Bed bugs are topic of workshops Nov. 3 and 10
As homeowners and institutions experience a re-emergence of bed bugs, N.C.
Cooperative Extension’s Forsyth County center will host a workshop on the
topic Wednesday, Nov. 3, 8:45 a.m. to 3 p.m. The Extension center is
located at 1450 Fairchild Road in Winston-Salem.
Registration for this workshop and one in Greenville next week is closed,
but media coverage is welcome. The workshop will be repeated Nov. 10 at
the Pitt County center of N.C. Cooperative Extension, located at 403 Government
Circle, Suite 2, Greenville.
The workshop targets county environmental health specialists, social
workers, Cooperative Extension staff, municipal housing code officials
and housing authority staff. It provides an opportunity for participants
to learn more and share critical information about bed bugs so in order to
better serve their clients.
Topics to be covered include information on history and biology of bed
bugs, prevention and treatment strategies, inspecting for and detecting
bed bugs, as well and rules and regulations on bedding. The workshop also
will include demonstrations of using dogs to detect bed bugs, inspecting a
mattress for bed bugs and using heat to treat for bed bug infestation.
Dr. Mike Waldvogel, Extension entomology specialist with N.C. State
University, says bed bugs are becoming a problem in homes and institutions
because of
• increased international travel.
• decreased routine pesticide spraying as institutions adopt Integrated
Pest Management (IPM) strategies over routine spraying, and
• increased resistance of bed bugs to several categories of pesticides.
Partners offering the workshop are N.C. Cooperative Extension, the N.C.
Department of Natural Resources Public Health Pest Management Division,
N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, N.C. Mosquito and
Vector Control Association, and the N.C. Pest Management Association.
Media contact: Dr. Mike Waldvogel, mike_waldvogel@ncsu.edu or 919.801.4108
(cell) or 919.515.8881 (office)
-Written by Natalie Hampton, natalie_hampton@ncsu.edu or 919.513.3128.
