CPD VIDEO

How confident are you identifying an insect when you’re standing in front of a customer?

Paul Westgate from Veritas Pest Consultancy shares his approach to what he calls “dirty in-field identification”: practical ways pest professionals can use magnification, habitat clues and key insect characteristics to work out what they’re looking at and decide what needs to happen next.

Using real examples from the field, Paul covers booklice, cockroaches, beetles, moths, flies, fleas, ants and more, including a memorable callout involving termites in Sussex.

Paul also explains:

• Why correct identification can completely change your treatment advice
• The insect features worth learning to recognise
• Why keeping samples matters
• How the surrounding environment can help narrow down an identification
• Where AI and photographs can let you down
• Why saying “I don’t know yet” can be the professional answer
• How a simple microscope can help demonstrate your expertise to customers

This session is aimed at pest management professionals looking to refresh their understanding of rodent behaviour and make better decisions on inspection, proofing, monitoring and treatment.

All information is correct at the time of filming. This video is taken from BPCA's Digital Forum 39.

Views of the speakers are their own and not necessarily shared by BPCA.

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