VPMA Master Tech: Rodents

What: VPMA Master Technician: Rodents
When: October 18, 2022, 2:00 pm - 10:00 pm 
Where: Tidewater, location to be determined.
Cost: $190/members; $300/non-members
VDACS Recertification Credits Applied for in categories 7-A, 8, 7-D and 60 in Virginia, and in the corresponding categories in MD, WC, NC and DC.

This Rodent Training Focuses on Going Green - Getting Better - and Making More Money on Rodent Control

VPMA is pulling out all of the stops for this special Master Technician Series! 

In addtion to Dr. Dini Miller, our lead trainer, we are bringing in Timmy Madere who is the Urban Rodentologist for the City of New Orleans Mosquito, Rodent and Termite Control Board (NOMTRCB). Morgan Wilson, of the Virginia Tech Dodson Urban Pest Management Laboratory, will round out our training team.

The first half of the workshop will walk attendees through the biology, behavior and identification of rats and mice. In-depth training on rodent control tools and the situations where they are best utilized will be presented. Rodenticide modes of action, trapping and baiting will also be covered.

The second half of the course will include a tour of “Rodent Wonderland” in the Wheelabrator Industrial Garbage Dump in Norfolk. Be prepared for a late-night excursion, because to see how and where to manage urban rodents, we have to go to where the rats play! Attendees will take a walking tour of Wheelabrator where we will investigate pest vulnerable areas. All attendees must wear a hard hat, safety vest, eye protection and steel toed boots/shoes (not provided by VPMA) into the Wheelabrator facility.

TIMMY MADERE
Timmy Madere began his career in the pest control industry early in life, crawling in attics and under houses for his Grandfather’s pest control company every summer. In 2008, Timmy went to work for the City of New Orleans Mosquito, Rodent, and Termite Control Board as a general pest control specialist and research assistant and is still working there today as their Urban Rodentologist.

Timmy has worked on research studies and urban pest issues concerning everything from termites and bedbugs to coyotes and raccoons; but his primary focus is on commensal rodents and urban rodent control.

Timmy has written articles on rodent biology and control techniques for the National Wildlife Control Operator Association (NWCOA) and PCT magazine; as well as being a featured speaker in 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019, for PCT magazines’ annual rodent control webinar. Timmy has a BA in History from the University of New Orleans.

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.