Virginia Tech entomology professor Dini Miller sees bedbugs every day, and not just in her laboratory.
"They consume every minute of every day," Miller said Wednesday. "They're an issue that isn't going away any time soon."
Bedbugs, roaches and other bug infestations are becoming an expensive issue for property managers throughout the country, and Hampton Roads is apparently a ripe breeding ground.
Miller and Commonwealth Exterminating Co. hosted a consortium for about 90 public and private property managers at the Peninsula Association of Realtors in Hampton Wednesday to discuss insects and infestations.
"I find many property managers just throwing thousands of dollars at a problem because that is what the pest company says to do," Miller said. "These housing managers must know how to address these issues."
Cory Newell, of Commonwealth Exterminating, said the company continues to expand because of infestation issues. The Newport News-based company takes its prevention and treatment methods from Miller's recommendations.
National pest control company Orkin produces a list of metropolitan areas with the worst bedbug problems. The Richmond/Petersburg area was 11 on the list this year, Miller said.
"I fully anticipate we'll be in the top 10 this next year," she said. "These are not going away.... We're going to be dealing with this pest from now on."
Miller said there's no miracle way to eradicate bedbugs. Home owners and property managers need to take action to prevent infestations and act early when bugs are spotted.
Regularly checking clothing and living areas and placing monitors in areas where tenants spend most of the time in their units should be standard procedure for multi-unit complexes, she said.
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Get used to dealing with bedbugs, expert says, they're not going away
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