On June 19, the first online “2020 Chinese Pest Control Conference” organized by the Chinese Pest Control Association and coorganized by Shenzhen Haishan Health Service Co., Ltd. and Jiangsu Gongcheng Biotechnology Co., Ltd. was successfully held in Beijing. Mao Qun’an, the Deputy Director of the National Patriotic Health Campaign Committee Office and Director of the Planning, Development and Information Department of the National Health Commission, and Cui Gang, a Grade II Counsel of the Disease Prevention and Control Bureau of the National Health Commission, and other government leaders gave a speech via video. The CPCA President Xu Jianguo, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, delivered a live speech from the CPCA’s office in Beijing. Vice President Bai Huqun, Xu Huimin, Tao Chuanjiang, Huang Xiaoyun, Cai Bolin, Zhou Liping, Lyu Weichuan and other leaders of the CPCA also sent congratulatory videos for the conference.

Director Mao Qun’an warmly welcomed the convening of the conference in the congratulations video. In his speech, he pointed out that most parts of China have entered the summer, and vector-borne diseases such as dengue fever have been on the rise. He hopes that people will raise the awareness and continuously improve on the various preventative measures. People also need to battle the COVID-19 epidemic along with vector-borne diseases. Counsel Cui Gang commented in his speech that at present, the epidemic of COVID-19 is still spreading around the world. Given that the pandemic has entered a stable phase in China, it is time to orderly resume production and people’s daily lives. We also must prevent COVID-19 from rebounding again. At the same time, we must also do a good job of environmental management as well as prevention and control of vector organisms. We must also focus on stopping the potential import of infectious diseases in the context of increasing exchange with countries around the world.

Xu Jianguo, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and President of the CPCA, presented a report titled “Drink Boiled Water, Wash Hands Frequently, Eat Cooked Food, and Wear Masks”. Academician Xu emphasized in the report that we must be aware that with the advancement of economic globalization, and urbanization, that the threat of infectious diseases to humans has increased, not decreased. He calls on everyone to practice good hygienic routines such as drinking boiled water, to eat cooked food, to wash hands frequently and wear masks, and not to eat wild animals, in order to prevent infectious diseases from spreading. In addition, Prof. Zhang Jie, Professor of Renmin University of China, presented a report on “Thoughts on China’s Economic Situation and Suggestions for Service Industries during the Post-epidemic Period”, and Prof. Chow-Yang Lee, Professor of Urban Entomology Department at the University of California, gave a report on the “Impact of COVID-19 on the Global Pest Control Industry”. During the meeting, a short film titled “Heroes in the Chinese Pest Control Industry Who are at the Frontline Combating COVID -19” was released, and the latest industry-related technologies and new equipment were also announced.

During the period from June 19th to 21st, various breakout sessions, such as CEO Summit Forum, Wuhan’s War on Pandemic symposium, Expert Online Exchange, and High Profile Case Review session, were also held. At the same time, onthe-job training of disinfectants and professional training on rodent control techniques were also held online. The content of the event was extremely popular, with more than 220,000 people watching the conference online.

Since 1993, the CPCA has held annual meetings in different cities across the country. It has been 28 years since, and it has become the largest platform for the Chinese pest control industry. In 2020, due to the presence of the COVID-19, it was switched to an online format with a successful outcome, as evident by overwhelmingly positive feedback from the participants.

One of the goals of the pest management industry newsletter is to provide information in relation to the ongoing activities of member countries and their respective industry associations. The Australian nvironmental Pest Managers Association (AEPMA) is honoured to provide a brief summary of the events that have been the focus of our national attention for the last six months of 2019.

1. REVIEW PEST MANAGEMENT EDUCATIONAL REQUIREMENTS

As part of the process of ensuring the educational qualifications of pest managers, the Federal Government in Australia prepares and reviews saw the latest review, the outcome of which is as follows.

