News from GPCA

SUITER WORKS TO IMPROVE EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR PCOS Suiter’s work for Purdue University included development of the urban pest management undergraduate degree option. He revised the curriculum for the existing undergraduate program in urban pest management to incorporate experiences with business as well as traditional biology, chemistry and entomology. Dan’s revised curriculum, based on data he obtained via a survey of the pest management industry as to educational needs for the industry and its professionals, was adopted and implemented in 2004. “I fell in love with West Lafayette (Ind.),” he recalls. “I kind of like snow. But after a couple of big snowfalls, my wife had had enough. When the job opened at the University of Georgia, it was an opportunity to get back into the sun belt.” Suiter focuses his work at the UGA Griffin campus, which was established in 1888 as the Georgia Experiment Station for agricultural research, on extending knowledge through the College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences Cooperative Extension program. Programming is geared toward the pest control industry, homeowners and county extension agents. “I get five or six calls a week from pest control professionals who want to bounce around ideas,” Dan says. “I also hear from extension agents who’ve received calls from homeowners who need help diagnosing a pest problem. We talk through the problems and come up with possible solutions.” In addition to his role as an answer man for the state’s 1,200 pest control businesses, which employ almost 10,000 people, Suiter works with industry leaders to research new products or find new ways to use existing products. In working with large chemical manufacturers, he assists in generating data that support Environmental Protection Agency registration or that confirm field observations. He also consults with product manufacturers that have experienced insect problems in their plants or warehouses. For instance, when insects were getting crushed in large rolls of paper at a Georgia paper mill, the Taiwanese buyer began refusing shipments. Suiter, working with company leaders, solved the problem, allowing the paper to again reach its intended destination. Other adventures in commercial pest management requiring Suiter’s involvement included helping Kellogg’s develop a Pharaoh ant control program in one of their Georgia plants; solving a fruit fly problem in a north Georgia winery’s bottling plant; and helping the Georgia Outdoor News select a new site for their offices. “Solving problems is my favorite part of my work,” he says. “It’s rewarding to work with people to help them solve problems that impact their business.” Yet a faculty position, even one that is charged primarily with extension work, requires some teaching. Suiter is an accomplished lecturer, speaking to undergraduate and graduate classes about ant biology, integrated pest management in urban environments, and household and structural insect pests. He also works one-on-one with a number of graduate students, advising them on research, experimental design and career options. His dedication to young people entering the field of entomology is not limited to college students. Suiter recently advised a student from Douglas, Ga., with his high school science fair project. The student won his district fair, taking honors as the top project from 500 entries and winning a two-year scholarship to South Georgia College. From his region, the student advanced to the State Science Fair where he placed in the top 12 of 50 projects chosen statewide in his category. Research is another important component of graduate faculty work. While Suiter does not have an official research appointment, he does contribute to the body of knowledge through a research program that is applied, problem-solving, and focused on ants, termites and other peridomestic pest species. Goals of his research include “the advancement of entomological and ecological sciences; the generation of objective, science-based information upon which to base pest management recommendations for urban entomology practitioners and clientele; and the reduction of chemical inputs into the home and institutional environment.” Suiter’s research projects, which are funded by industry and governmental grants, relate to specific needs of the pest control industry and Georgians in general. He keeps up-to-date on trends and new industry needs by communicating regularly with academic colleagues across the country, university extension agents, pest control professionals and homeowners. This anecdotal information is supported by data from statistical surveys that identify and define emerging and persistent concerns. Anyone wishing to explore the details of Suiter’s research findings can locate his work in a variety of prestigious publications. He is the author of 16 scholarly publications in scientific journals (including the internationally-respected Journal of Economic Entomology, Environmental Entomology, Medical and Veterinary Entomology, and the Journal of Chemical Ecology), three peer-reviewed bulletins, and eight abstracts from proceedings of national and international scientific meetings. Co-authors include entomologists from The Ohio State University, the University of Florida, Auburn