What’s New in Bed Bug Research? Find out September 10th

If you’ve ever dealt with an infestation of bed bugs, you already know they are rather challenging pests. They can be expensive and difficult to control in multifamily housing. Just when you think a treatment was successful, they start to come back! Bed bugs do not transmit disease, but they do present some unique challenges. The strain on the pocket books and mental well-being of those living with bed bugs makes them a big concern for those who work and live in affordable housing. One of our goals at StopPests is to help you manage bed bugs property-wide. That includes preventing infestations where you can and responding to those that arise with researched, effective control methods. On September 10, from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. EDT, StopPests will be hosting a free webinar on in-house bed bug prevention and management. Dr. Dini Miller and her student Molly Stedfast will present and answer questions about their research and experience managing bed bugs in public housing. For more details and to register click here: http://www.stoppests.org/vtechbedbug

Property managers have a lot on their plate and understandably don’t have the time to research the latest and greatest in bed bug control. This September 10 webinar will help you make informed decisions about what will work best for your site. Can't make it? Register anyway and we'll send you the link to the recorded webinar.

Working in Cooperative Extension for the last 13 years, I’ve watched the bed bug resurgence from its early stages. Around 2006, the office I worked in started getting calls and samples in regularly. Early on my standard recommendation was: call a professional, you are going to need help. End of story. Research hadn’t caught up with the growing bed bug population and we were left with just a few recommendations we could give. Those recommendations typically involved pesticide treatments that were not available to an unlicensed person. In the last few years, it’s been exciting to see research catching up, giving us some promising new control options and monitoring devices. StopPests still recommends always hiring a professional for medium or high-level infestations. The good news is we’re starting to see, with monitors in place making early detection possible, in-house strategies may stop infestations before they get out of hand.

One of the labs doing the cutting-edge research is the Dodson Pest Management Lab at Virginia Tech. Heading up the lab and speaking on this webinar is Dr. Miller, an internationally recognized expert in the area of urban pest management, particularly bed bug biology, behavior and control. She has produced a number of bed bug action plans for the management of infestations in different environments.Through her research, with graduate student Molly Stedfast, we can find out where it makes sense to spend limited resources: money and time. Join us on September 10 to learn about Dr. Miller’s and Molly Stedfast’s work and how it can be applied to your site.

Looking for more bed bug resources?

Dr. Miller’s work is summarized in Virginia Tech’s bed bug fact sheets: http://www.vdacs.virginia.gov/pesticides/bedbugs-facts.shtml

We have up-to-date information on our pests solutions page: http://www.stoppests.org/pest-solutions/bed-bugs/

A YouTube playlist devoted to all things bed bugs: https://www.youtube.com/user/StopPests

And on our website you can view previously recorded bed bug webinars: http://www.stoppests.org/ipm-training/training-opportunities/stoppests-webinars/

 

 

Comments

[Willie Chance]

Sounds like a good webinar. Can I make some suggestions for this release? Include Dr Millers title and affiliation. Is she with Cornell or VT? What does she do? Also, the article says, "Working in Cooperative Extension for the last 13 years, I’ve watched the bed bug resurgence from its early stages." Who wrote the article? What are their credentials? I would like to promote this webinar in GA, but I think people would be more likely to attend if they had this info up front. Thanks for letting me share! :)

[Susannah Reese, StopPests in Housing]

Thanks Willie, I love feedback. I, Susannah Reese, wrote the blog piece. Dr. Miller is the Urban Pest Management specialist for the state of Virginia and heads up the Dodson Pest Management Lab at Virginia Tech.

Looking for more bed bug resources?

Dr. Miller’s work is summarized in Virginia Tech’s bed bug fact sheets: http://www.vdacs.virginia.gov/pesticides/bedbugs-facts.shtml