Author: Zachary DeVries
Planning Unit: Entomology
Major Program: Integrated Pest Management
Outcome: Long-Term Outcome
Despite the continuing challenges of COVID-19, we successfully developed and executed the 50th annual University of Kentucky Pest Control Short Course. This 3 day program incorporated 15 1-hour talks from speakers located around the country who travelled to Lexington, >420 pest control operators from Kentucky and surrounding states, and a team of entomologists (faculty, staff, students) from the University of Kentucky. This meeting, hour-for-hour, is the top pest control meeting in the country, which many others states imitate due to the quality of the speakers and the overall level of education they receive. This meeting is also vital to ensure pest control operators maintain their licensee and certification by receiving continuing education units (CEUs). This year, >6,300 CEUs were awarded to attendees, ensuring safe and effective pest control practices will continue in Kentucky and surrounding states. Feedback is still being processed, but >92% of attendees indicated learning something new and attendees showed high satisfaction with the meeting (8/10). In addition, this year included an online option for attendees not able to attend in person which we intend to incorporate in future meetings to allow our training to reach a broader audience.