The 16th New Jersey Cockroach Derby is scheduled for Thursday at the 65th Annual New Jersey Pest Management Association Clinic at Cook College campus, Rutgers University.

“I cannot speak to the predictive power of our Cockroach Derby,” says Len Douglen, the Executive Director of the New Jersey Pest Management Association, “because the 2008 race between two giant Madagascar Hissing Roaches was won by the designated John McCain roach.”

Larger by two or three times the average American or German cockroach, the Madagascar species are often used in Hollywood films.

On Thursday, August 16, the Association will hold its 65th annual Clinic, a full day of lectures by some of the nation’s leading authorities on aspects of pest management.

At Noon when attendees break for lunch, races between the large species of roaches have provided entertainment and, during a political year, the roaches represent candidates and this year will feature a race between a Barack roach and a Mitt roach.

The Clinic will be held on the Cook College campus of Rutgers University in New Brunswick throughout the entire day. Among the subjects will be a focus on “The Health and Medical Effects of Bed Bugs” by Dr. Jerome Goddard, Ph.D., from Mississippi State University and “Bed Bugs: Tips on How to Management this Formidable Foe” by Dr. Susan C. Jones, Ph.D., of Ohio State University.

Founded in 1941, the New Jersey Pest Management Association is one of the profession’s oldest in the nation. The Clinic has been held for the past 65 years. “The emphasis of the Association’s founders was on education,” said Douglen, “and we continue that tradition today.

The Roach Derby has generated national and international attention over the years, including television and radio coverage. “It is always a lot of fun as attendees cheer on their candidate”, said Douglen. The race is run in a six-foot long plastic “race track” and is one of several during the Noon hour break.

It is anticipated that more than six hundred pest management professionals from throughout New Jersey will attend the Clinic. They will receive certification credits issued by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, the agency that oversees licensing and certification requirements.