Pesticon 2025 saw Adelaide playing host, after many years on the Gold Coast. The new venue and some new faces created a different atmosphere to previous conferences, and contributed to a successful event.
After many years at the Gold Coast, Pesticon 2025 made the move to Adelaide and attendees, suppliers and speakers alike have heralded the conference a great success. Held at the Adelaide Convention Centre, there was a noticeable buzz throughout the conference as attendees enjoyed the range of talks, trade exhibits and social events.
The welcome reception, sponsored by Ensystex, kicked off the conference. The event also provided the opportunity to introduce the new AEPMA board, including the new president, Rob Boschma, owner of Specialist Termite Control in Melbourne.
Conference Day One
Day one of the conference had an early start, with the Australian Women’s Pest Management Association (AWPMA) networking breakfast, hosted by Envu. The sold-out event got the conference off to an engaging start thanks to guest speaker Taryn Brumfitt, 2023 Australian of the Year and founder of the Body Image Movement. Attendees left energised and full of positivity, ready for the start of the conference program.
The keynote presentation at the start of day one was given by Steve Bell, a pioneering mountaineer who shared his experience of ‘Ascending through Adversity’. He recalled a number of stories that certainly weren’t for the faint-hearted and provided a number of takeaway messages, including listen to your gut, embrace opportunities (take a few risks!) and when all seems lost, keep holding on! However, one message he was keen to push (which he has learnt the hard way) was if there is a decision to be made between a hard choice and an easy choice, always take the more challenging option.
The rest of day one included a range of panel discussions and presentations on individual pests, provided in two different streams. The evening of the first day concluded with Syngenta hosting a happy hour with a pub quiz.
Conference Day Two
Day two kicked off with a presentation from the keynote scientific speaker, Assoc. Prof. Theo Evans, from the University of Western Australia. Dr Evans spoke about ‘Climate Change and the Future of Termite Distribution in Australia’. The key message was that the changing temperature and rainfall patterns will impact duration and intensity of the termite season, and that it is likely to change the range of certain termite species over time. For pest managers in the southern states, it will mean the termite season will start to resemble the season in the northern states over the coming decades.
He also made the interesting observation that in Australia, termite baiting over time has influenced the relative abundance of Coptotermes and Schedorhinotermes. In southeast Queensland, abundance of the dominant Coptotermes acinaciformis, which is particularly susceptible to termite baiting and has a central nest structure, has decreased since the arrival of baiting systems, with Schedorhinotermes, with its flexible, multi-nest biology, moving in to take over its territory.
The rest of day two consisted of a series of panel sessions focused on business management. Perhaps the most significant presentation was entitled ‘Catch, Train, Retain – Building a Pest Proof Talent Strategy’. The presentation was delivered by Anthony Chan from BuildSkills Australia and Marshall Blacklock from CDI Pest Management, who leads the AEPMA Careers in Pest initiative. The initiative sees BuildSkills Australia working with AEPMA to review the pest management training package. The presentation provided an overview as to the challenges the pest management industry faces to attract and retain quality staff (see Promoting Careers in the Pest Control Industry for more detail).
2025 Award Winners
As always, the event finished with the gala dinner, not only an enjoyable social event, but a time to recognise excellence in the industry with a range of awards.
Winners of the Pest Manager of the Year Awards (sponsored by BASF):
- South Pacific Pest Manager of the Year – Flick Hygiene Pte Ltd
- The Kylee Enwright Micro Business Pest Manager of the Year – Tasman Pest Management (Tasman Peninsula)
- Fewer than 10 Employees Pest Manager of the Year – AllPro Pest Control (Brisbane)
- Greater than 10 Employees and Overall Pest Manager of the Year – Local Pest Experts (Mid-coast NSW).
Other award winners included:
- EPA Sustainability Award (sponsored by Ensystex) – Scorpion Pest Management, (Hobart)
- AWPMA Excellence Award – Meg Papadopoulos, customer care manager at Rentokil Initial (WA)
- Envu Individual Excellence Professional Pest Management Award – Bruce Dekker, ProTrain.
MORE PHOTOS COMING!
Pesticon 2026 in New Zealand
Pesticon 2026 will also be a first: a joint conference between the Asian, New Zealand and Australian Pest Management industries (FAOPMA, PMANZA and AEPMA). The Pest Summit conference will be jointly hosted by the New Zealand and Australian pest management associations and hosted in Auckland. With pest managers from across the region in attendance and presentations from global pest control experts, this will be the most significant event in Australia and New Zealand for many years.
