Pest Manager of the Year is a wonderful opportunity to promote your business and showcase the benefits to potential customers in using your company.  Past winners have increased their profile and profitability a great deal by winning such a prestigious award.

Previous winner, Pania Gregson, formerly of Pestec has the following advice for anyone considering entering:-

1. Allow plenty of time to prepare your submission - don't leave it to the last minute!
2. Read the questions several times to ensure you understand what is being asked.
3. Answer the questions fully.  Often there are two parts to the question so ensure you answer both parts.
4. Feel free to provide relevant documentary evidence to support your submission.
5. Run the spell checker over the document.   
6. Prepare a marketing plan and some promotional material so that if you do win an award, you are ready to spread the good news straight away. 
7. If you do win, market the hell out of it!  The title only lasts for a year so make the most of it.

Finally, don't be afraid to enter, especially if you are a small business.  Pestec only had 4 technicians.  Having participated in the judging process, I can assure you that the scores are based on the quality of the business, not the size.  If you don't win an award this time, enter again.  Entrants change from year to year and a business can only win the same award for two consecutive years so there's always an opportunity to be the best.  

Good luck!”

Please contact AEPMA National office if you have any queries regarding completing the paperwork.

We are excited with the changes we have made to Pest Manager of the Year this year which will give smaller companies a better chance to compete.  Of course the main coveted prize of National Pest Manager of the Year remains but our new categories include:-

A Pest Management Firm Employing 10 or More People
A Pest Management Firm With Fewer than 10 People
Micro-Business Award (Fewer Than three People)
South Pacific Pest Manager of the Year

Please be assured that your entry will be treated in the strictest confidence.  The competition is kindly sponsored by BASF.  Don’t miss the opportunity to put your entry in.  AEPMA members and non-members are welcome to enter.

The winners will be announced at the Gala Dinner at the Rapid Solutions Conference in August 2017.   Entries close by COB 30th May, 2017 and can be sent via mail, fax (07 3268 4213) or email to info@aepma.com.au.  More information is available on the AEPMA website. 

In case you missed it, a Fair Work Commission full bench handed down a landmark decision last month, as part of the 4-yearly review of modern awards, to reduce penalty rates and public holiday rates across a number of awards.  In recent years, the issue of penalty rates has become a highly-contested area, as Australia has evolved into a ‘24/7’ service economy, where some argue the existing system of penalties no longer reflects the reality of working arrangements in many industries.  In reaching its decision, the FWC observed that penalty rates traditionally served a compensatory and deterrence purpose for working outside the ‘normal’ hours of 9-5pm Monday—Friday.  However, it said that the extent of disutility for working weekends and public holidays is now much less than in times past.  Does it affect my business?

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A popular design centre in Tasmania's north has reopened its doors after concerns about a suspected termite infestation.

Design Tasmania has been closed since Thursday after evidence was found that termites may have been in an artwork which arrived from the United States.

The artwork Gathering Object was shipped to the island state as part of an exhibition called Pro Paradox, curated by Kirsha Kaechele, wife of MONA founder David Walsh.

The centre's chief executive, Karina Clarke, said the piece was made from the wood of houses which had been damaged in Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

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Parliament has finally passed most of the business tax relief package announced in the last Federal Budget, but with some amendments.

The legislation, which has finally passed the Senate, brings into effect the following changes for small business:

Progressive cuts to the company tax rate:

The tax rate will be progressively reduced to 27.5% from 2016-17 to 2018-19 for companies that are carrying on a business and have an aggregated turnover of less than $50 million.

The 27.5% rate for those entities will be progressively cut to 25% by 2026-27.

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Notice is hereby given that the Annual General Meeting of the Australian Environmental Pest Managers Association is to be held at the AEPMA National Office, Unit 6, 12 Navigator Place, Hendra and by teleconference on Thursday 18th May, 2017 at 8.00am AEST. 

For further information, proxy form and dial-in details (for members only) visit the AEPMA website.

