This 8 hour course is designed to satisfy the Apprentice Training Requirements as specified in Section 7.132 (i) (2) “8 hours of classroom training in each category in which the Apprentice is to provide pest control services”. In addition, the course can be used to prepare for the Structural Pest Control Pest category examination. The class is from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. with an hour lunch (lunch is not provided). The $150 course fee includes the required category training manual, Pest Category (AES-5074), a $35 value, and instruction from experienced Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service trainer, Dr. Brittny Jones.
2020 is the Year of the Rat and Rodent Academy is going Virtual
The Texas 2020 Rodent Academy is going virtual!
Register early to join us for this unique urban rodent management virtual workshop. Come spend two-days with experts from around the country discussing better ways to understand rodent ecology and integrated pest management (IPM). Learn about rodent disease, monitoring, trapping, urban rodent surveys and much more.
This event will be December 1 & 2, 2020 via Zoom and will be from 8:00 AM until 4:30 PM with time for you to chat with our speakers.
Cost is $75 per person and we ask that you register by Nov. 30th at 3:00 PM to give us time to send you the video link for the meeting.
Who Should Attend?
This course is intended for pest management professionals, municipalities, universities, public schools, and food safety personnel involved in the rodent control programs.
Curriculum Content
The topics will include:
- Health significance of rodents
- Rodents and allergens
- Biology and behavior of rodents
- Overview of Integrated Pest Management
- Pesticide labels and federal regulations
- Exterior bait boxes – what, where, how?
- Alternative tools & techniques for rat control
- Rodent Sensing Systems – which one is right for your business
Class Size: since we are going to be virtual, we will allow for a larger class than our in-person events. However, it will still be limited to 75 people to keep the group somewhat small so we can chat at the end of each day.
Academy Completion Certificate and CEU Credits
To Receive a Certificate of Academy Completion
- Students will be expected to participate in class activities via chat or online polling.
- Both sessions must be attended and completed by the same student from each company.
- All students must also pass a final exam, which will be given via an online survey software.
Video or audio taping of any session of the Academy is prohibited, except with the express and prior permission of Texas A&M AgriLife Research & Extension
Meet some of our speakers:
Dr. Claudia Riegel, Director, New Orleans Mosquito, Termite and Rodent Control Board. She is currently leading a city-wide program of rodent baiting not only considering the increased pressure from the coronavirus pandemic, but out of concern that the higher pressure could spread disease among the homeless population.
Dr. Niamh Quinn, Human-Wildlife Interactions Advisor, University of California Cooperative Extension Area Vertebrate Pest Advisor, based at the UC ANR South Coast Research and Extension Center in Irvine.CA. She facilitates interactions and information exchange among campus-based academics, CE advisors and community stakeholders. Her focus is directed on the coordination of Cooperative Extension programming regarding human-wildlife conflicts, particularly within the residential and industrial areas within Southern California where significant human-wildlife conflicts are occurring, with concentration in Los Angeles, Orange, and San Diego Counties.
Timmy Madere, Pest Control Specialist, New Orleans Mosquito, Rodent and Termite Control Board. Madere has worked on research studies and urban pest issues concerning everything from termites and bed bugs to coyotes and raccoons, but his primary focus is on commensal rodents and urban rodent control.
Sylvia Kenmuir, BCE Sylvia is an Industrial Entomologist and chair of the West Coast Rodent Academy. She is currently the Western US Technical Specialist with BASF where she is responsible for product support.
Dr. Michael H. Parsons is a Visiting Research Scholar in the Department of Biological Sciences at Fordham University in the Bronx, NY. His work focuses on creating novel biological field assays to explore how scents influence risk assessment, disposition and decision making in small mammals. As a multi-disciplinary researcher, his assays with wild, city rats have been adapted into neuroethological assays and have been utilized for urban pathogen surveillance.
There will also be a discussion about the banning of rodenticides in California, how they got there and what steps everyone should learn from this.
Have you heard about rodent remote sensing? Are you unsure what it is or how to use? Then Wednesday afternoon will be the day to learn more about this new technology.
Both days will end will a roundtable discussion that will allow participants to ask questions and share ideas with others.
Here is the Rodent academy agenda I will have more detailed information closer to the event. In the meantime, get registered now. If you need SPCS CEUs or a certificate of training you must register Online Here I will notify each participant with the Zoom invite for the meeting. Once you receive the invite from Zoom, you will have to register again to get the room code. Please do not share the link.
