[PCT On The Road] A Glimpse into the Future

The National Conference on Urban Entomology celebrates its past while looking to the future with a broad range of industry-specific research projects.

Celebrating its 20th anniversary, the National Conference on Urban Entomology (NCUE) welcomed approximately 240 university researchers and industry representatives to Raleigh-Durham, N.C., in May for a comprehensive educational program featuring more than 90 technical presentations on diverse topics ranging from “Bait Technology for Pest Ant Management” to “Molecular Advances in Termite Research.”
Launched in 1986, the NCUE grew out of informal conversations by several urban entomologists at the National Pest Management Association Convention & Trade Show in San Antonio, Texas, more than two decades ago, according to Dr. Patricia Zungoli of Clemson University, the original committee chairperson. “The goal in the beginning was to create a conference where the research community, extension and industry could come together and exchange information relevant to all three groups,” Zungoli said. “We were just happy that it worked. That we planned the conference and people actually came and we could pay the bills.”
Since that time, the National Conference on Urban Entomology has played an important role in nurturing the next generation of urban entomologists and serving as a forum for greater collaboration between the research community and the pest management industry.

SCHAL HONORED. During the opening session of the four-day conference, Dr. Coby Schal of North Carolina State University, received the NCUE’s Distinguished Achievement Award in Urban Entomology, the organization’s highest honor. Schal was recognized for his many contributions to the pest management industry, as well as the field of urban entomology. In honoring Schal, NCUE Awards Chairman Dr. Daniel Suiter said the longtime educator had developed an “exceptionally strong, internationally recognized urban entomology program.”
Quoting a nomination letter from Schal’s North Carolina State colleagues Jules Silverman and Ed Vargo, as well as former graduate student Robert Kopanic, Suiter said, “His research scope is very broad, spanning from the cellular regulation of insect endocrine glands and the biochemistry, behavior and physiology of cockroach pheromones to the implementation of integrated approaches in the management of urban pests.”
Also recognized at the conference were NCUE’s student scholarship award winners: Rebecca Bailiff, Louisiana State University, winner of the Bachelor of Science Award and a student of Dr. Linda Hooper-Bui; Margaret Gentz, University of Hawaii at Manoa, the winner of the Master of Science Award and a student of Dr. Ken Grace; and Raj K. Saran, the winner of the Ph.D. Award and a student of Dr. Michael Rust, University of California, Riverside. Each student received a $1,500 check, along with their award.
HOT TOPICS. Following the ceremony, Schal presented the Arnold Mallis Memorial Award Lecture titled, “The German Cockroach: Re-Emergence of an Old Foe … That Never Departed.” During the hour-long lecture, Schal updated attendees on his pioneering work on asthma and cockroach allergens. “Cockroaches are producing an enormous amount of human allergen,” he said, which represents a significant public health threat, particularly among inner-city children. That’s the bad news. The good news is Schal’s research indicates it’s a problem that can be addressed successfully through an integrated approach incorporating sanitation, resident education and cockroach control.
“Why has allergen abatement in homes failed for all these years?” he asked. “In our view the emphasis has been on medical interventions and clinicians rather than entomologists and structural pest control. The job of the PMP is really the critical factor in reducing cockroach allergens,” he said. “We’ve shown we can reduce allergens significantly with cockroach control.”
Schal warned, however, that the pest management industry must be vigilant in its cockroach control efforts and continue to invest in technician training. If pest management professionals hope to reduce the incidence of cockroach-related asthma, “much better training needs to be done,” he said.
More than 60 percent of the papers presented at the conference focused on termite control, but that doesn’t mean that significant resources aren’t being allocated to general pest control research at both the university and manufacturer level. Two areas of particular interest for pest management professionals are public health pests, such as imported fire ants, and the re-emergence of German cockroach resistance. NCUE attendees heard a series of presentations from leading experts in the field on each of these important topics. “Bart” Drees, professor and extension entomologist, Texas A&M University, organized a well-attended symposium on “The Imported Fire Ants’ Threat and Management around Sensitive Accounts.” In introducing the topic, Drees said children and the elderly are particularly susceptible to fire ant stings, particularly if they are immobile or unable to escape an attack. “They can’t get away,” he said, so they’re vulnerable.
The vast majority of cases — and those that garner the greatest media publicity and most costly lawsuits — occur in nursing homes and extended care facilities. That’s why site analysis should be “a major part of any pest management program,” according to Drees.
In those regions of the country where fire ants are present they are “very pervasive in the environment,” so a comprehensive IPM program is essential when servicing these accounts. Otherwise, PCOs are opening themselves up to potentially costly litigation. “Site analysis should be a major part of any pest management program,” he said. “Mounds next to a building or nesting next to the slab should be a major source of concern. (Fire ant) IPM starts in the landscape.”
Two of Drees’ colleagues at Texas A&M University — Roger Gold and Mike Merchant — followed him on the program, providing additional insights about the serious public health threat posed by imported fire ants. Gold said it’s difficult to get a handle on just how pervasive the problem of fire ant attacks in nursing home facilities is given the fact so many of these cases are settled out of court, generating millions of dollars in damages. Merchant agreed, pointing out that “most of the cases that occur in nursing homes are probably underreported. If a case is settled out of court it may or may not appear in the newspapers.”
However, by studying those incidents that are reported, PCOs can improve their chances of controlling fire ant problems and avoid becoming embroiled in a costly lawsuit. Specific incidents, Gold said, have included: when the victim’s bed is next to the window; when a rainfall event occurred the evening before the attack — which most often occurred on the weekend — and the area bordering the facility was not controlled by the PCO or the health care facility. “This is a common theme,” he said.
In closing, Gold said, PCOs can provide a valuable public health service by offering fire ant control services, but it requires a commitment to excellence and cooperation between the PCO and nursing home facility management. “Either do fire ants right or exclude them from your contracts,” he said.
Another well-attended symposium on the second full day of the National Conference on Urban Entomology was organized by Changlu Wang of Purdue University and devoted to the topic of German cockroach IPM and the re-emergence of resistance.
In kicking off the program, Nonggang Bao of Bayer Environmental Science described the difference between bait aversion and insecticide resistance, and provided an excellent literature review of the topic. While bait aversion is one of the factors contributing to the resurgence of German cockroaches in many parts of the United States, PCOs have ample tools to readily manage the problem, according to Bao.
Termites were once again a hot topic at this year’s NCUE. Specifically, several researchers looked at insecticide transfer among termites. Look for additional coverage of this topic in an upcoming issue of PCT.
Corporate sponsors of the four-day conference included: BASF Corporation, Bayer Environmental Science, Dow AgroSciences, DuPont Professional Products, FMC Corporation, McLaughlin-Gormley King, Nisus Corporation, Orkin Pest Control, Pest Control Technology magazine, S.C. Johnson & Son, Inc., Syngenta Professional Products, Terminix International and Whitmire Micro-Gen Research Laboratories.