National Pest Awards 2023 - Young Pest Controller
Nominations for the Syngenta sponsored National Pest Awards 2023
James Craig, Beaver Pest Control
James Craig joined Beaver in June 2014 as a pest control technician and qualified as RSPH Level 2 in April 2015.
In 2020, he joined the in- house bird team, gaining PASMA and IPAF certifications.
Mr Craig said: “When Beaver decided to create the in- house abseiling team, I applied and gained my Rope Access certificate.”
He added a key highlight of his role is when he’s gone the extra mile, and customers are satisfied with his work. He now works on some of the most challenging bird-proofing jobs.
“Recent work includes abseiling works at Springfield Hospital for netting and bird wire, and a complex netting job to the underground car park, and Bishopsgate police station – a 45m x 15m net from the ropes,” he said.
Mr Craig said he was “honoured” to have his name put forward for the award.
“It gives me shivers down my spine to think I could win the award,” he said.
Joe Martin, PGM & Son Pest Control
Joe Martin works for PGM & Son Pest Control, which provides pest control solutions to residential and commercial customers across Herefordshire and Worcestershire.
He has been an apprentice since he left school, working alongside his father initially and then under a senior pest technician in the business.
“Over the last year, I became employed full-time by the business and gained my RSPH Level 2 in January 2023,” Mr Martin said.
In his current role, he is responsible for servicing commercial customers largely for rodent management, although he has also recently started to do rodent control for residential customers and is learning practical skills for insect control.
“The more I do it, the more I love the challenge of it,” Mr Martin said.
“Being a finalist is an award in itself. It just shows that I’m putting in the hard work.”
Joe Strong, Beaver Pest Control
Joe Strong started working for Beaver in January 2016, and four months later joined the bird team.
“I was eager to develop my skills and spent three years with the bird team,” he said. “I carried out various in- house and external training courses, which gave me valuable skills in bird proofing.”
He is now the division manager for pest exclusion and drainage.
Mr Strong said: “My most recent project within the business came when I identified a significant customer frustration where traditional drain surveys were being carried out by drain companies without the pest management experience to resolve their issues.
“I set out to create a solution that would tackle the root cause of the problem and started the in-house drain team from scratch in August 2021.
“I now make myself available to go out and support difficult surveys and jobs.”
He continued: “It would mean everything to win the award.”
