VPMA Master Tech: Blood Suckers

What: VPMA Master Technician: Blood Suckers
When: October 19, 2022, 8:00am - 5:30 pm 
Where: Tidewater, location to be determined.
Cost: $190/members; $300/non-members
VDACS Recertification Credits Applied for in categories 7-A, 8, and 60 in Virginia, and in the corresponding categories in MD, WC, NC and DC.

The VPMA Master Technician: Blood Feeding Arthropods will teach technicians about blood-feeding arthropods that can be found in and around your customers’ homes.

In addtion to Dr. Dini Miller, our lead trainer, we are bringing in Timmy Madere with the City of New Orleans Mosquito, Rodent and Termite Control Board (NOMTRCB). Timmy came in to teach our rodent course, but also has a vast amount of practical experience with mosquitos, ticks and other blood feeding arthorpods. David Price, of Mosquito Joe, an expert on you guessed it, mosquito control will round out our training team.

First, technicians will learn the biology, behavior, and habitats of fleas, ticks, and mosquitoes that are most common in our region and throughout the country. Next, technicians will be walked through a reference collection of specimens, and using an identification guide and taxonomic key, they will learn to identify blood-feeding pests by their physical characteristics.

After lunch, technicians will participate in interactive laboratory sessions designed to prepare them to address customer concerns and hot topics in the media. These sessions will teach technicians what they need to know about arthropod-borne diseases in humans and pets (i.e. Zika virus, Lyme disease, dog heartworm, and more), the control and management of blood-feeding pests both indoors and outdoors, and how to protect people, pets, and property from these ectoparasites. Proper use of backpack blowers and drift prevention, along with other tips of the trade, will be discussed including how to mix, use and safely apply product. We will also discuss resistance issues and control methods beyond chemical. Timmy, David and Dini will provide first-hand case studies and discuss the best ways to address challenges faced with the control of blood feeders.

 **Some of these lab sessions will be conducted outside, so please dress accordingly.**

What is a Master Technician?
The Master Technician Series provides technicians with in-depth training in insect ID using state-of-the-art microscopes; and hands-on training in control methods.  The series of eight workshops investigate eight major pest groups – Ants, Bed bugs, Blood Feeders, Termites, Occasional Invaders, Cockroaches, Rodents, and Pest Flies. Once a technician has mastered at least four of the pest groups, special recognition will be made at the final workshop designating them as a Master Technician.