IPCA 2021 Virtual Spring Conference

8:00 a.m. – 8:30 a.m. CST

Welcome and Opening remarks

Scott Fisher, President, IPCA
Michael Bentley, Ph.D., BCE, Executive Director, IPCA; Director of Education and Training, NPMA
Chris Haggerty, American Pest Control, IL
Robiar Smith, RB Pest Solutions, Chicago, IL
Nina Jinkins, Ph.D., Aprehend, PA

8:30 a.m. – 9:30 a.m. CST 

T | The Expert’s Guide to Effective Stinging Pest Management
Jody Green, Ph.D., University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Nebraska
The key to long-term pest management is through proactive, not reactive, control efforts. While many stinging pests do not reach peak activity until summer, learning the secrets to controlling these painful insects long before warmer temperatures occur is a great way to ensure you stay prepared. Get the practical information you need to properly identify common wasps and bees in and around structures and increase your safety IQ with a thorough review of proper PPE for the management of a variety of stinging insects. This session will also touch on what it takes to be a good steward of pollinators when controlling stinging insects.

9:35 a.m. – 10:35 a.m. CST

T | A Call To Arms: Flanking Fly Populations in Urban Environments
Jimmy Pitzer, Ph.D., California State University, Sacramento, California
The goal of this presentation will be to reinforce the importance of non-insecticidal integrated pest management (IPM) techniques used for urban fly populations.  A heavy emphasis will be placed on recognizing and identifying pest flies, as well as the importance that pest tolerance and a long-term commitment on the part of the client is imperative to the success of any fly management program.  This presentation will provide education regarding the identification and biology (life cycle) of commonly encountered urban pest fly species, as well as include a discussion of current insecticide alternative effectiveness.  An undertone of fly management rather than fly control will be a common thread throughout the presentation.  

10:35 a.m. – 10:45 a.m. CST

Break

10:45 a.m. – 11:45 a.m. CST

T | A Progressive Approach to Understanding and Controlling Carpenter Ants and Other Species
Mike Weissman, Syngenta, Chesterfield, Missouri 
What are the key behavioral traits that separate carpenter ants from other pest species? Can you use the same ant baits to control all pest ants? Get answers to these questions and more in this enlightening session that covers more than just the basic control information for one of the most problematic insects in the pest control industry! 

11:45 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. CST

M | LUNCH AND LEARN PART 1 - Navigating the Financial Minefields of the Pest Management Industry
Dan Gordon, PCO Bookkeepers, Newton, New Jersey
Operating both efficiently and profitably are crucial components to overall financial health.  In this session, you will learn about the “Operational Hit List” critical to building and maintaining a profitable operation.  The “Hit List” provides users a key source of benchmarking and Key Performance Indicators used in operational improvement, internal analysis, and forecasting. 

8:00 a.m. – 8:30 a.m. CST

Welcome and Opening remarks

Scott Fisher, President, IPCA
Michael Bentley, Ph.D., BCE, Executive Director, IPCA; Director of Education and Training, NPMA
Tim Baietto, Quick-Kill Pest Eliminators, IL
Robiar Smith, RB Pest Solutions, Chicago, IL
Bill Blue, Cortevva Agriscience, IL 

8:30 a.m. – 9:30 a.m. CST 

T | Specialty Fumigation: How to Handle Unique Fumigation Jobs
Curtis Rand and James Crawford, Rose Pest Solutions, Illinois
Fumigation is a unique, highly technical service offering that is typically focused on drywood termites and food commodities. But what happens when you think “outside the box” and employ this time-tested method of pest elimination to non-traditional items like moving vans and other vehicles? In this session, learn about how one company is utilizing its unique facilities to serve their customers’ needs through specialty fumigation.

9:35 a.m. – 10:35 a.m. CST

T | Bird Management: Protecting Public Health And Overcoming Common Mistakes
Scott Armbrust, Rid-A-Pest Exterminators, Inc., Littleton, Colorado
Successful bird control begins with understanding how pest birds behave. Discover why they choose certain sites and how to apply controls to take advantage of those behaviors. Learn how not to harm non-target birds and hear about the health risks posed by pest birds in this informative session.  

10:35 a.m. – 10:45 a.m. CST

Break

10:45 a.m. – 11:45 a.m. CST 

T | Bed Bug Control in Residential and Multifamily Housing
Brittany Campbell, Ph.D., BCE, National Pest Management Association, Fairfax, Virginia
The cryptic nature of bed bug behavior is one of the most troublesome aspects of bed bug detection and control.  In the 20 years since bed bugs re-emerged as an important structural pest, they continue to plague residents of multifamily housing as well other residential settings.  In this session, learn about recent bed bug related research into their biology and control and how you can use this knowledge for effective bed bug management in residential settings.   

11:45 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. CST

M | LUNCH AND LEARN PART 2 - Benchmarking a Successful Pest Control Company
Dan Gordon, PCO Bookkeepers, Newton, New Jersey
By measuring key performance indicators (KPIs) from your company against other successful players in the industry, you can improve your own efficiency, productivity, help manage expenses and identify areas for revenue growth. This talk will focus on both financial and operating ratios extracted from your routing and general ledger software and discuss why they are important, how to use them and why your company’s success is dependent upon understanding them.