New English and Spanish Resources for Multifamily Housing Residents Available at StopPests.org

By Susannah Reese, program coordinator, StopPests in Housing Program

StopPests in Housing has released three pest-specific resources to help share the IPM message with multifamily housing residents.

Through IPM training and consultation delivered by StopPests to HUD-supported housing, it became clear from participants’ feedback that appropriate resident materials were a needed resource.

In response, StopPests created these guides to help housing professionals engage residents in understanding their role in preventing and managing bed bugs, mice, and cockroaches in their homes.

Practical, Accessible Information for a Broader Audience

Often, extension publications have good IPM information for residents but a great deal of text on the biology and natural history of the pests. To low-literacy audiences and non-English speakers, this can be off-putting.

The new picture-based guides were created to show just the basics: how to identify, prevent, and address a pest infestation with safe and effective tools. They visually illustrate what not to do—including self-treating—and what you should do—such as reporting signs of pests to management—to prevent and control pests.

Since lack of reporting is a major obstacle to effective IPM programs, there is a placeholder for property managers to include contact information to encourage residents to report signs of pests to management.

View or Download Guides

English and Spanish versions of these guides are available for download on the StopPests website as PDF files.

Visit stoppests.org/go/residentguides to view or download the guides.

To peruse more of our information on IPM in multifamily housing, visit StopPests.org.