I found these background notes (PDF) on the website of the Property Management Association of West Michigan (PMAM); they describe the efforts of a workgroup on bed bugs brought together by the Michigan Department of Community Health. The first meeting was in January:
The work group consisted of members from the Michigan Department of Health, Michigan Department of Agriculture, Michigan State University, Michigan Environmental Health Association, Michigan Pest Control Association, Wayne County Health Department, and the PMAM, representing the property management industry. Everyone felt that there is little information out there from within Michigan and that this work group could possibly take the lead in providing information to Michigan residents concerning this growing problem. Eric Foster, with MDCH, let the initial workgroup meeting and hosted the meeting also. The meeting lasted four hours and resulted in four subcommittees being formed. Gary Offenbacher represented PMAM and the housing industry for the initial meeting.
Four subcommittees were formed to work on issues surrounding the bed bug itself, treatment guidelines, laws and regulations and education/training and communication. The identified issues included quality of life, anxiety, difficulty in controlling infestations, public education, enforcement, tracking complaints, etc. This list of areas of focus and tasks should be familiar to all of us by now.
The second meeting’s update from March 23 (PDF) evinces what to me looks like substantial progress, notably a website (and it’s great to see the NYS IPM Program/Cornell guidelines being so useful).
The workgroup is apparently developing a Bed Bug Manual that would be a
comprehensive manual to cover all aspects of prevention and control of bed bugs. The assumption is that the “Bed Bug Manual” would be in a binder form and also available in CD format and be published on the Web. There is no exact timeframe for having this project completed, but a start was to get existing information on the web, which has been accomplished.
This is what is puzzling about our bed bug “epidemic.” There are so few resources and yet everyone is forced to develop guidance entirely from the ground up? This is where federal agencies can lend a hand.
Will our city be able to muster this kind of cooperation? Here. What will our efforts look like… when and if they get off the ground.
These pages may be of related interest:
- Michigan’s bed bug management decision flow chart
- Franklin County October Bed Bug Summit, notes from OPCA
- The Central Ohio Bed Bug Task Force: an interview with Paul Wenning
- Stop Bedbugs DC: a bed bug summit to start the dialogue to end the bed bugs
- The Toronto Bed Bug Project – Medical Officer of Health’s Report
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