The Department of Employment, Skills, Small and Family Business have released the following new courses for the pest industry:

Qualifications added:
CPP30119 - Certificate III in Urban Pest Management
CPP41619 - Certificate IV in Urban Pest Management

Updated Skill Sets:
CPPSS00045 - Manage complex fumigation operations
CPPSS00046 - Manage non-timber pests
CPPSS00047 - Manage timber pests

Units of Competency added:
CPPUPM3006 - Manage pests by applying pesticides
CPPUPM3008 - Inspect for and report on timber pests
CPPUPM3010 - Control timber pests
CPPUPM3011 - Manage organisms by applying fumigants to commodities and environments
CPPUPM3017 - Maintain, service and repair pest management equipment
CPPUPM3018 - Maintain equipment and pesticide storage area in pest management vehicles
CPPUPM3042 - Install termite management systems
CPPUPM4001 - Assess and select pest management vehicle and equipment
CPPUPM4002 - Schedule, organise and monitor pest management operations
CPPUPM4003 - Assess and advise on pest management options for sensitive
CPPUPM4004 - Assess and advise on pest management options for complex operations
CPPUPM4005 - Implement and monitor pest management plans for sensitive operations
CPPUPM4006 - Implement and monitor pest management plans for complex operations
For more information, visit: www.training.gov.au

2. EXCELLENCE AWARD

Initiated by Bayer in 2018, the AEPMA award for Individual Excellence in Professional Pest Management was presented for the first time in Melbourne.

The award presents an opportunity for the industry to thank the many quiet achievers who have to date not received the full recognition that their services to the industry deserve.

Nominees for the award are required to meet the following set criteria:

• Putting customers first through a commitment to excellence in customer focus, leadership, and service;
• Fostering innovation in the Pest Management Industry; and
• Individual Excellence.

Excellent service includes service above and beyond the normal requirements of the position or sustained high level performance by an individual with a focus on outcomes and recognisable benefits to clients and the professional pest management industry.

The 2019 Individual Excellence in Professional Pest Management Award was presented to Dr Chris Orton.

Dr Orton has contributed to the progression of the pest management industry by assisting in research and development of new, better and safer insecticide products and control methods. Amongst his many accolades, Dr Orton is an Entomologist as well as an Honorary Senior Lecturer at the School of B.E.E.S, Faculty of Science at UNSW, Sydney. He is also Secretary at PMITAG NSW and Director of Pest Information Management Appraisal and Consultancy Services Pty Ltd. Chris has also serves on a number of working parties for AEPMA codes of practice.

Award nominations open 30th April 2020 and close on 1st August 2020, with the winners being announced at the AEPMA 2020 Conference on 16-18 September. Contactinfo@aepma.com.au for more information.

3. PEST MANAGER OF THE YEAR

The Pest Manager of the Year Awards recognize the most progressive pest management firms, who keep up with the latest innovations and focus on professional development and responsive customer service.

Proudly sponsored by BASF and AEPMA, categories for the competition are as follows:

• Business Award, Two Classes: Pest Management firms employing 10 or more people, and Pest Management firms employing fewer than 10 people. National Pest Manager of the Year will be awarded from nominees in these 2 categories.
• Micro Business: Pest management businesses with fewer than three employees.
• South Pacific Pest Manager of the Year: Open to AEPMA member businesses both large and small, operating in the South Pacific Region.

The 2019 Pest Manager of the Year awards were presented at the Rapid Solutions Conference Gala Dinner. The BASF and AEPMA judges were overwhelmed by the quality of entries from all categories. The national Pest Manager of the Year recipient was Troy Dawson of Dawson’s Australia.

He was also the recipient of the Pest Management firm employing ten or more people. From humble beginnings to having a team of 39 people, Troy prides himself on providing a high-level service and having the right people for the company’s success.

This year’s Pest Manager of the Year award will be held at the AEPMA 2020 Conference on 16-18 September. Entries open 1st April 2020 and close 12th June 2020. Contact info@aepma.com.au for more information.

Finally, we hope you have enjoyed a brief outline of some of AEPMA’s recent activities and we welcome other members sharing their experiences with us.

Provided by Ingrid Lariza and Stephen Ware, AEPMA.

Japan is known as the second largest pest control market worldwide after the USA. Since Japan is the home market for a large number of global corporations and manufacturing businesses, the growth of the commercial pest control industry in has followed a unique course. However, the language barrier means that the profile of the industry throughout the rest of Asia is lower than it deserves to be.

It is gives me great pleasure to report on our annual Pestology Conference, an event which I believe is rarely attended by non-Japanese professionals and is thus not so well-known in an international context.

