51st UK Short Course Brings Together Leading Pest Control Experts

LEXINGTON, Ky. -  This year marked the 51st anniversary of the University of Kentucky Pest Control Short Course.  While originally designed as a short training experience, the conference has grown to a 3-day program with one of the strongest lineups of speakers and topics in the country, and training provided at this year’s Short Course didn’t disappoint! 

This year’s conference had attendees from 20 different states comprised of those working in pest management, multifamily housing, public health, school systems, and food processing. In addition, this year’s conference recognized two outstanding technicians for their contributions to the industry.

On day one of the conference, we had two concurrent sessions: one on general pest management and another on wood destroying organisms (WDO). During the general pest management session, talks were given on sanitation and small flies (Pat Hottel; McCloud Services, Bartlett, Ill.), stored products pests (Scott Robbins; Action Pest Control, Evansville, Ind), cockroaches in commercial accounts (Chad Gore; Rentokil, Reading, Pa), and equipment and technology (Tommy Reeves; Oldham Chemicals, Memphis). These talks provided great practical advice on how to manage a variety of insect problems and what tools are best suited for each particular job.

During the WDO session, talks were given on moisture damage and wood decay fungus (Jeff Lloyd; Nisus Corporation, Rockford, Tenn), non-termite WDOs (Frank Fowler; Forshaw, Charlotte, N.C.), and building biology and termite inspections (Tim Leatherman; Perfection Pest Control, Union, Ken). These talks were then followed by a panel discussion which also included Matt Schaffer (IPM Pest and Termite, Lexington, Ken.), Tom Myers (All-Rite Pest Control, Lexington, Ken), and TJ Neary (Insect Technologies, Lexington, Ken).  This session provided a lot of great updates on termite and non-termite WDOs, particularly around new rules and regulations that are impacting many states.

Day two of the conference was headlined by Dr. Bobby Corrigan and Dr. Jerome Goddard, two titans of the pest management industry. Corrigan gave an outstanding overview of mice and rats and what it takes to be great in rodent control in 2022, including practical advice on how to be a good observational biologist. Goddard’s presentations were both informative and engaging, as he worked through his thoughts on what pest control is going to look like in the future and how that should impact our operations today.  In addition, Dr. Goddard also spoke on the challenges and difficulties in dealing with clients suffering delusional parasitosis, a belief that they have a pest problem but in reality, do not.  If those two weren’t enough, we also heard outstanding talks from Judy Black (Rollins Inc., Atlanta, GA) on liability, Dan Suiter (Dept. of Entomology, Univ. of Georgia) on invasive ant species, and Zach DeVries (Dept. of Entomology, Univ. of Kentucky, Lexington, Ken) on the challenges we face with DIY treatments on the rise.

On the evening of Day 2, we hosted our annual evening reception, which was a great opportunity to catch up with old friends and make new ones.  It was also a great opportunity to really interact with the vendors, where attendees got a chance to see some of the new products and technology up close and utilize the extensive knowledge of the vendors to find the right product or tool for their business.

The final day of the conference was kicked off by research updates given by current students at the University of Kentucky (Johnalyn Gordon, Simona Principato, Ben Grady, and Isabelle Lucero).  These talks were a great opportunity for PCOs to hear about ongoing research and how it may impact their work in the future. Additionally, the final day featured a talk by Jeremy Jackson (Douglas Products, Newburgh, IN) on myth-busting fumigation, where many fumigation myths were debunked, and a new potential service was explored.  The final day concluded with talks on dealing with ants in the trenches (TJ Neary; Insect Technologies, Lexington, Ken) and invasive pests moving into the Kentucky region (Jonathan Larson, Dept. of Entomology, Univ. of Kentucky, Lexington, Ken). These presentations provided important updates on how to manage pests that are either new or not frequently encountered.

In summary, this year’s Short Course was not only educational, but a lot of fun.  The talks were outstanding and the speakers were incredibly engaging.  It was also great to see and interact with so many friends and colleagues. Next year’s Short Course is sure to be even better, and is scheduled for November 1-3, 2022 in Lexington, Ken.  Regardless of where you live, if you want to learn and improve as a pest control operator you should consider attending.  Learn more about the conference at www.kyshortcourse.org.

The author is assistant professor at the University of Kentucky Department of Entomology.