I look forward to “seeing” you on December 1 and 2, 2020 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM
Save the dates for ants, equipment, safety and bed bugs
The IPM Experience House has three new advanced training courses on the calendar. These are not just any classes. Board Certified Entomologists and experienced professionals share their insights and knowledge in the most personalized training you can find anywhere in the state of Texas. You will definitely want to add these classes to your calendar.
Ants! Ants! Ants! Register Now!
On July 30 we are offering advanced training in ant identification for pest management professionals. Topics to be covered include an introduction to ant biology, taxonomy and morphology, how to monitor ants, and general principles of fire ant and other ant control.
We will make extensive use of microscopes to learn to recognize the key aspects of ant structure and develop the ability to identify ants to the genus level with a microscope. Students will collect ants from the field and identify their catch.
Details. Cost $60 in advance and $80 after July 26. Lunch is provided. Depending on availability, registration will remain open until the day of the class; however, class size limited to 15. No refunds after July 26. Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center, Building E Classroom. 8 am to 3:30 pm. Instructors: Drs. Mike Merchant and Robert Puckett. (CEUs: 6.5 hours verified training in Pest Category, 1 CEU Pest, 1 CEU IPM). Register now at Conference Services Website
Getting the Bugs Out – Register now!
On September 25, long-time bed bug specialist for ABC Home and Commercial Services, Alan Brown, will be providing his insights into best practices for bed bug control. In addition to classroom training on the finer points of the “modern bed bug,” the class will get hands on experience with inspecting, treating and developing practical and effective follow-up plans for your customers. Register now at Conference Services Website
Details. SAVE THE DATE. More details coming soon.
Sign up for Texas Rodent Academy
Norway rats active during daylight hours in a NYC park. Photo by Bobby Corrigan
The IPM Experience House will be offering a Rodent Academy course for the first time this fall. Based on the popular New York City Rodent Academy, the 3-day course will be held at the Texas A&M AgriLife Center at Dallas on December 5-7. Special guest trainer for the training is nationally recognized “rodentologist”, Dr. Bobby Corrigan. Bobby will lead the class through a highly focused, science-based approach to managing rodent populations through IPM.
Goals for the course include improved management of rodent populations through better understanding of the biology, behavior, and habitat of rodents; helping students better understand factors that contribute to rodent infestations; and training students to develop better site-specific problem solving skills and more effective communication with customers.
Who Should Attend?
This course is intended for pest management professionals, municipalities, universities, public schools, and food safety personnel involved in rodent control programs. This is an advanced course, so students should already have a basic understanding of rodent control principles. The Academy is not designed, or appropriate, for new-hire training. We suggest that supervisors, managers, and owners attend the class with the intent to be better prepared to teach their own employees.
Curriculum
Critter cams offer new insights into rodent behavior. Video still shot by J. Hurley
The course will include both in-class and field training components. Classroom
topics will include:
- Health significance of rodents
- Rodents and allergens
- Biology and behavior of rodents
- Overview of Integrated Pest Management
- Pesticide labels and federal regulations
- Exterior bait boxes – what, where, how?
- Alternative tools & techniques for rat control
- Mouse IPM in apartment/private homes
- Rodent control
Hands-on, field training will involve small group interaction at real field sites. Topics addressed by the group will include:
- Evaluating the account: what to look for
- Proper placement of bait stations and snap traps
- Rodent exclusion techniques
- Site-specific best management practices
Tuition
Tuition for the 3-day class is $300, which includes cost of a class notebook, other handouts, snacks and lunches.
Course Requirements
Students should plan to attend all days of the class. To receive a certificate of Rodent Academy Completion, each student will be expected to:
- Participate in all class activities
- Complete two homework assignments
- Participate in a field trip that involves team work and team analysis for designing a real-world control exercise for a few different rodent infestations.
- Pass a final exam
Other
Structural Pest Control CEU credits will be available in IPM and Pest for participants who need them. Please, limit your registration to two employees per company. To ensure quality and good instructor-to-student interaction, the Academy can only accommodate approximately 35 students per session. Please wear comfortable shoes, and clothes appropriate for the field.
Registration
If your company is interested in the Rodent Control Academy, please complete and submit the online registration form: https://agriliferegister.tamu.edu/productListingDetails/2392
If you are unable to register because the class has reached it’s maximum enrollment, and you wish to be added to a waiting list, send an email to class organizer, Janet Hurley at (jahurley@ag.tamu.edu). You will be given first notice about subsequent Rodent Academy classes. To join our IPM Experience House mailing list and receive alerts for future Rodent Academies and other IPM Experience House-sponsored training classes, click here.