Understanding pest biology (the why and how they do things) is key to reducing pest problems. Pest management can be a real challenge in any structure–maybe more so in multi-family housing. Pests like cockroaches, rodents and even bed bugs travel from room to room and, unfortunately, from apartment to apartment.
We asked Susannah Reese of STOPPESTS.ORG to share some of their new resources!
“StopPests in Housing, a Northeastern IPM Center project to promote IPM in affordable housing, has produced 5 new resources. These guides were developed to help share the IPM message with multifamily housing residents and managers. The resident guides use pictures to show common preventive strategies including what not to do, and what you should do to prevent and control pests. The guides show the common signs of each of the 3 main pests of housing – the German cockroach, mice, and bed bugs. There is a placeholder for property managers to include contact information to encourage resident to report signs of pests.”
Here’s a sample of the resources created for residents:
The English and Spanish translations for these guides can be downloaded here, then printed and shared:
- Resident’s guide: Stop Cockroaches!
- Spanish: Detenga las Cucarachas!
- Resident’s guide: Stop Mice!
- Spanish: Detenga los Ratones!
- Resident’s guide: Stop Bed Bugs!
- Spanish: Detenga las Chinches!
Two more guides are targeted to property managers: IPM for German Cockroaches: A Guide for Property Managers and IPM for Bed Bugs: A Guide for Property Managers, explain the role of the property manager in overseeing the pest control efforts of their staff, residents and pest management professionals. When all parties work together pest control is more effective. These guides can be found here: http://www.stoppests.org/what-is-ipm/using-ipm/property-manager-ipm-guides/
For more information on IPM in affordable housing visit StopPests.org
Susannah and the folks at StopPests would love to have you visit and follow their blog.