WARM WEEDS & FIRE TIME

Australia has always had a reputation for burning. Our native bush is built to burn and because of our love of the land, we often build our homes right on the doorstep of mother nature’s very own redhead matches. The fires in NSW and QLD should have all of us landowners on notice. To often, fires are thrown into the ‘it won’t happen to me basket’ until its all to late. I’m a weed control expert, not a fire expert, but I definitely think there’s a few overlaps that we can discuss here in this issue.

An obvious starting point is to reiterate our views on firebreaks from some of our earlier articles. Spray? or Plough? If you have gone down the age-old ploughing path, your tracks probably very boggy & un-driveable - unless your 4x4 is well equipped. Maybe you even enjoy a bumpy ride around the fence lines of your property. That said, this could be a major issue in a stress filled paddock run to pick the horses up with a fire breathing down your neck and water choppers circling above. I’d prefer option two. A hard, solid, well-worn track that’s been treated chemically or sprayed with a natural non residual product. Regardless of your firebreak approach, don’t drop the ball... Some years they need attacking once, some years - 4 times. Seasons change and weeds find away. Don’t hit summer thinking your firebreaks all sorted because 6 weeks ago you worked it. Take a second look.

Summers pasture grass weeds. Most of us have them, a lot of them are South African and all of them are warm growing grass weeds. Long after the paddocks been slashed, and the pasture grasses are generally low, warm growing grasses shoot up. They’re generally, pretty easy to spot too. They’re those pesky looking green bits we see from the fence line when everything else seems dead. Cut or treat them, or even dig them out before they seed. These particular warm growing grass weeds can increase your fire load and summer is generally the best time to attack them, simply because of the ease in seeing them.

Get your water sorted. Do you have access to a 12v water/chemical sprayer or motorised water tanker - that works? Is your bore water pump able to be used with a generator if the power mains are cut off? Has your generators/pumps and motors been serviced, started, and have fuel? Get them fired up and don’t sit back and hope they’ll start, because when the pony poo hits the fan, you can guarantee they won’t. Are your garden hoses holding water or looking like swiss cheese? Where did the kids put sprinklers and where are all those hose fittings you borrowed and broke throughout the year? All simple stuff to check, yet many of us have a habit of putting this stuff on the back ‘burner’.

Get yourself in shape, and don’t get caught with a hole in your hose this summer.

PESTICON AUGUST 2023 THE STAR, GOLD COAST

Pesticon 2023 - “What Customers Want” will be held at The Star Gold Coast from 16-18 August 2023.

The theme will enable an individual pest control firm to build its business, better service its customers, and provide benchmarks to improve profitability and customer base.

Whether your business is large or small, Pesticon 2023 will give your business a winning edge. Don’t miss this opportunity to discover new ways to deliver your services to the public.

Keep an eye out over the coming months for further details regarding the event, and for the ladies, it will also include the AWPMA women’s networking breakfast.

PESTWORLD OCTOBER 2023 HAWAII CONVENTION CENTRE, HONOLULU, HAWAII

This year, the National Pest Managers Association is extending a particularly warm invitation to all international delegates to attend PestWorld 2023 in Honolulu, Hawaii The dates to add to your diary are October 17th - 20th.

We are excited that three WIPM committee members will be attending this conference and joining the Professional Women In Pest Management (PWIPM) breakfast.

If you are a Pestie in Australia and are attending PestWorld this year, we invite you to join the PestWorld HawaiiAustralian Attendees closed Facebook page. We will answer any questions you have and keep you updated on events that us Aussie’s are invited to which include International visitors networking events, the Professional Women In Pest Management (PWIPM) Breakfast, fundraising activities, and the opening and closing parties. Connect and network with other Aussie Pesties through this private group. Find out who is going, where everyone else is staying, meeting points to catch up with others and tips on what to do in Hawaii. Tickets go on sale soon. You must be attending PestWorld Hawaii to be accepted into this group.

Pestie Connections

In this episode of Pestie Connections Nicky has a chat and many laughs with Aimee McBean from Bugs Gone Pest Control in Cambridge New Zealand. Having spent her life in Cambridge Aimee knows the Waikato area, its people and pests well. Aimee is a fully licensed urban pest control technician, experienced and passionate about all things pest management. Aimee is also one of our newest committee members for Women In Pest Management and will be working alongside Nikki De Renzy in the NZ chapter of WIPM.

The 2023 Inaugural WIPM NZ Excellence Award is now open for nominations. We have received a positive response for the award with some names already being put up for nominations. More details are in the award section of this newsletter.

We would like to say a special thank you to our outgoing NZ representative Anita Collins-Preiss. Anita has made the difficult decision to stand down from the WIPM committee and as the NZ representative to focus more on work/family commitments. 2022 was a fun and productive year under Anita’s leadership, we appreciate the work and commitment that she has done for the association and wish her all the best in her future endeavours. I am happy to say that both Nikki De Renzy and Aimee McBean will continue to stay on the committee and will be working alongside the rest of the committee members in Australia and South Pacific.

We are on the lookout for new management committee members in New Zealand. Do you want to expand your network? Demonstrate and develop your leadership and acquire new knowledge and skills? This is a great opportunity to be a part of a team and gain experience in this area. Being a part of the committee will provide an abundance of opportunity for personal and professional development. If this is something that might interest you, please get in contact with us at info@wipm.au

The 2023 Inaugural WIPM South Pacific Excellence Award is now open for nominations. We have also received a positive response for this award with some emails of interest coming in. More details are in the award section of this newsletter.

Preparations for future events in Fiji are in the works. South Pacific representative Asita Devi Deo is currently taking some much needed time off and is just about to return home from an extended trip in India. Nicky will be heading back over to Fiji early April to continue working alongside Asita, as well as attend her son’s wedding. Stay tuned for exciting new projects to be announced.

Pest Talk Event In New Zealand

An invitation has been put out to everyone by PMANZ to the Syngenta Pest Talk – February 2023, New Zealand! Come and learn what the best tips and tricks are to get the most out of Syngenta’s Advion Ant, Advion Cockroach and Demand CS and Talon WB!

Join a presentation by Peter Ambrose-Pearce, the Technical Service Lead for Syngenta PPM, along with an interactive session where you will be able to ask those annoying questions that you want answered or have questions on any Professional Pest Management strategies or questions on the Syngenta product range.

Topics to be covered:

• Advion Ant – What to look out for when tackling a tricky nest of ants?

• Advion Cockroach – How to kill that pack of pesty German Cockroaches and what makes Advion Coackroach so palatable?

• Demand CS –What is Encapsulated Technology and why should you be using it?

• Talon WB – Are all Rodenticides equal?

Venues: 21st February - Remuera Golf Club, 120 Abbotts Way, Remuera, Auckland

22nd February - Omanu Golf Club, 98 Matapihi Road, Mount Maunganui

Note: Please see more details and RSVP here by Friday, 10th February 2023.