Tar Heel Pest Management News

November 2024

Congratulations to the new NCPMA Premier Technicians

We are proud to welcome 17 new Premier Technicians. These individuals completed the program Nov. 13-14 in Raleigh.

Trae Baisden (Sawyer Termite & Pest Control Specialist, Inc.)
Alexander Castillo (Wheeler Pest Solutions)
Ian Dunlap (Terminix)
Elizabeth Gilbert (Invicta Environmental Pest Defense)
Gene Helms (B & T Pest Control Co.)
William Jones (NC Pest Control)
Lynn Lafone (Terminix)
James Mullis (Rid A Bug)
Kevin Pelletier (Guardian Pest Control)
Bradley Renegar (Rid-A-Bug)
Justin Ross (Rise Pest Management)
Stephen Ross (Rise Pest Management)
Chad Shropshire (Terminix)
Austin Tatum (Kind Pest Control)
Heath Taylor (Peeler Environmental)
Josh Vandyke (Terminix)
Alysia Wrobel (Kind Pest Control)

This was the largest graduating class of the program to date.

Premier Technician is a course designed to elevate a pest management professional’s knowledge of the industry through the in-depth study of at least eight key areas including ants, bed bugs, cockroaches, flying insects, occasional invaders/stored product pests, rodents, wood-boring inspection or WDIR Accreditation, and wood-destroying organisms.

The Premier Technician program offers a continuous series of courses to help professionals develop a deeper and clear understanding of pest infestations from discovery to treatment. Individuals who complete the program must have worked in the industry for at least one year and must complete the Wood-boring beetle/Inspection course or have WDIR Accreditation through NCPMA.

In order to maintain the Premier Technician designation, professionals must continue to take at least one, 8-hour course every two (2) years.

The Premier Technician Program is made possible through the contributions of its Strategic Founding Partners: BASF, Bell Laboratories, Inc., Corteva Agriscience, ENVU, FMC and Syngenta.

Celebrate 75 Years of the NCPMA PCT School

Join us to celebrate 75 years of the PCT School! You don't want to miss this special year honoring nearly eight decades of this unique industry we have in North Carolina.

Join us Jan. 27-30, 2025 at the Sheraton Imperial Hotel and Conference Center in Durham for amazing sessions, nationally known speakers and some special surprises.

ATTENDEE REGISTRATION

Book your hotel early!

The Sheraton Imperial Hotel and Conference Center is already sold out. We have secured a room rate at the nearby SpringHill Suites and encourage everyone to book their rooms early!

You may book your accommodations through Marriott.

SECURE YOUR ROOM

Register now for the Wilmington Fall Workshop

Thank you to everyone who attended one of our recent Fall Workshops. We have one meeting left in Wilmington, so register today!

Wilmington

Dec. 4, 2024, 6 p.m.

New Hanover County Arboretum (6206 Oleander Drive, Wilmington)

CEU

This session approved for 1P credit for NC.

**Members attend free by using the code: Fallcomp. Please contact info@ncpestmanagement.org with any registration questions.

Survey: Helping Those Impacted

by Hurricane Helene

Our hearts are with everyone in Western N.C. who has been impacted by Hurricane Helene. We want to help the members of our pest management family who are in need during this time.

We have seen images of the devastation in Western N.C., and we know that this will not be a quick fix and that recovery is ongoing and will continue for a very long time.

Several other Pest Management Associations across the country as well as NPMA have reached out to NCPMA wanting to know how they can help.

We would love to hear from our members about what your immediate and individual needs are now and might be in the future so that we can best create a plan for supporting our member companies in this difficult time.

Please let us know below how we can assist you by filling out this quick survey.

Nominate Someone for the 2024 NCPMA Awards

Nominations are open for NCPMA's prestigious industry awards! Help us recognize the individuals who regularly demonstrate outstanding service in the pest management industry of North Carolina.

Nominate an outstanding professional before Dec. 13, 2024.

Technician of the Year (P-Phase and W-Phase): One award will be presented for each phase.
Administrative Professional of the Year
Member Awards: Includes Hall of Fame, Honorary Members and Lifetime Members. More information can be found on our website.

Awards will be presented during the NCPMA's 75th Annual Pest Control Technician's School which will be Jan. 27-30, 2025. The awards will be presented during the General Membership Meeting on Jan. 28, 2025.

