Professionals Get Hands-On Rodent Training

Jan 14, 2017

Participants at West Coast Rodent Academy.
In October 2016, the University of California Cooperative Extension, Orange County, in association with the Pest Control Operators of California, Target Specialty Products, and Univar, hosted a three-day West Coast Rodent Academy for pest management professionals. The event was held at University of California's Agricultural and Natural Resources South Coast Research and Extension Center in Irvine, CA.

At the academy, participants learned about rodent identification, rodent disease, sanitation, monitoring, trapping, and urban rodent surveys. Participants were provided with opportunities to learn about good environmental stewardship practices and provided with updates on the laws and regulations concerning trapping and the use of pesticides.

Executive Vice president of the Pest Control Operators of California, Chris Reardon said “What was exciting…was that it allowed for real, hands-on training…. Another important aspect was that it encouraged discussion and communication with fellow workshop members which only added to the training”.

Managing rodents in urban environments can often be very challenging. The West Coast Rodent Academy was created to help pest management professionals better understand rodent ecology and integrated pest management (IPM).

The next West Coast Rodent Academy will be hosted at South Coast Research and Extension Center on January 16-18, 2017. The workshop is already full, but keep an eye out for announcements about the next workshop planned for October 2017. If you have questions, please contact rodentacademy@ucanr.edu.


By Niamh Quinn
Author - Human-Wildlife Interactions Advisor

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