Background
The conference is organized by The Japanese Society of Pestology and the Japan Pest Control Association. “Pestology” is a grammatical blend formed from the words “pest” and “logos”, and refers to the “science of pests”. JSP was established in 1985 as an academic society to offer practical help and support to the pest control industry. In addition to publishing the bi-annual academic journal, “Pestology,” it organizes events such as academic gatherings (conventions) and symposiums for younger members. Its objective is to provide mutual enlightenment, academic exchange, information sharing and a social forum for its members. In 2007, it was designated as a “collaborative academic research organization” by the Science Council of Japan. It currently has 357 corporate and academic members.

About the conference
The conference was held over 14-15th November 2019 at the Toyama International Conference Center in Toyama, a beautiful city located on the northern coast facing the Sea of Japan and surrounded by the Tateyama Mountains. The city is renowned for its rich variety of seafood and sushi; visitors cannot fail to be impressed by the quality of the cuisine and the range of sightseeing attractions in the area. The city is also known as the historical center of pharmaceutical manufacturing in Japan. There are around 60 pharmaceutical manufacturers and 80 medical distributors and related companies here. Pest control companies in Toyama need strong analytical skills and knowledge of medical quality control to serve such a demanding client base of medical industry manufacturers.

Participants
There were 361 participants in the conference. Most of these were Japanese pest control business owners or Directors, as well as entomologists, researchers, technical staff, suppliers and government officers.

Conference Program
There were two keynote lectures, 25 academic presentations, eight poster presentations, a Gala Dinner, exhibitions and open symposium meetings on four different topics.

The first keynote lecture was “The Importance of Pest Management for the Sustainable Future of the Urban Ecosystem” by Dr. Brian T. Forschler (University of Georgia). The lecture slides were originally created by Dr. Chow-Yang Lee (University of California, Riverside) and were edited and presented at the conference by Dr. Forschler. He gave an overview of the global and the Asian pest control market and the challenges faced by the industry. One of the key issues is the development of insecticide resistance across various pest species. Dr. Forschler emphasized the importance of communication between stakeholders and the need for comprehensive and concerted action, including the effective management of insecticide rotation by pest control professionals. Dr. Forschler also talked about potential pest risks during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and offered some excellent suggestions as to how these could be tackled both before and during the event. In my opinion, this was a very valuable overview for Japanese professionals since our industry tends to be quite domesticallyfocused. Gaining a different perspective through this objective and logical discussion was an invaluable preparation for an international event like the Olympics.

The second keynote lecture was “Our Endless War against Invasive Species” by Dr. Koichi Goka (National Institute of Environmental Studies). The renowned bioecology and biodiversity specialist talked about the challenges we are facing, as a country and an industry, with respect to invasive species. He is well-known for his distinctive rock starlike appearance, and his talks are always informative and entertaining. He certainly did not disappoint us on this occasion! His discussion on the Chinese government and the matter of whether the Fire Ants found at Japanese ports are coming from China was alarming, but fascinating and informative. He also talked about bacteria-borne diseases that are deadly for particular species of foreign species but not for native species. His suggestion was that bacteria have been coexisting and coevolving with host species and that destroying the biodiversity will result in surge of new types of infectious diseases.

There were various other interesting presentations including:

• “The Results of Consumer Awareness Research in Saitama Prefecture on Dust Mite Allergies” (Saitama Institute of Health)
• “Bait Usage and Efficacy Statistics against German Cockroaches by Tokyo Pest Control Companies” (Apex Sangyo Co., Ltd, Hohto Shoji Co Ltd, Syngenta Japan KK)
• “Molecular Biological Classification of Culex pipiens in Metropolitan Tokyo” (Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Public Health)
• “Efficacy Test Results of Various Insecticides against Liposcelis bostrychophilus” (Faculty of Agriculture, Ibaraki University)
• “How Vibration of Machinery in Food Manufacturing Factories Affects the Growth of Plodia interpunctella” (Fuji Flavor Co. Ltd.)
• “Introduction of a Newly Registered Broflanilidebased Pesticide. (Mitsui Chemicals Agro, Inc., Ikari Shodoku Co., Ltd.)
• “Hourly Behavior of Ponerinae Studied with Real- Time Monitoring”(Pest Vision Solutions, SEMCO)

As well as the pest-related presentations, another interesting feature of the conference was the public symposium on the recent surge of swine fever and SFTS (Severe Fever with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome – a tick-borne disease) in Japan. This was an open forum between various professionals from the pest control industry, universities and government bodies about how to tackle such issues in an effective way to the benefit of all stakeholders and the public.