New Leadership Development Academy

Kicks Off in Charlotte

The second Leadership Development Academy class began Nov. 6-8, 2024 with a session in Charlotte and social event at TopGolf sponsored by McGriff. The class includes:

Richard Anderson (May Exterminating, Co.)
Charles Belton (Canady's Services, Inc.)
Todd Boyd (Canady's Services, Inc.)
Suzan Collins (Superior Pest Management)
Alison Dail (Rid-A-Pest, Inc.)
Nick Ensing (Economy Exterminators, Inc.)
Dave Grammer (May Exterminating Co.)
Adam Hartsell (City Wide Exterminating, Inc.)
Timothy Phillips (Manning's Pest Control)
Zach Roach (City Wide Exterminating, Inc.)
Caleb Rogers (Economy Exterminators, Inc.)
Ansley Sanderson (Rid-A-Pest, Inc.)
Phil Shaver (Rid-A-Pest, Inc.)
Jessica Wiggins (Pisgah Pest Control, Inc.)

The NCPMA Leadership Development Academy began in 2022 and is an innovative three-part development program which will provide participants with a fresh take on leadership skills and strategies that can be immediately put to practical use in any business or personal setting.

The program is divided into three sessions which will be held throughout the coming year and will conclude with a graduation in November 2025:

Organization Leadership
Personal & Team Leadership
Implementation Toolbox

The program is Chaired by previous Leadership Development Academy graduates Margie Alsbury of Manning’s Pest Control and Raylene Galloway of Pisgah Pest Control.

Public Policy Committee: Feedback Needed

The NCPMA Public Policy Committee is asking for feedback about building permits and crawl space work. Please let us know if your local city or county has requested a permit for any work in a crawl space including enclosing crawl spaces or installing dehumidifiers.

Please direct emails to Marty Roberts at marty@ridabuginc.com.

Meet NCSU's New Extension Associate Chris Hayes

In September 2024, Christopher Hayes began a new role as the Extension Associate of Structural Pest Management at North Carolina State University (NCSU), a role previously filled by Dr. Mike Waldvogel.

He hopes to serve as a resource for research, education and support for pest management professionals who are looking for answers to pest management questions and to build his research based on the changing nature of pests in our state. He also plans to train and recruit new students to the entomology department at NCSU.

“I want to be a go-to resource. I want the program I’m building here to be NCPMA’s first stop for training and questions to further their industry or get the tools they need,” he said. “Ultimately, I want NCSU to be not only the first stop but the one stop.”

Chris, who twice received the NCPMA Scholarship for NCSU students, previously spent the past few years working on his Ph.D. at NCSU where he studied bed bug insecticide resistance and behavior and worked closely with Patty Alder helping to design, teach and refine courses offered at the Structural Pest Management Training & Research Facility.

He is currently working on his Certified Applicators license and Board-Certified Entomologist credentials.

Chris grew up on a small farm in Wilkes County, N.C and was the first generation of his family to attend college. He received his bachelor’s degree from NCSU, a master’s degree in Global Health from Duke University and a Ph.D. in Entomology from NCSU.

Chris became involved with pest management and entomology during his undergraduate years at NCSU. An environmental sciences major, he began working in a lab that studied mosquitoes and soon began working for Custom Termite and Pest Control in Raleigh. After two years of working in pest management, he decided to pursue further studies in entomology.

He lives in Raleigh with his wife Nikki, and two-year-old son Atlas.

Resources:

Ride Along Program: Chris started a ride-along program for the pest management industry. He is would like the opportunity to ride-along with pest management companies so he can learn about their businesses and take part in their day-to-day activities including routine services and unique or difficult accounts.

Ride alongs are offered two Fridays a month through May 2025, with more to be added. To sign up, click here or use the QR code.

App: NCSU will soon launch a Wolf Pest App which will be available in app stores at no cost. The app will launch during the 2025 PCT School and will provide access to NCSU extension materials, training registration, ride along requests and general information. Stay tuned for updates.

Using NCPMA's New Website:

Updating Your Membership Information

NCPMA's new website has some great resources for our members and is a great way to register for our events.

Update your member listing:

You must be active in our membership database in order to register for events as a member and pay the member rate.

All logins and passwords were emailed to our members when the site launched. If you did NOT receive this or have misplaced it, contact our office at info@ncpestmanagement.org, and we'll help you reset your information.

Update Your Employees:

Please contact us at info@ncpestmanagement.org if you need to update the employees listed with your company. Our office can assist with this.

NPMA Logins:

We are proud to be joint members with the National Pest Management Association. Please remember that your login for the NPMA website event registration is different from your NCPMA website login.You will need a different login and password for NCPMA's website.

Check out the site today at www.ncpestmanagement.org.