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University of Missouri-St. Louis Receives Grant to Combat Bed Bugs

Release Date: 04/06/2011
Contact Information: Ben Washburn, (913) 551-7364, [email protected]


Environmental News

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

(Kansas City, Kan., April 6, 2011) - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is awarding a grant totaling $89,074 to the University of Missouri-St. Louis to conduct research and educate high poverty communities, minorities, and immigrants about the dangers of bed bugs. The University of Missouri-St. Louis will partner with the St. Louis Lead Prevention Coalition to administer the grant.

The 12-month project will develop training materials for building inspectors and social service agencies that serve low-income minority and immigrant neighborhoods, assist residents in addressing existing bed bug infestation problems, and proactively avoid a larger contamination problem through the following initiatives:

• Help households create healthy home environments through education and understanding how the environment impacts health.
• Assure public policy is appropriately addressing the problem by distributing model ordinances and codes to governmental jurisdictions in the affected community.
• Creation of a smart phone friendly website to distribute general information about bed bugs, bed bug control, prevention, and identification.
• Creation of a Facebook page to complement the website in distributing information about bed bugs. The Facebook page will function as a source of highly portable and up-to-the minute information about the most effective strategies for preventing, controlling, and eradicating bed bugs.
• Creation of a graphic booklet that focuses on key information that will be most effective in the fight against bed bugs.