Note – May 2009: To read about the outcomes of the meeting, click here.

It’s official!  The groundbreaking EPA bed bug conference we told you about has been announced.

This is the information sheet (PDF) with all the details.  It’s one and a half days.  The meeting is public and attendance is free but seating is limited to 125 so the request is to please RSVP.

And this is the announcement from the Environmental Protection Agency Office of Pesticide Programs:

OPP Update: EPA’s National Bed Bug Summit

On April 14-15, 2009, EPA will host the National Bed Bug Summit in Washington D.C.

At the meeting, participants will share information on topics including the expanding effect of bed bugs on the housing, hospitality, and other industries/sectors; factors contributing to the growing problem; and the response of public health and government.  The meeting will provide a venue to communicate with others in the diverse community affected by the growing bed bug problem.  Participants will also identify ideas and options for bed bug prevention, control, and management; create strategies for outreach and education; and develop recommendations for action for participating and affected stakeholders.

EPA’s National Bed Bug Summit meeting is open to the public.  If you are interested in attending, you do not need to register in advance of the meeting and there is no registration fee.  Seating is limited and available on a first-come basis.  While no registration is necessary, we encourage you to RSVP so we can better estimate attendance and provide meeting updates.  For information on the location and times of the meeting, please contact Karen Angulo by e-mail ([angulo.karen AT epa.gov]) or telephone (703-306-0404).

This meeting is being held under the auspices of EPA’s Pesticide Program Dialogue Committee.

Please note that this EPA meeting in April is a distinct conference and will follow the also extraordinary and promising Stop Bedbugs DC bed bug summit on March 27.

Bed bug summits.  Plural.

Incredible but true. 

Please, please participate.