How many hotels have you stayed in this holiday season? Or maybe you're more modern and stay at Airbnb locations. A few of you may even have stayed at relatives' homes?
Speaking of bed bugs, last week researchers at Simon Fraser University (British Columbia, Canada) published new research indicating that they had isolated Bed Bug Pheromones, which attract and allow trapping of bed bugs. Turns out these lovely little creatures are programmed to five different compounds: "four attract bed bugs (dimethyl disulfide and dimethyl trisulfide, (E)-2-hexenal, (E)-2-octenal, 2-hexanone) and one less-volatile component (histamine) that causes bed bugs to stop walking and settle in upon contact."
The result is a fairly simple (and inexpensive) trap that both attracts and stops bed bugs. The researchers (Robert Britton, Gerhard Gries and Regine Gries) estimate that traps can be made for about ten cents, although they did not specify whether that is Canadian or U.S. We'll just call it about the same cost as the wad of gum you found stuck on the bedpost at your last stay.
You can read more on wired.com or if you happen to subscribe to Angewandte Chemie at this link. Or at the University's press release.
I know you are envisioning a whole new level of boyhood "ant farm" inspired toys and the untapped market potential. When you start buying your traps and bait in bulk out of Canada, ever thought about what kind of rights and laws come into play? Turns out there is a treaty for that called the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods. Honestly, at this point it is probably enough just to know it exists and that if your business buys things from a foreign business and the transaction triggers the laws of a country that has ratified the treaty, it will govern your transaction. A lot of common provisions (that somehow always get left out) are covered by the treaty, such as when the contract is formed, whether the buyer has to pay, damages if a party breaches, reduction in price for non-conforming goods, etc. You can always exclude the treaty, but you have to specifically write your intent to exclude it in your agreement. Like I said, this is one to remember when you get ready to buy goods from a foreign company and then go look it up.
Here's the Wikipedia version of the treaty. This is the treaty-like version.
Seriously, look at how complicated the competitor's solution is:
Wishing you safe travels for the New Year!
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