--- title: DIY Files: How to Build Your Own Bed Bug Detector description: Here's an after-school science experiment gone right: researchers at Rutgers University in New Jersey created a homemade bed bug trap using a cat-food dish, an... canonical: https://time.com/archive/7144902/diy-bedbug-detector/ author: TIME Staff article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2010-01-22T20:24:19.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-16T11:46:35.052Z article:section: Health og:title: DIY Files: How to Build Your Own Bed Bug Detector og:description: Here's an after-school science experiment gone right: researchers at Rutgers University in New Jersey created a homemade bed bug trap using a cat-food dish, an... og:url: https://time.com/archive/7144902/diy-bedbug-detector/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt77fd15e9263f8ecf/698a95709862f585e689c017/a_lbedbug_0215.jpg?branch=production&width=307&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 307 og:image:height: 173 og:image:alt: a_lbedbug_0215 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: DIY Files: How to Build Your Own Bed Bug Detector twitter:description: Here's an after-school science experiment gone right: researchers at Rutgers University in New Jersey created a homemade bed bug trap using a cat-food dish, an... twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt77fd15e9263f8ecf/698a95709862f585e689c017/a_lbedbug_0215.jpg?branch=production&width=307&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Health](/section/health/) # DIY Files: How to Build Your Own Bed Bug Detector > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=a4dcef43-4f73-4710-834a-d2892e433cbb&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) by [TIME Staff](https://time.com/author/time-staff/) Jan 22, 2010 8:24 PM UTC  by [TIME Staff](https://time.com/author/time-staff/) Jan 22, 2010 8:24 PM UTC Here’s an after-school science experiment gone right: researchers at Rutgers University in New Jersey created a homemade bed bug trap using a cat-food dish, an insulated jug and some dry ice pellets.more According to the lead investigator, Wan-Tien Tsai, who reported her findings last December at the annual meeting of the Entomological Society of America, the dry-ice-and-jug combo lured the bloodsucking critters in an infested apartment just as effectively as, if not better than, equipment used by professional exterminators. The contraption consisted of an insulated one-third-gallon jug (you can find them in camping stores) filled with about 2.5 lbs. of dry ice pellets. The spout was left open, allowing carbon dioxide — the telltale sign of a breathing, blood-filled meal nearby — to seep out, enticing the nocturnal insects for some 11 hours. The setup, as described in an [article on sciencenews.org](http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/51188/title/Do-it-yourself%5Fbed-bug%5Fdetector): --- > “” --- The MacGyver-ized bedbug trap can’t replace a proper extermination of an infested home, but it could at least let you know whether or not you’ve got a problem. Bed bugs have made a serious comeback in North America over the past few years, especially in big cities like Toronto, San Francisco and New York, where complaints of infestations in rental apartments have increased many times over. Increasing international travel has also contributed to sharp rises in bed bug activity around the globe. The creatures don’t discriminate in the places they infest — they’ve been found in apartment buildings, hotels, dorms, schools and even [subway stations](http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/05/09/where-bedbugs-ride-around-besides-just-beds/). For everything you never wanted to know about bed bugs, some further reading: a comprehensive [bed bug website](http://www.ca.uky.edu/entomology/entfacts/ef636.asp) written by Michael Potter, an entomologist at the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture; a New York _Times_ article about [dogs that sniff out bed bugs](http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/27/nyregion/27bedbugs.html) \[**update:** a more recent and comprehensive _Times_ article [here](http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/31/science/31bedbug.html)\]; and an [online registry](http://bedbugregistry.com/) where users report bed bug infestations in apartment buildings and hotels in North America. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/archive/7144902/diy-bedbug-detector/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/archive/7144902/diy-bedbug-detector/"},"headline":"DIY Files: How to Build Your Own Bed Bug Detector","datePublished":"2010-01-22T20:24:19.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-16T11:46:35.052Z","description":"Here's an after-school science experiment gone right: researchers at Rutgers University in New Jersey created a homemade bed bug trap using a cat-food dish, an...","url":"https://time.com/archive/7144902/diy-bedbug-detector/","keywords":[],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt77fd15e9263f8ecf/698a95709862f585e689c017/a_lbedbug_0215.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt77fd15e9263f8ecf/698a95709862f585e689c017/a_lbedbug_0215.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"a_lbedbug_0215","caption":"","creditText":"","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/archive/7144902/diy-bedbug-detector/","name":"DIY Files: How to Build Your Own Bed Bug Detector"}}]}] ```