Technical Advisory Board
Technical accuracy is fundamental to our approach which is why we have established an editorial board of eminent experts to make sure readers can rely on the information they read in Pest. On the board, in alphabetical order, are:
Dave Archer: Dave started as a pest control officer for a local authority in the 1970s and, after six years, was appointed pest control manager with Newbury District Council. During this time he studied for a Diploma in Management at Reading University. In the late 1990s he took on a managerial role with a private pest control company and in 2006 set up DKA Pest Control in Devon, which focuses on rural pest control. He is an active member of the British Deer Society and provides mentoring services in firearm use for Devon and Cornwall police. His is a member of BASIS Prompt and is a freelance examiner for The Royal Society of Public Health.
Clive Boase: Clive established the Pest Management Consultancy in 1992 and works with a wide range of clients in the UK and overseas. Key areas include the biological development of novel pest control products, resolving ‘difficult’ pest issues, and providing support to litigation. Recently, he has become very involved in the bed bug upsurge. He is highly regarded for his lecturing, training and writing activities as well as for the organisation of industry events. His aim is to separate the facts from the myths of pest control.
Dr Alan Buckle: Alan’s career has been centred around the development of the second-generation anticoagulants – notably for over 20 years with ICI, Zeneca, Syngenta, and latterly as an independent consultant. He has been chairman of the CEFIC Rodenticide Working Group since 2005, is chairman of the Rodenticide Resistance Action Group and the Campaign for Responsible Rodenticide Use. He has authored numerous publications on pest control, including, with Prof Robert Smith, the benchmark book Rodent Pests and their Control.
John Charlton: John’s career began at the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries for Scotland monitoring warfarin resistance in rodents. Other work was on hooded crow, geese, starling scaring, American mink, grey squirrel and fox. He held a variety of positions with Rentokil Pest Control, latterly as UK technical director. The role covered Europe, South Africa and South East Asia. John now has his own consultancy business providing technical support, pest control quality audits and training and sits on the CIEH National Pest Advisory Panel.
Brian Duffin: An environmental biology graduate from Plymouth University, Brian joined Rokill in 1991 and is still enjoying working in this industry. He has experience in many roles – technician, field biologist, operations manager and is currently chief technical officer for Rokill. He is a past chairman of the BPCA Servicing Committee. Brian now specialises in the provision and management of pest control in the food manufacturing and food retail sectors, managing a dedicated team of field biologists. He is also responsible for coordinating training and ensuring Rokill’s ISO and SSIP needs are met.
Rob Fryatt: Rob has over 25 years of international marketing and commercial experience in pest management. He has held senior positions with ICI, Zeneca and Sorex. Currently he operates Xenex Associates, an international business services company, with many clients involved in the global pest management industry. He was deputy president of BPCA for many years and served as director general of CEPA (the European Pest Management Industry Association). In 2014 he was named as one of the first ever recipients of the pest management industry’s Global Ambassador Award.
Frances McKim: A graduate in agricultural economics from Reading University, Frances has a long association with pest management in the UK and internationally due to her involvement with the public health insecticide, Ficam. She was elected the first female president of the British Pest Control Association (BPCA) in 1982 and was inducted into the Pest Control News Hall of Fame in 2008. She launched BPCA’s Professional Pest Controller magazine in 1993 and edited it for 15 years. Along with Helen Riby she founded Pest magazine in 2008 and continued as editor and co-publisher until January 2020.
David Loughlin: With a masters in pest management (1984), David worked initially in research and horticulture before working though three iterations of the Environmental Health unit at Berkhamsted, (1990-95) where he helped bring Maxforce, the first cockroach bait product, to Europe. A short move to Sandoz working on S-methoprene markets was followed by four years in the food industry. He moved into the pheromone and biocontrol sector in 2003, first at Exosect then AgriSense. In 2011 he founded Sentomol. He was Editor of International Pest Control magazine (2012-18). He is an active member of the Steering Committee that organises the Annual Biocontrol Industry Meeting (ABIM).
Dr Richard Naylor: Richard is well-known for his expertise in bed bugs. This work began in 2002 at the University of Sheffield. He then completed his masters researching the immune systems of female bed bugs and the effect of copulation and, for his PhD, studied bed bug aggregation and dispersal behaviour. In 2011, he became an independent entomologist, specialising in bed bugs. Part of his time is now devoted to The Bed Bug Foundation providing free independent advice on bed bug identification and control. Richard, with his wife Alexia, also runs CimexStore, which provides bed bugs for product testing and the training of scent detection dogs.
Helen Riby: Helen became fully immersed in professional pest management in 2008 when, along with Frances McKim she founded Pest magazine taking on the role of associate editor and co-publisher, a position she held until January 2020. Prior to this she had written the occasional feature for PPC magazine. Since 2008 she has developed a special interest in rodentcides and, in particular, the UK Rodenticide Stewardship Regime. A commerce graduate from Birmingham University her career has always involved technical writing and journalism both in-house as part of corporate PR & marketing teams and as an independent communications consultant.
Dr John Simmons: John’s pest control career commenced in the late 1980’s as a service technician, working his way through the ranks of field biologist and service manager. As technical manager of the British Pest Control Association (1992 to 1997), he was responsible for BPCA’s training & certification schemes and member company audits. In 2001 he set up Acheta Consulting, an independent consultancy covering all aspects of pest management, but independent inspection of food manufacturing facilities is the principal service provided. His team of consultants work with many blue-chip food-manufacturing companies in Europe and, occasionally, further afield. Acheta was purchased by the international testing, inspection & certification company, Kiwa, in 2019, but John continues to lead the business.
Richard Strand: Richard has over 30 years experience in pest control having started with the British Rail Pest Control Unit in Manchester. For 18 years he was executive director of BPCA gaining valuable experience consulting with government departments on behalf of the industry. Having set up his own consultancy business in 2006, Richard writes a regular pest column in the Sunday Times. He is an active tutor and examiner for industry bodies, including the RSPH/BPCA (Level 2) Certificate in Pest Control and a technical services verifier for Lantra Awards. In 2017 he was given BPCA life membership in recognition of his services to pest management.
Grahame Turner: Having studied applied zoology at Bangor University and insect control at Southampton, Grahame went on to work in a variety of pest-related roles, including pest control operations with National Brittannia, insect breeding research with The Wellcome Foundation and pest control consultancy to the food industry with ADAS. From 1999 to 2013 he was technical manager – bird control at Network, now part of Pelsis Ltd. Grahame is currently Head of Technical and Training at Terminix (previously Mitie Pest Control).