MU Extension video offers tips on bedbug defense

COLUMBIA, Mo.– University of Missouri Extension has developed a 15-minute educational video on preventing and controlling bedbugs.

“The Return of the Bedbugs” uses horror-movie conventions to look at the resurgence of this nearly forgotten insect pest and show how households can prevent or repel a bedbug invasion.

Bedbug infestations have increased 71 percent between 2001 and 2009, according to the National Pest Management Association.

The video provides tips on how to avoid accidentally bringing bedbugs home, including demonstrations of  how to  look for bedbugs in hotel rooms and other lodging facilities. The video explains what steps to take if you already have bedbugs and demonstrates procedures pest control professionals use to locate and control bedbugs.

“The Return of the Bedbugs” is available on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4FeuscBW4s. A version for pest control professionals is in the works.

The video was produced by Robert Mize of the MU Extension Cooperative Media Group in collaboration with Richard Houseman, state extension entomologist and associate professor in the MU College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources.

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