University, North Carolina State University and the University of Georgia. Suiter also writes extension bulletins targeted to general audiences. For instance, the first press run of “Termite Control Services: Information for the Georgia Property Owner”was for 5,000 copies. An additional 7,000 copies were reprinted by Bayer Environmental Science for educational purposes, and the bulletin is being used throughout the country. Serving the state by sharing his expertise, Dan is an appointed member of the Georgia Structural Pest Control Commission, a seven-member board responsible for developing rules and regulations governing the Georgia pest control industry. In this role, he regularly casts votes that directly affect termite control companies and the services they provide for Georgia’s 8.2 million residents. And those residents can thank Suiter for helping the state identify and control perhaps the most destructive wood-destroying insect in the world: the Formosan termite. As director of Georgia’s Formosan Termite Eradication Initiative, Suiter obtained state funding to detect the presence of Formosan termite infestations already established in Georgia, eliminate Formosan termites from sites where they exist, and halt the continued introduction of infested materials (such as used railroad crossties) into Georgia.   He also shares his knowledge through his leadership at the Structural Pest Control Training Center in Griffin, Ga. The facility offers “Principles of Structural Pest Control” workshops to pest control professionals several times a year. Since 1998, Dan has organized, conducted or hosted 32 such workshops for hundreds of participants. The training facility was constructed with funds from a cooperative agreement between the University of Georgia, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Georgia Department of Agriculture. It resembles a 3,000-square-foot, partially-built home where termite control professionals, regulatory inspectors and university extension service personnel study and practice proper treatment and inspection of homes for subterranean termites. “We bring in PCOs and county extension agents and demonstrate some of the industry challenges with termites,” he says. Participants earn credit for workshops on post-construction management and pretreatment. Although Suiter considers today to be a “heyday in terms of products” available for termite treatment, he notes that managers still report challenges of hiring and retaining good employees. “If we can train someone to recognize 100 different insects, and he or she is a responsible person who shows up on time and is committed to the industry, then you have a good employee,” he says. Suiter’s development of an interdisciplinary certificate program in urban and structural pest management in conjunction with Griffin Technical College directly addressed those needs. Approved in 2003, the urban pest management certificate program was implemented in 2004. The curriculum reflects the training needs of pest management professionals and the pest control industry with four 10-week courses: Interpersonal Relations and Professional Development ; Service Industry Business Environment; Customer Contact Skills; and Principles of Urban and Structural Pest Management. “The overall mission of this certificate program is to attract new employees (service technicians) to the pest control industry while providing them the necessary training to perform at a high level of effectiveness,” Suiter says. “We attract people who have no experience and show them what the pest control industry is and what it’s not.” For instance, examples of about 1,000 different insects are available for certificate program students to examine. “That leaves a lasting impression,” he adds. “There’s a big difference between seeing a picture in a book and seeing a live bug crawling around.” The program culminates by matching students to internship opportunities, which allows companies to gain potential employees while allowing the students to experience the industry and make sure it’s for them. The desired effect is to weed out those who do not want a lasting career in the field and increase retention of new pest control professionals. Suiter notes that in his 20 years in the field, he’s always fought the “exterminator image.” When describing the certificate program to school guidance counselors, for instance, he often surprises them with his descriptions of the industry’s pay, benefits and worker satisfaction. “People just don’t consider a career in pest control,” he says. “We’re working to get the word out that this is a dynamic, fun industry to be in.” Suiter clearly enjoys his career, yet he maintains his early love of hunting, travel, photography and gardening. And he appreciates his ability to pursue his interests all the more because he experienced a frightening health scare in 2003 when a blood vessel burst in his brain. When scanning the brain to pinpoint the problem, physicians found a potentially dangerous blood clot. He immediately underwent surgery to remove the clot, probably saving his life. Looking down the road toward his continued future endeavors, Gary Bennett says of Suiter, “If you need something done, ask Dan. He’s a real credit to the urban entomology community.”

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