Liphatech understood the need for a bait with increased palatability and answered it. The “soft bait Innovators” commenced the new rodenticide revolution in Australia and New Zealand in 2013: soft bait. Developed with mixtures of milled grain and vegetable oil and the most advanced active ingredient in the global market, “Difethialone”, the bait quickly outperformed all other baits in head-to-head testing. 

“From my experience working in both the pest control and the manufacturing side of the business I have now seen a significant change and preference towards soft bait when compared against traditional blocks.”  said Gavin Wilson Technical and Marketing Manager Australia | New Zealand Liphatech.  

Click here to read full article 

A Regulatory Impact Statement (RIS) has been prepared for the proposed Agricultural and Veterinary Chemicals (Control of Use) Regulations 2017 (proposed Regulations).  The proposed Regulations and RIS are now available for public comment. 

The objectives of the proposed Regulations are to prescribe various matters authorised by the Act. These include records of chemical use, labels accompanying certain veterinary chemical products, notification requirements for certain agricultural spraying, equipment for aerial spraying, chemical products to be used in accordance with a permit or label and prohibiting the possession of certain agricultural chemical products.

The RIS discusses possible options to the proposed Regulations, and concludes that the proposed Regulations are the best means of achieving the objective of reducing the potential harms associated with the use of agricultural and veterinary chemicals. 

Public comments and submissions are invited on the RIS and proposed Regulations. 

Click here to read the full article

A new National Incursion Response Plan for Terrestrial Snakes has been launched to provide important information and procedures that can be used by biosecurity specialists and professional snake handlers to respond to terrestrial snake incursions in Australia.

The plan was developed through the Invasive Animals Cooperative Research Centre in consultation with the Invasive Animals and Plants Committee (IPAC) Vertebrate Pest Incursions Expert Group and the Australian and State and Territory Governments.

Bruce M Christie, IPAC Chair said this Plan is an important tool to enable governments to be prepared to respond to an incursion from new invasive snake species.

“Australia faces a new wave of vertebrate pest threats, arising from illegal importation, escapes from illegal keeping in Australia, and as hitchhikers in the international movement of goods and people,” said Mr Christie.

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Sherwood Chemicals are proud to support AEPMA members with a value pack consisting of 12 Shieldrite Extra Strength Aerosol cans and a 2.5L Cyanoforce (15g/L Alpha-cypermethrin). Sherwood Chemicals core insecticide products are manufactured from a single formulation facility in accordance with ISO9001 (Quality), ISO14001 (Environment) and GMP (Good Manufacturing Practices).  As an international research and development based manufacturer with representation in Australia, Thailand and Malaysia and 150+ employees worldwide,  Sherwood Chemicals is rapidly emerging as a genuine supplier of consistent quality products that are supported by in-house R & D chemists, Chemical Engineers and proven independent efficacy results. Sherwood Chemicals are also excited to announce that it will open its factory doors to all AEPMA members travelling to Thailand this year for the FAOPMA – Pest Summit 2017 held in beautiful Chiang Mai on the 22nd – 24th November 2017. To register your interest in this informative Factory Tour please contact Elton Arderne via email – earderne@sherwoodchemicals.com.au

Click here to view Sherwood special offer

Spiders are quite literally all around us.  A recent entomological survey of North Carolina homes turned up spiders in 100 per cent of them, including 68 per cent of bathrooms and more than three-quarters of bedrooms.

There's a good chance at least one spider is staring at you right now, sizing you up from a darkened corner of the room, eight eyes glistening in the shadows

Spiders mostly eat insects, although some of the larger species have been known to snack on lizards, birds and even small mammals.

Given spiders' abundance and the voraciousness of their appetites, two European biologists recently wondered: if you were to tally up all the food eaten by the world's entire spider population in a single year, how much would it be?

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AEPMA welcomes any contributions or suggestions for articles that you feel are relevant to the industry. Simply forward to info@aepma.com.au.

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• Pest Manager of the Year 2017 Nominations - now open till 30 May 2017 
• Pestech 2017 - July - September 2017
• Rapid Solutions Conference - 11-12 August 2017
• SAVE THE DATE!  AEPMA 2018 National Conference on the Gold Coast - 19-21 September 2018