in the bed bug population.
• Studies show that reports of bedbugs lower the value of hotel rooms by $21-$38.

Status

• ConidioTec, a Penn State startup company
• Aprehend™
• U.S. Patent (14/810,137)
• EPA approval pending
• Expected to be available for sale in 2017

Technology Development Awards

• $150,000 - Committed investors (2017)
• $49,576 - RAIN Grant (2013)
• $50,000 - Founders' investment (2017)
• $40,000 - IR4 (USDA NIFA) (2012-2014)
• $25,000 - Ben Franklin Big Idea contest (2014)
• $21,000 - Northeast Regional IPM (USDA NIFA) (2012-2013)
• $10,000 - Ben Franklin TechCelerator (2013)
• $5,000 - Penn State Innovation Programs Discovered and Developed
  in PA R&D grant (2014)
• $2,500 - North Carolina Biotech business pitch prize money (2014)