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Dini Miller

Professor
  • Urban Pest Management
miller
Dodson Pest Management Lab
dinim@vt.edu
540-231-4045

Education

B.A. (1991), University of California at Los Angeles 

M.S. (1994), University of Florida 

Ph.D. (1998), University of Florida

Professional Memberships

  • Entomological Society of America
  • Gamma Sigma Delta
  • Sigma Xi

Dini Miller received her undergraduate degree from UCLA in 1991 where she majored in Geography/Ecosystems.  She completed her Masters (1994) and Ph.D. degrees at the University of Florida (1998) where she studied Urban Entomology, specifically German cockroach biology and aggregation behavior.  Dr. Miller has won numerous awards for her work in urban entomology including the pest control industry’s Crown Leadership Award, the Entomological Society of America’s (Eastern Branch) Distinguished Achievement Award in Extension, and the Gamma Sigma Delta Award of Merit in Extension.

Courses Taught

  • ENT 6004 Urban and Public Health Entomology 

Since 2004, Dr. Miller and her graduate students have been spending numerous hours in the field and the laboratory evaluating the efficacy of our current bed bug, cockroach and subterranean termite control tools.  Dr. Miller works constantly with the pest management industry, apartment managers, schools, shelters and hotel personnel to understand the challenges that these stakeholders face when dealing with urban pest (particularly bed bug) infestations.  Dr. Miller and the Virginia Department of Agriculture recently developed the Bed Bug Forum training for managers of multi-unit housing, and authored 13 nationally recognized fact sheets (English and Spanish) to prepare apartment, hotel, and shelter managers for dealing with bed bug infestations throughout the next decade. 

Dini M. Miller is a Professor at Virginia Tech, and the Urban Pest Management Specialist for the state of Virginia.  Dr. Miller is an internationally recognized expert in the area of urban pest management, particularly bed bug biology, behavior and control.  She has produced a number of bed bug action plans for the management of infestations in different environments, and published one of the first scientific papers evaluating modern bed bug response to insecticide treatments in the field. Dr. Miller’s extension program is designed to train pest management professionals, public health officials, apartment and hotel managers, and homeowners to control indoor pests while reducing their pesticide exposure risk. Likewise, her research program focuses on the evaluation and enhancement of reduced toxicity methods for structural pest control.

Dr. Miller is the Urban Pest Management specialist for the state of Virginia. The urban pest management postion is predominantly extension with additional research and teaching responsibilities. The urban pest management extension program focuses on promoting the adoption of integrated pest management (IPM) techniques to control arthropod pests in structures. Since 2004, Dr. Miller's primary focus has been on IPM methods for the remediation of bed bugs infestations. Visit the VDACS website for fact sheets (English and Spanish) and presentation information on bed bugs.

The ultimate goal of an IPM program is to control pests, while reducing the need for repeated pesticide applications in human living and work space. Dr. Miller is currently implementing a statewide School IPM training program. The purpose of the program is to teach IPM methods to school facilities personnel and contract pest control operators in order to reduce pesticide use in schools. Dr. Miller also is a co-instructor for the Urban and Public Health Entomology (UPHE) course. The course provides an introduction to pests in the urban environment, and explains how pest biology and behavior contribute to their ability to infest human structures. The UPHE course offers students hands-on experience in applying integrated pest management techniques within sensive environments such as schools, zoos, and health care facilities. Dr. Miller's current research projects focus on bed bug biology and control, IPM techniques for control of cockroaches, ants and subterranean termites, and the cost/benefit analysis of IPM in Virginia public housing.

