VDACS - Office of Pesticide Services
Hosted by Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Office of Pesticide Services
It's in the Eye of the Bug-holder!
The Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services' Office of Pesticide Services regulates pesticides and the people that use them. Pesticides prevent, destroy, repel, or mitigate pests, for example, insects (insecticides), weeds (herbicides) and rodents (rodenticides) and are used to protect our food, homes and health. Whether something is a pest or not depends on a lot of things including where is it found, if it could cause damage to property or if it could cause harm or injury to a person, plant or animal. People who use a pesticide to control a pest are required to follow all the directions on on the label on the container. The label is the law!
While you are here, take a look at our photo gallery and decide which bugs are good, bad or just ugly! Grab some popcorn and watch our videos to learn about bed bugs and how to keep them from biting! Check out some fun activities for all ages with our At-Home Activities!
Spotted lanternfly (SLF), Lycorma delicatula. Credit: Mark Sutphin, VCE (By permission)
For Kids Only! From our Virginia Pesticide Safety website (www.vapesticidesafety.com), check out the activities for children interested in learning more about pests and pest management. This website is brought to you by the Office of Pesticide Services in the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to provide useful information related to pesticides and their proper use. In addition to these fun activities for kids, grown ups will find information about common pests of the home, lawn and garden, options for managing those pests, choosing pesticides and selecting a pest control firm if necessary. Information about seasonal pests and emerging pests such as bed bugs and the brown marmorated stink bug will be added throughout the year. The information on this website comes from a variety of sources including federal and state governments, universities and professional organizations. We encourage you to add the Virginia Pesticide Safety website to your list of favorites!
Our Fact Sheets provide information about bed bugs, their biology and behavior, how to identify them, types of treatments and what to expect during treatments. Find the titles that interest you most and read away! These and other bed bug fact sheets are available in both English and Spanish at https://www.vdacs.virginia.gov/pesticide-bedbug-fact-sheets.shtml. Our bed bug videos are also available in Spanish at https://www.vdacs.virginia.gov/pesticide-bed-bug-outreach-and-education-program.shtml.
Established in 1877, the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS) promotes the economic growth and development of Virginia agriculture, provides consumer protection and encourages environmental stewardship.