Tuesday, February 7, 2017

Cockroach webinar worth your time

In case you've never heard of him, Dr. Coby Schal is the Blanton J. Whitmire Distinguished Professor of Urban Entomology at North Carolina State University. As one of the most respected researchers in cockroach biology and management, Dr. Schal is a friend of the pest control industry, and a talented communicator to boot. All this to say that if you ever have a chance to hear Coby talk about cockroaches, you should take advantage.

So here's the good news. On March 2, Cornell University's StopPest program will host Dr. Schal for a cockroach control webinar specifically designed for people working in multifamily housing.  While designed for multifamily apartment managers, this session should also be useful for pest management professionals.

Topics covered will include his research on effective baiting techniques, and ineffective controls like total release foggers (bug bombs).

Schal will talk about how cockroach allergens have been linked to the development and increase in symptoms of allergies and asthma in cockroach sensitive individuals. You'll learn how allergen levels can be significantly reduced with good pest control alone, and how gel bait treatments have revolutionized cockroach management (all good selling points when talking with apartment managers about their need for pest control).

Dr. Schal's work shows how an integrated pest management (IPM) approach with intensive, targeted cockroach control can lead to both dramatic reductions in cockroaches and clinically significant declines in cockroach allergens.

You can register for the webinar at the StopPests Now website. Email instructions will follow after you register.