Conferences are a great away to keep up to speed with latest pest control products and developments in scientific understanding, network with colleagues and suppliers, and let’s be honest, have a bit of a vacation as well!
When deciding on which conference to attend, although there are some great options in Australia through the industry conferences and supplier trade shows, there are some significant overseas conferences certainly worth a closer look…
Australia
The hosting of the annnual industry pest control conference alternates between AEPMA and Rapid Solutions and is generally held on the Gold Coast during August. This year, EduCON (hosted by Rapid Solutions) runs from August 8-11 at Royal Pines on the Gold Coast.
New Zealand
The biennial industry conference is run by PMANZ (Pest Management Association of New Zealand). 2019 is an ‘on’ year and the PMANZ Biennial Conference and will be held August 23-24 in Auckland.
Asia
The FAOPMA/Pest Summit conference evolved through the amalgamation of the two big regional conferences: FAOPMA (Federation of Asian and Oceania Pest Management Association) and Pest Summit. This is the biggest pest control conference in Asia Pacific, typically with 1000+ international delegates and at least as many from the host country. The program has a wide range speakers from around the world covering pest control and public health. The atmosphere and enthusiasm for pest control at the conference is fairly unique. This year’s FAOPMA/Pest Summit Conference is in Daejeon, South Korea from September 24-27.
USA
Pestworld is the annual US pest control conference run by NPMA (National Pest Management Association). With over 500 international delegates on top of the thousands of local attendees and over 165 exhibitors, it is a serious affair. The conference generally alternates between the east and west coast each year and is held in October. This year it is in San Diego (on the west coast) from October 15-18.
Europe
The key UK pest control conference alternates between PestEx and PPC live. PestEx was held in London in March and PPC live will be held in Harrogate (Yorkshire) on March 11, 2020. PPC Live is the trade exhibition and conference run by BPCA (British Pest Control Association) and is designed for technicians, surveyors and company owners to help improve technical knowledge and to help with their continual professional development.
Parasitec is the big European pest conference held in different countries and at different times each year. This year was in Budapest, next year it will be in Paris, from November 18-20.
Global
ICUP, the International Conference on Urban Pests, is held every three years in a different location. In 2020, the conference will be held in Barcelona, Spain from June 29 – July 1. This is more of an academic conference but provides the latest research on the behaviour and control of the key urban pests.
