It’s been a good year for the industry, says AEPMA president Vasili Tsoutouras, with plenty to look forward to in 2019.
With 2018 drawing to a close, we on the AEPMA board (pictured above) can certainly say it has been an active year for the professional pest management industry. There have been many significant events for our industry throughout the year, in particular the AEPMA Conference on the Gold Coast in September, which we reported on last issue.
Rather than review the events of 2018, I’d like to draw our members’ attention to the ongoing activities of AEPMA and the projects being undertaken, which will again be of significant benefit to pest managers and the wider industry.
The AEPMA website is a great tool for our members. One of the advantages of being an AEPMA member is the ability to make your company contact details available via the ‘find a pest manager’ function used by the general public. With the website receiving over 10,000 enquiries per week, it has the ability to generate quality sales leads for pest managers.
The website also provides access to industry publications and resources, as well as details about training and future events. The following projects will continue to provide additional valuable resources to our members for the year ahead:
- The AEPMA Code of Best Practice for Rodent Control is in its final draft stages and will undoubtedly become the ultimate manual for rodent control. This is to be released to all members shortly.
- Industry representatives have held discussions with the Fire Ant Eradication Program in Queensland. We are in the final stages of developing a mechanism for the professional pest management industry to be involved in the surveillance and eradication of recants. Watch this space.
- We continue to work together with the Western Australian government in relation to termite control and also the management of the European house borer.
- We recently released the two termite Codes of Practice: the Code of Best Practice for Termite Management and the Code of Best Practice for Termite Management During Construction. A number of chemical companies have now indicated that their labels will change to recognise the Codes of Practice and we are optimistic that in time, all companies will comply.
- The first graduates of the eld biologist course will be graduating in early 2019. The course has been exceptionally well received, not only by the pest management industry but also the users of pest management services.
Finally, as this is the last edition of PPM for the year, I would like to take this opportunity to wish you and yours a safe and peaceful festive season.
Here’s to a successful 2019!
Vasili Tsoutouras
AEPMA President
