The Pest Management Industry – Where Is It Going in the 21St Century?

Abstract:
When the fathers of public health were establishing the environmental health industry in the 19th century, there were five main problems facing them: poor housing conditions; inadequate pest control; a lack of proper drainage; polluted air quality; and an unwholesome supply of water. Today we have primarily solved the problems of drainage, air quality and water supply but there are still many areas, even among the developed nations, where housing conditions are substandard and pests continue to present a threat to human health. As we move into the 21st century, the environmental health industry is facing a number of new challenges which we need urgently to resolve. These include the adverse effects of climate change, emerging diseases, urban sprawl and increasing world travel. In resolving these problems, we must be fully aware of the need to protect the environment and non-target species, as well as making sure that consumer concerns about the toxicity of the products that we use are fully addressed. The presentation considers the effects that the new problems are having on public health, and what we need to do resolve them and to prove how responsible our industry can be in meeting these challenges.