Board approves Research Advisory Panel updates to 2018 solicitation; Technical Advisory Committee begins work on bait and monitoring station guidance

The Structural Pest Control Board voted to accept the Research Advisory Panel’s recommended updates to the board’s 2018 solicitation for research proposals and to adopt proposed minimum qualifications for project directors and key personnel.

Tom Aniken, lead investigator for the Structural Pest Control Board, presented the panel’s recommendations, which narrow the solicitation’s focus toward integrated pest management research on ants, cockroaches and termites and add minimum qualifications requiring principal investigators and key personnel to provide summaries of at least three prior peer‑reviewed research projects, references, and completion explanations where prior projects ran over schedule.

The board moved and seconded the Research Advisory Panel recommendation and, after no public comments, adopted the updates on a 5–0 roll call vote. The motion approves the panel’s tracked changes to the February 2018 solicitation request and establishes the minimum qualifications for bidders on research contracts funded through the board’s research fund.

Technical Advisory Committee update

Tom also briefed the board on the newly formed Technical Advisory Committee (TAC), a 10‑member panel including board member John Tangen, industry manufacturers, university IPM representatives, pest‑control company practitioners and a DPR representative. The TAC met on December 4 and discussed four primary areas: need for clarification on definitions (for example, “structure” and “infestation”), whether definitions should differentiate evidence found inside a structure from evidence outside it, distinctions between pre‑construction and post‑construction work, and categories for treatment recommendations (baiting vs. extermination vs. prevention).

TAC members flagged industry confusion about how existing laws apply to modern bait and monitoring stations, including whether monitoring devices that contain no pesticide nonetheless require inspections and notices of completion under current law. The TAC recommended staff begin drafting definitions and a prioritized list of issues for future meetings; the committee will continue research and draft recommendations for the board’s consideration.

Formal action

- Motion: Approve the Research Advisory Panel’s recommended updates to the February 2018 solicitation request for research proposals and the proposed minimum qualifications for bidders. Vote: 5–0; outcome approved.

Why it matters

Adopting clearer solicitation language and minimum qualifications aims to raise scientific quality and ensure research contracts supported by the board’s research fund are led by investigators with prior peer‑reviewed experience. TAC work on definitions and recommendations for bait and monitoring stations addresses a regulatory gap the committee identified: industry methods and products have evolved faster than the statutory language and regulations governing recommended treatments and consumer notices.

Ending

Board staff will incorporate the RAP’s tracked changes into the solicitation materials and issue the amended solicitation consistent with board direction. The TAC will continue meetings to prepare draft regulatory or guidance recommendations for future board discussion.