Needs the Association’s confirmation. Pest Control Technology (PCT) reported on 6 October 2026 that the Urban Pest Management Technical Committee (UPMTC), a network of pest management professionals, visited Oklahoma State University in Stillwater (US) to learn from its researchers and to run a joint workshop on stored product pest management.
Main points
- UPMTC member Pat Hottel organised the workshop with Dr Edmund Bonjour of Oklahoma State University, bringing together experts from academia, manufacturing and industry.
- Forty-two attendees from across North America took part over a day and a half, with topics including monitoring systems, pest groups, regulatory pressure, academic research and the food manufacturer’s perspective.
- The second day was a field workshop at the Stored Products and Education Research Center, where attendees applied the principles from the first day to real situations.
- At the business meeting, Jeremy Southgate (Abell Pest Control, Etobicoke, Ontario) completed his term as president and handed over to Bob Gilbert (Blue Sky Pest Control, Phoenix, Arizona), who will lead the group until its fall 2027 meeting. The workshop proceeds of US$1,100 were donated to the university’s Sanborn Entomology Club.
- Needs the Association’s confirmation. VPMA could consider working with universities to run topic workshops with a practical day (for example on stored product or food-plant pests) and using the proceeds to support entomology students; any use needs the Association’s confirmation.
VPMA’s note
News about a group of pest management professionals in North America. VPMA did not take part in this workshop. Needs the Association’s confirmation before it goes into the Association’s activity plan.
- Source
- PCT – UPMTC Hosts Stored Product Pest Workshop at Oklahoma State University
- Published
- 6 October 2026
- Section
- Association news
- Venue
- Oklahoma State University, Stillwater (US)
- Attendees
- 42
Editorial note: Needs the Association’s confirmation. This is a short summary by VPMA, not a full copy. The original text belongs to the source cited. Picture: group photo of the workshop attendees in Stillwater (photo dated 15–16 September 2026), published with the PCT article.
Source: PCT – UPMTC Hosts Stored Product Pest Workshop at Oklahoma State University (summarised in English by VPMA). Read the Vietnamese page.