[On The Road] PCT Event 'Heats' Up Winter

In November, the PCT Media Group attracted 80 participants to its first Stored Product Pest Seminar in Minnesota. The event drew pest management and quality assurance professionals from around the country. Speakers covered topics from heat and fumigation treatments to IGRs and pheromones to pest protection in organic facilities and more.
One highlight was a panel discussion featuring three university researchers where each updated attendees about ongoing research at their universities. Included in the discussions were Dr. Bhadriraju Subramanyam, Kansas State University; Dr. Stephen Kells, University of Minnesota; and Dr. Tom Phillips, Oklahoma State University. The panel was moderated by The Steritech Group’s Dean Stanbridge.
Other speakers included Ole Dosland, QCC Services, whose presentation “Turning up the Heat: Temperature Modification” discussed hot and cold temperatures used to treat for stored product pests. “We’re at war with pests,” he said. “Pests will win the war but we need to win every battle.”
Dosland reminded professionals that when performing heat treatments, the thermal shock differential “rule of thumb” is 90°F. For example, when the temperature is in the teens and twenties (as it was in Minneapolis during the conference), PCOs can’t perform a heat treatment that would raise the building’s temperature to 122°F or they’d “shock the structure.”
Jeff Weier of Sprague Pest Solutions discussed the role of pheromones in stored product pest management. He offered the following tips for pheromone trap placement and density:
• Place traps at eye level for flying insects
• To cover the entire space, place traps about 20 feet apart vertically
• Place traps at least 30 feet apart horizontally
• Use one trap for every 10,000 to 30,000 square feet
• Place at least three traps in each discreet room or zone
• Watch for air currents
The title sponsors of PCT’s Stored Product Pest Seminar were Dow AgroSciences and TempAir. Associate sponsors included MGK, Trece and Zoecon Professional Products.
PCT’s next multi-day event is the Rodent Management Summit, which will be held March 22-24 in St. Louis. For information, visit www.pctrodentsummit.com.