OPMA Brings Education, Training to 2025 Winter Meeting

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Members of the Ohio Pest Management Association (OPMA) gathered for the association’s 2025 annual winter meeting Dec. 10-12, at the Marriot Columbus OSU. This year’s winter meeting featured technical and business management speakers, state regulatory updates, training opportunities and a vendor exhibition hall.

PCT attended the meeting and spoke with OPMA’s President AJ Alonso about the importance of pest management professionals (PMPs) in Ohio engaging in the state association’s meetings.

Alonso, the third-generation co-owner of Columbus Pest Control, has been attending OPMA meetings since he was a kid. His father, Lonnie Alonso, and brother, Brian Alsono, are past presidents of OPMA.

“I’ve made relationships that make my business easier to run,” said Alonso. “So, it’s a really good networking place. But then we [also] have great training at this specific winter meeting.”

On Thursday, OPMA put together a “management day,” which included speakers who discussed business management-related advice and what PMPs can do to best support their operations.

Dave Ramsey of Expert Home Services spoke about commercial audits and shared tips for pest control businesses to pass customer or third-party audits. Another speaker from that day was National Pest Management Association (NPMA)’s Elizabeth Bicer, who discussed the association’s approach to advancing the pest control industry and its workforce development program that aims to hire United States veterans among other groups. Bicer also discussed the significance of PestVets in supporting veterans and their transitions into the industry. 

The last day of the meeting included training and CEU-based discussions from speakers. From the Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA), Matt Cochran, ag inspector manager within the Pesticide and Fertilizer Regulation Section, and Ryan King, ag inspection administrator in the Pesticide and Fertilizer Regulation Section of the Plant Health Division, provided enforcement updates, complaint case reviews and developments from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). 

Some of the other speakers from the meeting’s last day included Isabelle Lucero of JT Eaton, who spoke about commensal rodent management. Lucero taught attendees how to identify commensal rat and mouse species and the inspection tools and techniques to use for sustainable vertebrate pest management. Dr. Timothy McDermott, assistant professor in the Department of Extension at Ohio State University, presented on ticks of medical importance in the state. McDermott shared how attendees can prevent tick-borne diseases and provided guidance on tick-safe behaviors.

The last speaker at the meeting was Dr. Seun Oladipupo, assistant professor of urban entomology at OSU, who provided insights into recent advances in bed bug management. Oladipupo focused part of his presentation on how insecticide resistance is impacting bed bug control strategies and how PMPs can adapt to changes in control solutions. Oladipupo also talked about the role Integrated Pest Management (IPM) can play in bed bug management

Winter meeting attendees were provided with a variety of educational tools from professionals in academia and the field. Regardless of the size of the pest control in attendance, Alonso said there are takeaways and benefits for all PMPs in Ohio to take back to their companies.

“The training’s going to be top notch and you’re going to get to still network,” said Alonso. “What I get out of [the Winter Meeting] most is talking to other business owners here. And I have my techs here; they talk to other techs and hear about things they’re doing. It’s like a support group but also you get to bounce ideas off people, hear other things that they’re doing for their business that’s working and then take that shot.”