Trapper Jacks Sponsors the West Coast Rodent Academy
The latest West Coast Rodent Academy was held at the South Coast Research and Extension center in Irvine, on March 12th, 13th and 14th, 2025.
This is an in-person event where 45 pest management professionals spend 2½ days of classroom and hands-on training. The event was chaired by Dr. Niamh Quinn, Human-Wildlife Interactions Advisor for the University of California Cooperative Extension South Coast Research and Extension Center, and Sylvia Kenmuir, who is the Technical Service Representative with BASF.
On the first day, Dr. Quinn started with a discussion on commensal rodent biology, behavior and identification. Next, everyone had the opportunity to examine a collection of rodent specimens up close.
Laura Krueger, from the Orange County Mosquito and Vector Control District, gave everyone a good lesson on the “Health Significance of Commensal Rodents”. This is important information that pest management professionals need to know so they can help protect the safety of themselves and the public.
One of the most exciting changes about this year’s academy was the increased emphasis on rodent trapping. Many of the industry’s rodenticides have been restricted in California, so this means that our pest management professionals will need to rely more on rodent trapping in order to control these pests. Ed Dolshun, with Atlantic Paste and Glue, gave a classroom presentation on the subject. His partner, Jim Shaver, then took the class out to another building, where everyone had the opportunity to do rodent inspections, and perform various trapping exercises. The Research Center’s Gaby Guzeman, also did a live rodent trapping demo and discussion.
The Academy always has a great program for teaching the techniques of proper rodent exclusion. Once all of the students have finished their classroom training, they all are given the opportunity to do hands-on training with many rodent proofing projects.
Another exciting presentation was the one given by Luis Agurto Jr., with the Effective Urban Rodent Ecology Knowledge Alliance (EUREKA). This is a program that is funded by the California Department of Pesticide Regulation, and their goal is to develop sustainable alternatives to traditional rodenticides.
Luis provided the class with great information on new ideas, what is working, what doesn’t work, and what everyone will have to work on to perfect this concept.
Trapper Jacks is proud to support the West Coast Rodent Academy because of their valuable contribution to the pest control management industry. Whether you are new to the industry, or a seasoned professional, what you can learn at these meetings can provide a significant boost to your business. If you are serious about your career, plan on attending the next Academy that will be held in November, 2025!
For more information go to:
www.ucanr.edu/sites/WCRA