Winterswijk/Groenlo- they are unpleasant bedmates. Bed bugs live on people’s blood and cause bumps, skin spots and itching. Two companies in the Achterhoek have now developed a smart and sage method to combat them, using heaters and LoRa heat sensors.
Jan Ruesink, 01-08-2018
They are very small (5 to 6 mm) and like to hide in the sheets, pillows and mattresses. To subsequently bother users in their sleep. According to RIVM, corrosive bed bugs are an increasing problem all over the world. Due to, among other things, resistance and increasing travel traffic, they are also increasingly common in the US and Europe.
Rigorous
The animals can only be fought with a rigorous approach. The room where they are sitting must be frozen to -18 degrees, which is usually impossible. Or you need to heat the room for three to four hours at at least 60 degrees. However, that costs a lot of energy and can cause a fire hazard. In cold corners of a house, hotel or holiday home it can sometimes just not become warm enough, so that the bedbugs will survive.
Infected
The company 2Best Product & Innovation from Patrick Terbraak from Groenlo, now supplies heaters that are connected to wireless LoRa heat sensors from the company Teneo IoT from Winterswijk. These sensors (called “nodes”) constantly measure how hot it is in the infected room and send that data to a computer or app on the phone. As a result, the temperature can always b closely monitored and the temperature does not have to become too high, with all the energy loss and fire risks involved. With the fall of temperature the control has to start again from the beginning, but with the sensors this is also prevented.
Effective
According to Inou Heideman of Teneo IoT, the system has now been tested and effective in several pilots. “Bed bugs are an increasing problem in hotels, holiday parks and healthcare institutions. There are even specialized companies that fight the animals. 2Best supplies heaters with our LoRa heat sensors and the software that comes with it.”
German interest
Interest in the system has also been shown from Germany. Heideman: “A big advantage of this method is that the employee doesn’t always have to enter the hot area in protective clothing in order to measure the temperature there. It can now be read from the outside, so that you do not have to open the door, which means that you will lose heat every time. Because all data is stored, you as a company can also prove to the customer that the temperature in the entire room was always at least 60 degrees.
According to Heideman, the system can still be further developed, so that heaters can adjust themselves if the temperature rises or falls too much. “Then as a fighter you really don’t have to worry about it.”
For the original Dutch article, we refer you to the Tubantia website.
