By Melissa Hamel
At the invitation of The National Pest Management Association (NPMA) Modern Pest Services’ Co-President and Chief Technical Officer Richard Stevenson Jr. B.C.E. participated in the organizations’ ‘Blue Ribbon Bed Bug Task Force’ meeting that took place on October 22nd in Honolulu Hawaii. Members of the task force, which consist of prominent researchers, pest management professionals, and regulators, were asked to develop an industry-wide comprehensive response to the global bed bug pandemic that includes consideration of education, standards, policy and research.
At the initial meeting, several topics were discussed including, but not limited to:
- Development of multi-level best practices for the industry
- Research on the socio-economic impact of bed bugs
- Education and pre-emptive client programs
- Canine inspection and monitoring standards
- Product efficacy standards
- Involvement of state and federal agencies
The task force identified key areas on which it will focus and assigned workgroups to each of those areas. Workgroups were established for;
- Best Management Practices, Credentialing, Certification and Training
- Public Police
- Public Outreach, Education, Messaging and Data Needs
- Research and Efficacy
Richard, a member of both the Best Management Practices and Public Policy workgroups, will work with taskforce members in the coming months to expand on their work started in Hawaii. “There are so many unknowns associated with this bed bug pandemic, and the spread of bed bugs is expected to get worse,” states Richard. “NPMA and the task force have a lot of work to do and we are taking our job very seriously.”
The next Blue Ribbon Task Force meeting will take place at the National Bed Bug Forum Jan. 5 -7 in Denver, Colorado. For more information about bed bugs, visit the Modern website.