Education Programs
Hands-on bed bug training programs and educational workshops are a cornerstone of the Virginia Tech Bed Bug and Urban Pest Information Center’s mission. Training Programs can be presented to apartment facilities personnel and include an educational session on bed bug biology and behavior, a review of the purpose and practice of non-chemical and minimally toxic prevention tools
and techniques for preventing bed bug introduction and spread. In the training programs, participants actually treat several apartments, and build a heat chamber for treating bed bug infested furniture. Educational workshops are presented to multi-unit housing residents, where residents are taught basic bed bug biology and identification, in-home prevention and control methods (mattress encasements, monitoring devices, the use of a household dryer, etc.), and ways to avoid bed bug introductions into their living space. Direct Correspondence with the Public
We receive many emails and telephone calls each week from citizens or other stakeholders that have urban pest problems. Print and Electronic Information
Currently, there are 13 bed bug related fact sheets (describing bed bug biology and behavior, signs of an infestation, action plans for bed bugs in different environments etc.) available on our website, on the VDACS OPS website, the US EPA Bed Bug Clearing House website and soon, the Virginia Cooperative Extension website. These fact sheets are currently available in both English and Spanish (more languages coming soon!) and are all available for download to the public and other entities. Also available is a 12 page, illustrated booklet titled Bed Bugs: How to Protect Yourself and Your Home that has recently been posted on all the websites listed above. More fact sheets focused on bed bugs and other urban pests are in production, and will include:
* Guidelines for writing a “request for proposals” for housing managers looking to hire:
* Bed bug heat treatment provider
* Community-wide IPM practicioners
* Other general pest management contractors
* How to evaluate the potential quality of your pest control service based on the bid price
* German cockroach integrated pest management strategies for multi-unit housing
