Barrier against crawling pests

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/458,791, filed on Jul. 20, 2006, by the same inventor.

1. Field of the Invention

The invention relates to a barrier for a species of the group consisting of arachnids and crawling insects.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Various articles of furniture including beds, tables and cabinets are provided with legs which are arranged to firmly position the respective article of furniture on a floor or other surface. The legs are sometimes used by creatures such as arachnids and other crawling insects to access the portion of an article of furniture which is held in an elevated position by the corresponding legs. For example, scorpions have been known to climb up the legs of cribs onto the mattresses and sting children confined in the cribs.

To prevent insects from climbing up furniture legs, it has been proposed in Great Britain Patent Specification 647,301 to form an annular trough in a furniture leg and to fill the trough with an insect repellent or a poison. A dome-shaped cap is mounted on the leg above the trough and extends downward to a level slightly below that of the trough. The cap is intended to function as a barrier for insects which manage to pass through the trough. However, the “annular trough and inverted bowl” design requires that furniture legs be modified or retrofitted in order to utilize this invention.

One aspect of the invention resides in an arrangement for inhibiting access to an elevated portion of an article of furniture by a selected species of the group consisting of arachnids and crawling insects. The arrangement comprises a leg supporting the elevated portion of the article of furniture, and the arrangement further comprises a barrier for the selected species. The furniture leg has a lower end and the barrier includes a tubular member which encircles the lower end of the leg. The tubular member has opposite open ends and an outer peripheral surface which is unscalable by the selected species. The outer peripheral surface can, for example, comprise a material selected from the group consisting of glass, polycarbonate, and siliconized plastic.

The tubular member further has a longitudinal axis extending from one end of the tubular member to the other, and the longitudinal axis is advantageously linear. The tubular member additionally has an end face at each end thereof, and at least one of these end faces can be essentially flat and located in a plane substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the tubular member. The tubular member is preferably of constant cross section.

The tubular member also has an inner peripheral surface, and the inner peripheral surface may be provided with adhesive for bonding the selected species to the tubular member. It is preferred for the outer peripheral surface of the tubular member to be free of adhesive.

The tubular member is advantageously transparent.

The barrier for the selected species can further include a base designed to be placed on a supporting surface, e.g., a floor, and to hold the furniture leg at a level above the supporting surface. When the base is employed, the lower end of the furniture leg rests on the base. The base preferably comprises a palpably resilient material. The base may be provided with adhesive designed to bond the tubular member to the base and to permit removal of the tubular member from the base while maintaining the tubular member substantially free of damage.

The tubular member has a passage extending from one end of the tubular member to the other, and the base can be provided with adhesive arranged to be in alignment with the passage when the tubular member rests on the base with one end thereof contacting the base. Such adhesive is intended to bond the selected species to the base.

The base has an outer periphery and an upwardly directed surface which faces the tubular member when the tubular member rests on the base. The base may further have a lip at the outer periphery projecting beyond the upwardly directed surface to confine the tubular member.

Another aspect of the invention resides in a method of inhibiting access to an elevated portion of an article of furniture by a selected species of the group consisting of arachnids and crawling insects. The article of furniture includes a leg which supports the elevated portion of the article of furniture, and the furniture leg has a lower end. The method comprises the steps of providing a tubular member having opposite open ends and an outer peripheral surface unscalable by the selected species, and placing the lower end of the furniture leg in the tubular member.

The method can further comprise the steps of providing a base, placing the base on a surface and positioning the tubular member on the base.

The method may also comprise the steps of bonding the tubular member to the base and removing the tubular member from the base while maintaining the tubular member substantially free of damage.

Additional features and advantages of the invention will be forthcoming from the following detailed description of certain specific embodiments when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.