BMBL 6th Edition — Integrated Pest Management in Laboratories and Vivaria (Appendix G)

Citation

Biosafety in Microbiological and Biomedical Laboratories, 6th Edition (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and National Institutes of Health; title page “Revised June 2020”). Read from the CDC PDF on September 24, 2026. Page numbers are the printed page numbers.

What It Says (Verbatim)

In Section IV, the IPM item is among the “A. Standard Microbiological Practices” at each laboratory biosafety level, the next-to-last item before “B. Special Practices”: item 16 at BSL-1 (p. 35), BSL-2 (p. 40), and BSL-3 (p. 46), and item 15 at BSL-4 (p. 55).

Section IV, BSL-1, BSL-2, and BSL-3, item 16:

“16. An effective integrated pest management program is implemented. See Appendix G.”

In Section V, the item is under “A. Standard Microbiological Practices” at each animal biosafety level: item 19 at ABSL-1 (p. 75), ABSL-2 (p. 82), and ABSL-3 (p. 91), and item 17 at ABSL-4 (p. 102). Section V says “required”; Section IV says “implemented.”

Section V, ABSL-1, ABSL-2, and ABSL-3, item 19:

“19. An effective integrated pest management program is required. See Appendix G.”

Appendix G, “Integrated Pest Management (IPM),” pp. 463–465:

Opening (p. 463):

“Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is an important part of managing a research facility. Many pests, including flies and cockroaches, can mechanically transmit disease pathogens and compromise the research environment.”

Goal (p. 463):

“The primary goal of an IPM program is to prevent pest problems by managing the facility environment to make it less conducive to pest infestation.”

Monitoring (p. 464):

“Monitoring is the central activity of an IPM program and is used to minimize pesticide use. Traps, visual inspections, and staff interviews identify areas and conditions that may foster pest activity.”

Recordkeeping (p. 464):

“A logbook should be used to record pest activity and conditions pertinent to the IPM program. It may contain protocols and procedures for IPM services in that facility, Safety Data Sheets on pesticides, pesticide labels, treatment records, floor plans, and survey reports.”

Pest Management with Pesticides (p. 464):

“Preventive applications of pesticides should be discouraged, and treatments should be restricted to areas of known pest activity. When pesticides are applied, the least toxic product(s) available should be used and applied in the most effective and safe manner. Fogging should be avoided.”

Technical Expertise (p. 465):

“A qualified entomologist can provide helpful technical guidance to develop and implement an IPM program. Pest management personnel should be licensed and certified by the appropriate regulatory agency(s).”

Program Evaluation and Quality Assurance (p. 465):

“Quality assurance and program review should be performed to provide an objective, ongoing evaluation of IPM activities and effectiveness to ensure that the program does, in fact, manage pests and meet the specific needs of the facility program(s) and its occupants.”

BMBL describes its own status in the Foreword (p. iii):

“We wish to emphasize that the sixth edition of BMBL remains an advisory document recommending best practices for the safe conduct of work in biomedical and clinical laboratories from a biosafety perspective. The BMBL is not intended to be a regulatory document although we recognize that some may use it in that way.”

The Select Agent regulations list BMBL as something to consider:

42 CFR 73.12(c)(1):

“(c) In developing a biosafety plan, an individual or entity should consider:

(1) The CDC/NIH publication, "Biosafety in Microbiological and Biomedical Laboratories." This document is available on the National Select Agent Registry Web site at http://www.selectagents.gov.”

What It Means in Plain Language

The IPM item is not a special practice reserved for high-containment work. It appears among the standard practices at BSL-1, the lowest level, and at every level above it, in laboratories and in animal facilities alike. Appendix G describes the program: monitoring as the central activity, sanitation and repairs that exclude pests, a designated staff contact, a logbook, non-pesticide methods such as trapping and exclusion, preventive pesticide applications discouraged and treatments restricted to areas of known activity, and ongoing quality assurance.

BMBL calls itself advisory. It carries force where an institution adopts it in its biosafety manual or institutional biosafety committee policy. Two federal instruments point to it without adopting it: the NIH Guidelines, which impose their own insect and rodent control item, and 42 CFR 73.12(c)(1), under which a select agent entity “should consider” BMBL when writing its required biosafety plan. This page does not state that BMBL is binding on any particular laboratory.

Appendix G addresses technical expertise directly: “A qualified entomologist can provide helpful technical guidance.” It is a recommendation, not a requirement.

Who It Applies To

Laboratories and vivaria whose institution has adopted BMBL. BMBL describes itself as having become “the overarching guidance document for the practice of biosafety in the U.S.” (Section I, p. 1); adoption is the institution's decision.

Documentation Evidence

Appendix G lists its own records. A laboratory or vivarium IPM file that follows it holds:

• An IPM policy statement in the facility's standard operating procedures
• A logbook of pest activity and conditions, with IPM protocols, Safety Data Sheets, pesticide labels, treatment records, floor plans, and survey reports
• Records of structural deficiencies and housekeeping conditions, and whether corrections were completed
• The name of the staff member designated to meet with IPM personnel
• Quality assurance and program review results

Confidence Notes

HIGH confidence. All quotations were read from the CDC PDF on September 24, 2026 and checked against the extracted text. Item numbers differ by level (BSL-4 uses 15; ABSL-4 uses 17), and the verb differs by section (“implemented” in Section IV, “required” in Section V); each is stated as printed.