French drains are an often overlooked mosquito breeding site. Do your technicians know how to assess a property for mosquito risk?
For which important urban insect pest did 70% of pest control companies get more calls last year? For which pest are 88% of pest management professionals (PMPs) confident that control options are better than they were five years ago? For what pest do nearly 2/3 of companies have callback rates of 4% or less?
According to a 2017 report by MGK® Co., the answer is “mosquitoes”. It appears that pest control customers increasingly want to fight pesky mosquitoes in their backyards, and are willing to pay for it.
There has never been a better time to consider adding mosquito management to your list of services. If you’ve considered getting into mosquito control, or have technicians in need of mosquito training, IPM House will host a introductory mosquito class on July 19. The course provides essential information for pest control technicians to use in providing mosquito control services to your customers.
Topics to be covered include an introduction to mosquitoes and the diseases they transmit; the role and tools of surveillance; how to conduct a backyard mosquito inspection, mosquito control methods and equipment. In addition, we will use microscopes to look at different mosquito life stages and species.
Classes at IPM House are a combination of hands-on demonstrations and classroom instruction. Lunch will be provided. The class runs from 8:30 am to 5 pm. Instructors are Dr. Mike Merchant, Dr. Sonja Swiger, Mike Nichols, and Scott Sawlis. (CEUs: 7 hours verified training in Pest Category)
Registration is open until the day of the class; however, class size is limited to 21, so register early. Early registration (up to July 16) is $50. Late registration after July 16 is $75. No refunds after July 16.
To register, and for more information, go to https://agriliferegister.tamu.edu/Mosquito