Over 60 members from the National Pest Technicians Association (NPTA) gathered together on February 15 at Ruddington Golf course in Nottingham for the first NPTA On the Road day of the year.
This is a familiar location for NPTA, as On the Road days have been held at this venue for several years, but on this occasion there was a difference.
Rather than delegates sitting theatre-style in rows, everyone sat in small groups around circular tables.
Steve Hallam, NPTA’s chief operating officer, said: “This year we wanted to do something different. We have put together a series of different talks and in the afternoon delegates will be asked to work together on a series of different case studies.”
Presentations during the morning covered the more traditional topic of integrated wasp control, before the more unusual talks covering the use of thermal imaging in pest control, bird scaring using live hawks and all you needed to know about the scope of social media marketing.
In the afternoon, delegates put their heads together working on risk mitigation issues when using rodenticides in three different scenarios. This provided an ideal opportunity for debate and networking.
Also new at this event was the involvement of the two recently appointed NPTA technical support officers, Grahame Turner and Georgina Bail.
The very successful day was also supported by a number of manufacturer and distributor stands.
Further NPTA On the Road days are to be held on:
- March 1 in Oldham;
- April 27 in Perth;
- May 24 in Durham;
- September 6 in Reigate; and
- October 11 in Chipping Sodbury, near Bristol.