One of the unique events at this conference was the “Young Professionals Forum” which was held in the morning of the first day before the main conference started in the afternoon. The principal participants were younger pest managers and entomologists talking about various industry issues relevant to the future generations in the industry. The topics included subjects such as new technology and treatment methods, sales and operational issues, and career development issues. This forum has become an excellent platform for engaging young professionals though creating a support system and fostering a sense of community across the industry.

The Pestology Conference usually includes a Gala Dinner on the first night of the event. There were 285 attendees this time, catching up with industry friends and enjoying the local seafood and Sake of Toyama.

In my opinion, despite the language barriers, the Pestology Conference is a wonderful platform for showcasing the Japanese pest control industry to the rest of Asia. I strongly recommend anyone with an interest in the Japanese pest control market or who wants to gain an insight into the ideas of this unique Japanese industry to participate next year.

Report provided by Taro Kanazawa, JPCA.

The Environmental Protection Administration of Taiwan held a one day workshop in late October in the nation’s capital, Taipei. The main focus of the meeting was the control of urban pests notably bed bugs, mosquitoes, and ants. A major emphasis was placed on the sustainable use of insecticides. Most of the attendees where local pest managers.

The welcoming address was provided by Mr. Yein- Rui Hsieh, Director General of Toxic and Chemical Substances Bureau, Environmental Protection Administration. The presentations began with a speech by Honorary Professor Err-Lieh Hsu from the National Taiwan University, who talk was entitled ‘Use and Prospect of Environmental Pesticide in Taiwan. Prof. Hsu discussed the history of pesticide use through the course of humanity and emphasized the need for safety with some of the modern chemicals that can effect human health. Stephen Doggett, Director of Medical Entomology at Westmead Hospital in Sydney Australia (and Chief Editor of this Magazine) was the international guest for the meeting. Stephen discussed the latest developments in bed bug management and emphasized that the evolution of insecticide resistance has made these species amongst the most challenging to control on the planet. This means that non-chemical methods must always be employed in order to achieve the successful eradication of a bed bug infestation. One interesting point that was raised during the discussion that followed is that many of the shipping vessels are badly infested with bed bugs. The opening session with these two talks were chaired by Professor Shun- Cheng Wang of Chaoyang University of Technology, whose humour really was an added bonus and helped for a fun day.

Professor Hsiu-Hua Pai from the National University of Kaohsiung, and who is also the President of the Taiwan Environmental Pest Management Association spoke about the use of insecticides for vector control. Prof. Pai discussed the insecticide susceptibility studies that have been undertaken in Taiwan, which showed that many pest species are resistant to a range of pesticides. This again emphasizes a need for IPM when controlling pests. Dr Chun-Hong Chen from the National Mosquitoborne Disease Control and Research Center spoke on the use of Wolbachia to reduce the transmission of dengue by Aedes mosquitoes.

Other fascinating talks on the day include a presentation on fipronil residue in eggs (by Dr Wei-Ren Tsai), the ecology and control of pest ants in Taiwan (given by Prof. Chung-Chi Lin), and an agricultural orientated presentation on the control of the lychee stink bug by Huang-Lung Hsu of the Changhua County Pest Control Association. Finally, a workshop was held where all participants were divided into groups to discuss aspects of the day. The focus of the group discussion was on the control of pest ants and the lychee stink bug. This included a review of the ecology of the pests, community engagement, and the management techniques employed. At the end of the session, each group presented their integrated pest management strategies for the control of these pests.

Stephen Doggett would especially like to thank the organizers for the great honour of being invited to speak at this wonderful event. Stephen’s attendance at the meeting was also supported by Nancy Lee of Chung Hsi Chemical, and Nancy’s daughter, Allis, was a gracious host and tourist guide while Stephen was in Taiwan. He would very much like to express his appreciation to these two wonderful ladies!

Report provided by Stephen Doggett, Chief Editor of the FAOPMA Magazine, with input from Allis Lu, Chung His Chemical Plant.