Jim Fredericks, director of technical services for the National Pest Management Association, earned his doctoral degree in entomology and wildlife ecology..

FAIRFAX, Va. – Jim Fredericks, director of technical services for the National Pest Management Association, earned his doctoral degree in entomology and wildlife ecology from the Department of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology at the University of Delaware during final exercises on May 26.  After years of research and study, Fredericks successfully prepared and defended his dissertation titled Factors Influencing Foraging Behavior and Bait Station Discovery by Subterranean Termites (Reticulitermes spp.) (Blattodea: Rhinotermitidae) in Lewes, Delaware, earlier this spring.

“I chose to study termites for my doctoral research program as they are the most destructive of the pests we deal with in the industry and I wanted to gain a deeper understanding of their biology and behavior,” said Fredericks.  “As is so often the case with the insect world, I was fascinated with what I learned about termite activity.  I am hopeful my research findings will be helpful to others.”

Rob Lederer, executive vice president of NPMA, indicated, “We are very proud of the research Jim has done and his continued commitment to lifelonglearning through his completion of the doctoral program.”

Dr. Fredericks is a Board Certified Entomologist. He received his BS in Biology Education from Millersville University of Pennsylvania in 1995 and his MS in Entomology from The University of Delaware in 2001.

Prior to his role with the NPMA, Jim spent 11.5 years working with Home Paramount Pest Control (Forest Hill, MD) as Technical Director where he was responsible product selection, treatment protocol development, service quality assurance, and technical training.