  • Polanco, A., Brewster, C. C., Miller, D. M. 2011. Population growth potential of the bed bug Cimex lectularius L.: A life table analysis. Insects 2: 173-185
  • Polanco, A., Miller, D. M., Brewster, C. C. 2011. Survivorship during starvation for Cimex lectularius L. Insects 2: 232-242
  • Adelman, Z. N., Kilcullen, K. A., Koganemaru, R., Anderson, M., Anderson, T. D., Miller, D. M. 2010. Deep sequencing of pyrethroid-resistant bed bugs reveals multiple mechanisms of resistance within a single population. PloS One. 6: e26228. doi. 10.1371/journal/prone0023228.
  • Brown, P., Miller, D. M. 2010. Characterization of emerging tramp ant communities (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in residential neighborhoods of Southern Puerto Rico. Sociobiology. 57: 425-444.
  • Polanco, A., Brewster, C. C., Miller, D. M. 2010. Population growth potential of the bed bug, Cimex lectularius L.: A life table analysis. Insects. 2: 173-185. doi: 10.3390/insects2020173.
  • Polanco, A., Miller, D. M. 2010. Survivorship during starvation for Cimex lectularius. L. Insects. 2: 232-242. doi: 10.3390/insects2020232
  • Polanco, A., Miller, D. M., Brewster, C. C. 2010. Reproductive potential of field-collected populations of Cimex lectularius L. and the cost of traumatic insemination. Insects. 2: 326-335. doi: 10.3390/insects2030326.
  • Reis, M., Miller, D. M. 2010. Host searching and aggregation activity of recently fed and unfed bed bugs (Cimex lectularius L.). Insects. 2: 186-194. doi: 10.3390/insects2020186
  • Fisher, M. L., Miller, D. M., Brewster, C. C., Dickerman, A. W. 2007. A study of the gut bacterial diversity in Reticulitermes flavipes using Amplified rDNA Restriction Analysis (ARDRA). Sociobiology. In press.
  • Fisher, M. L., Miller, D. M., Brewster, C. C., Husseneder, C., Dickerman, A. W. 2007. Diversity of gut bacteria of Reticulitermes flavipes as examined by 16S rRNA gene sequencing and amplified rDNA restriction analysis (ARDRA). Current Microbiology. In press.
  • Moore, II, D., Miller, D. M. 2006. Laboratory evaluations of insecticide product efficacy for control of Cimex lectularius (Common bed bug). J. Econ. Entomol. 99: 2080-2086
  • Miller, D. M., McCoy, T. C. 2005. Comparison of commercial bait formulations for efficacy against bait averse German cockroaches (Blattella germanica) (Dictyoptera: Blattellidae). Proceeding of the 5th International Conference on Urban Pests. 5:115-121
  • Swoboda, L. E., Miller, D. M. 2005. A device to simplify harvesting subterranean termites (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae) from laboratory cultures. . J. Agric. Urban Entomol. 21: 113-115.
  • Swoboda, L. E., Miller, D. M. 2005. Laboratory evaluation of subterranean termite (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae) response to "thermal shadows" in an environment of homogenous temperature.. Sociobiology. 45: 811-828
  • Miller, D. M., Meek, F. 2004. Cost and efficacy comparison of IPM strategies with monthly spray insecticide applications for German cockroach (Dictyoptera: Blattellidae) control in public housing.. J. Econ. Entomol. 97: 559-569.
  • Miller, D. M. 2004. A training program for cooperative extension agents: implementation of integrated pest management (IPM) in Virginia public schools. . J. of Extension. 42: 5
  • Perrott, R. C., Miller, D. M., Mullins, D. E. 2004. Effects of competing food sources on subterranean termite, Reticulitermes spp., (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae), consumption of hexaflumuron treated baits in laboratory assays.. Sociobiology. 44: 69-88.
  • Swoboda, L. E., Miller, D. M. 2004. Influence of physical guidelines in subterranean termite (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae) tunneling behavior, bait discovery and consumption. . J. Econ. Entomol. 97: 1404-1412.
  • Swoboda, L. E., Miller, D. M., Fell, R. D., Mullins, D. E. 2004. The effect of nutrient compounds (sugars and amino acids) on bait consumption by Reticulitermes spp. (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae). Sociobiology. 44: 547-563
  • Miller, D. M., Koehler, P. G. 2000. Novel extraction of German cockroach (Dictyoptera: Blattellidae) fecal pellets enhances efficacy of spray formulation insecticides. J. Econ. Entomol. 93: 107-111
  • Miller, D. M., Koehler, P. G. 2000. Trail following in the German cockroach, Blattella germanica (L.) (Dictyoptera: Blatellidae).. J. Econ. Entomol. 93:1241-1246
  • Miller, D. M., Koehler, P. G., Nation, J. L. 2000. Fecal extract trails enhance trap catch in German cockroach (Dictyoptera: Blattellidae) monitoring stations. J. Econ. Entomol. 93: 865-870.
  • Gahlhoff, J. E., Miller, D. M., Koehler, P. G. 1999. Secondary kill of adult German cockroaches (Dictyoptera: Blattellidae) via cannibalism of nymphs fed toxic baits. J. Econ. Entomol. 92: 1133-1137
  • Miller, D. M., Koehler, P. G., Patterson, R. S. 1997. Use of German cockroach (Blattella germanica) fecal extract to enhance toxic bait performance in the presence of alternative food sources. J. Econ. Entomol. 90: 483-487.
  • Miller, D. M., Koehler, P. G., Patterson, R. S. 1996. The influence of aggregation pheromone on consumption in German cockroaches (Blattella germanica). . J. Econ. Entomol. 89: 668-672.

Dr. Miller has made three videos in cooperation with the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS) intended to educate the public on a variety of bed bug related topics.

Hotel inspections:
http://youtu.be/Yyv3_daJdjs

 

Identification of infestations:
http://youtu.be/jSPF0Xf5GCA

 

Keeping yourself safe from bed bugs while traveling:
http://youtu.be/4XWKhsaBaic