Furniture Protector against Crawling Arthropods

Abstract

A barrier device to prevent crawling arthropods such as bedbugs from accessing an item of furniture, said barrier device comprising a furniture riser, a deep fluid-filled moat, and a smooth wall around the moat.

1 . A crawling arthropod barrier device, comprising:
 a riser, said riser having a top surface capable of supporting a furniture leg, a bottom edge, and a riser side surface, wherein the top surface is at least 3″ from the bottom edge;   a wall, said wall attached to the bottom edge of the riser in such a way as to form a watertight moat around the bottom edge of the riser;   a fluid filling the moat.   
     
     
         2 . The crawling arthropod barrier device of  claim 1 , wherein the riser side surface is smooth enough that a crawling arthropod cannot climb up the side surface. 
     
     
         3 . The crawling arthropod barrier device of  claim 2 , wherein the riser side surface is coated with a slippery substance. 
     
     
         4 . The crawling arthropod barrier device of  claim 3 , wherein the slippery substance is one of the following group: a lubricating (friction-reducing) powder or liquid. 
     
     
         5 . The crawling arthropod barrier device of  claim 1 , wherein the fluid is one of the following group:
 water, oil, sugared water, soapy water, grease, gel, alcohol, glycerol based liquid.   
     
     
         6 . The crawling arthropod barrier device of  claim 1 , wherein the moat is at least 2″ in depth and at least 5″ in width. 
     
     
         7 . The crawling arthropod barrier device of  claim 1 , wherein the wall is concave on the outside. 
     
     
         8 . The crawling arthropod barrier device of  claim 1 , wherein the wall is cylindrical. 
     
     
         9 . The crawling arthropod barrier device of  claim 1 , wherein the wall has a horizontal section and a vertical section, the horizontal section being parallel to the top surface and the vertical section being approximately perpendicular to the horizontal section. 
     
     
         10 . The crawling arthropod barrier device of  claim 1 , wherein the wall comprises an inner surface and an outer surface, wherein at least one of the inner surface and the outer surface is smooth enough that a crawling arthropod cannot climb up it. 
     
     
         11 . The crawling arthropod barrier device of  claim 1 , wherein the riser is hollow. 
     
     
         12 . The crawling arthropod barrier device of  claim 11 , wherein the wall and the riser are made of one piece of material. 
     
     
         13 . The crawling arthropod barrier device of  claim 1 , wherein the riser is separate from the wall and removably attached to the wall. 
     
     
         14 . The crawling arthropod barrier device of  claim 1 , wherein the top surface of the riser comprises a lip around the edges of the top surface. 
     
     
         15 . The crawling arthropod barrier device of  claim 1 , wherein the riser comprises a bottom cross-section, wherein the area of the bottom cross-section is greater than the area of the top surface. 
     
     
         16 . The crawling arthropod barrier device of  claim 1 , wherein the height of the riser is adjustable. 
     
     
         17 . The crawling arthropod barrier device of  claim 16 , wherein the riser comprises a height adjustment block that removably attaches to the top surface, said height adjustment block comprising a bottom surface and a top surface, the bottom surface of the height adjustment block resting on the top surface of the riser, and the top surface of the height adjustment block comprising a lip around the edge of the top surface of the height adjustment block. 
     
     
         18 . The crawling arthropod barrier device of  claim 11 , wherein the riser comprises an inner lip on an inner surface of the riser, said inner lip of a size and shape that enables it to rest on the top surface of a second riser when the riser is stacked on top of a second crawling arthropod barrier device. 
     
     
         19 . The crawling arthropod barrier device of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a light-emitting device that emits a light of a frequency that attracts at least one species of crawling arthropods.   
     
     
         20 . The crawling arthropod barrier device of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a pheromone that attracts at least one species of crawling arthropods, said pheromone applied to one of the following group: the side surface of the riser, the wall, the fluid in the moat.