Chicago vs. Bed Bugs

I received an email yesterday from Silvia Salazar of Norwood Tenant Association, the phenomenal lady I wrote about here.  Silvia wrote to fill me in on the Stop Bedbugs DC Summit, which she helped create and organize.  Silvia had great news to share– the summit, sponsored in part by the DC Department of Health, was a huge success.  In fact, Silvia says

We had over 120 organizations in attendance. Many were interested in developing a task force and offered resources and expertise.

A fire alarm went off after lunch and we had to exit the building. We were concerned that people would loose interest and leave. We were gladly surprised to see them return after we were cleared to return to the building. Guess the summit attendees were as tenacious as bedbugs.

Or the summit attendees really understood exactly how tenacious bed bugs can be!

These are just a few of the photos taken during the summit. My favorite is the top middle picture. What this photo says to me is that people are talking and listening to each other; they’re trying to determine what needs to be done, which bases need to be covered right away, and how they can work together to address the spread of bed bugs in Washington DC.  As I mentioned here, the summit included all of the following:

• Expert entomologists
• Experienced industry professionals
• Stakeholders
• Discussion of pertinent and time-sensitive issues:
  • legislation
  • enforcement
  • citizen involvement through tenant groups, senior and public housing
• Educational outreach
• Government and local business participation
• Empowering people who are affected by bed bugs to take action and combat the problem

Wonder if we could pull something like this off here in Chicago?  I hope so.  The Stop Bedbugs DC Summit was an important first step for the stakeholders in DC who are interested in developing a task force– and a strategic plan– to control bed bug infestations there.

Again, we at Chicago vs. Bed Bugs commend all of the organizers, speakers, and attendees who participated in the Stop Bedbugs DC Summit on March 27th.  You are on the right track, and we’re so grateful to you for setting an example for everyone.

*Special thanks to Silvia Salazar for sending summit updates and photos.

A few weeks ago, Renee and I participated in a phone conference with Silvia Salazar and David Fabian, co-presidents of the Norwood Tenant Association in Washington DC.

Silvia and David contacted us to discuss their plans for an upcoming bed bug summit, which they, along with other members of their organization, were sponsoring in collaboration with the DC Department of Health.

I was so impressed by Silvia and David; I was so impressed by their determination and the determination of the other members of Norwood Tenant Association.  These people have been battling bed bugs (among other things) in their multi-unit building for years.  Years, people!  And they have not given up.  In fact, they have gone so far as to make themselves heard, loud and clear, to the people who can make a difference.

The product of their efforts is the Stop Bedbugs DC Summit, which will be held in Washington DC tomorrow (Friday, March 27th, 2009).  I received the summit press release, which you can view in its entirety here, from Silvia yesterday:

Presenters are to include Dr. Dini Miller, Associate Professor, Dodson Urban Pest Management Laboratory  at Virginia Tech, Ray Lopez, the 2008 recipient of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Community Health Leader award for his innovative approaches to controlling bedbugs without using pesticides, as well as representatives from the pest management community, who will share the latest industry approaches.

The summit will establish various stakeholder groups that are affected by bedbugs, and empower them to take action to combat this problem.  This event will also include discussion of legislative and enforcement approaches, as well as citizen involvement through tenant groups, senior and public housing, and educational outreach through government and local businesses on the front lines of the community.

The goal of the summit is to learn about bedbug biology, bedbug control, and to establish a DC wide task force that will address enforcement, data collection, and legislative approaches.

Wow.  Talk about impressive!  The Norwood Tenants and the DC Department of Health have incorporated the critical components of developing a strategic plan to control bed bug infestations right into the summit:

• Expert entomologists
• Experienced industry professionals
• Stakeholders
• Discussion of pertinent and time-sensitive issues:
  • legislation
  • enforcement
  • citizen involvement through tenant groups, senior and public housing
• Educational outreach
• Government and local business participation
• Empowering people who are affected by bed bugs to take action and combat the problem

I applaud the Norwood Tenant Association, the DC Department of Health, and the participants, the speakers, and the attendees of the Stop Bedbugs DC Summit.  And I humbly thank them all, for their hard work, their dedication to addressing and controlling the spread of bed bugs, and for their courage– especially Silvia Salazar and David Fabian.

We sincerely hope to follow their lead here in Chicago ASAP.