Purdue Pest Management Conference to Take Place as Scheduled in 2024

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The 88th annual Purdue Pest Management Conference will take place Jan. 8-10, at Purdue University, West Lafayette, Ind., as planned.

Despite its storied 88-year history, the conference is facing a number of challenges, including departmental changes and rising costs due to inflation.

Dr. Barry Pittendrigh, the Osmun Endowed Chair and Director of the Center for Urban and Industrial Pest Management (CUIPM) at Purdue University, told PCT it’s “a challenge and opportunity” to put on an event with as many moving parts as the Purdue Pest Management Conference, “but we once again have a great slate of presenters and are confident that participants will receive top quality training from well-known experts.”

Pittendrigh said inflation is eating into everyone's bottom line, including the costs of putting on conferences, but he said Purdue Pest Management Conference planners “have made every effort to keep the conference as affordable as possible, while maintaining the highest quality experience for participants.”

The Purdue University Entomology Department staff, Purdue Planning Committee members and others worked to ensure this year’s conference will move forward. “We strongly appreciate the support of our advisory groups and their input,” Pittendrigh said. “They have continued to be valuable collaborators in this important Purdue University event. Keeping close linkages with the pest management community is a must as the industry continues to evolve and develop.”

One change to this year’s conference is that the virtual program will be moved to March 2024. Pittendrigh said this decision was an opportunity to explore how offering the virtual program at different times of the year might better meet the needs of different members of the pest management community. 

The Purdue Pest Management Conference has experienced the greatest level of growth in online offerings and in the virtual re-run space, Pittendrigh said.  “The future will be in serving a greater diversity of the pest management community through a greater number of communication channels and at different times throughout the year,” he said.

Despite this trend towards Purdue’s virtual offerings, both Pittendrigh and Dr. Catherine Hill, head of the Purdue University Department of Entomology, emphasized that Purdue is committed to keeping the Purdue Pest Management Conference an in-person event for years to come. Hill said, “Since 1937, the department of Entomology, together with its partners, has played proud host to the Purdue Pest Management Conference. We recognize the importance of this conference to hundreds of pest management professionals around the country, and we are excited to again offer an unparalleled learning, training and networking event in 2024. Purdue Entomology and the Center for Urban and Industrial Pest Management (CUIPM) are invested in partnering to address the pest management challenges and opportunities of today and tomorrow, and in supporting professional development for individuals at any career stage.”