The need for research into the pest industry
Today’s pest management industry in the UK is changing. Traditional divisions are disappearing. The services once offered by local authorities are increasingly shifting to the private sector and the role of local authorities may one day be restricted to serving enforcement notices.
As a result, it is becoming ever more essential that research is carried out into how this will affect the provision of those services which protect public health and housing, as well as preventing inner city areas from becoming degraded.
The National Pest Advisory Panel (NPAP) of the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH) believes that many of today’s changes in urban pest management will have an adverse effect on public health unless they are recognised and Ministers introduce or encourage measures to minimise them. This concern was set out in the CIEH publication ‘The Perfect Storm.’
The body of evidence-based research is growing but needs to be interpreted and presented in an accessible form. Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTPs) are joint projects between companies and universities. The principle is that companies and universities work together to carry out research and at the same time, transfer their knowledge and expertise to each other.
One such KTP is currently between Killgerm Group and Salford University. Joanne Fozzard, who has an honours degree in environmental health from Salford, is employed by the university but works with Killgerm.
The aim of this KTP is to ensure that research capacity is embedded into the work of the company. Furthermore, that the evidence based information generated, presents a clear case to local and central Government departments and agencies about the need for sound public health pest management.
Killgerm’s strategic aim is, through this KTP, to develop the collection of better data and present it in a way which can be used to bring about changes in the provision of public and environmental health.
This KTP will allow Killgerm to lead in this area, gain recognition and raise the profile of the pest industry, not just in the UK but also within Europe.
Working in the commercial environment with a company such as Killgerm, provides Joanne with a unique opportunity to carry out her research. This is a major development for the company with the KTP associate playing a central role in the project’s success.
Killgerm is looking to strengthen its future management team and views this KTP as an excellent way of introducing new expertise in the areas of research and development in the promotion of the public health pest control industry.
Sabra Fearon, who is the Killgerm Director responsible for supervising Joanne, feels that the KTP is already paying dividends and says, “We do more than any other company in the industry to carry out science-based research into how the industry is developing. The investment that we make in this is an investment made on behalf of all our customers, both big and small. We are very grateful to our customers who support us in the research by supporting us commercially.”
Professor Gai Murphy at Salford is the university supervisor responsible for Joanne’s KTP, "I am very pleased that Killgerm has made this investment in strengthening our partnership. Having spent many years teaching and researching in urban pest management , I very much appreciate the opportunity to work more closely with a company that is so focused on improving pest management in the UK.”