The Independent Jury
The final ranking of the Nationale Ongediertebestrijding Awards (National Pest Control Awards) is not decided by an algorithm, but by people who know the trade. The jury consists of ten international pest management experts: scientists and practitioners from the United States, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Germany.
Together they bring expertise in rodent control, insect control, the IPM approach, biocide legislation and the day-to-day practice of a working pest controller. You can meet the jury members below.
What does the jury do?
For each city, the jury receives the preliminary ranking together with the underlying data: the Google rating and number of reviews, the certificates and quality marks found, and the number of years a company has been active. Each jury member checks that data and scores every company on the three criteria, using the fixed weighting of 40% reviews, 35% certificates and accreditations and 25% experience. The scores are averaged and decide who receives Gold, Silver and Bronze. In the event of a tie, the jury decides jointly. Jury members with a business or personal relationship with a company being assessed declare this in advance and do not assess that company.
The jury members take part in a personal capacity; their employers are not involved in the awards.
United States
Dr. Changlu Wang
Extension Specialist in Urban Entomology
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Department of Entomology (Rutgers SEBS/NJAES)
Dr. Changlu Wang is Extension Specialist in Urban Entomology in the Department of Entomology at Rutgers University (New Jersey, USA), where he leads the Urban Entomology Lab. His research focuses on integrated pest management (IPM) of cockroaches, bed bugs, ants and rodents in homes and buildings. He develops and evaluates monitoring and control methods for pest professionals and has worked with communities in more than twenty New Jersey cities. In 2020 his lab received the Governor's Environmental Excellence Award.
Prof. Dr. Dini Miller
Professor of Entomology and Urban Pest Management Specialist for Virginia
Virginia Tech, Department of Entomology
Prof. Dr. Dini Miller is Professor of Entomology at Virginia Tech (USA) and the Urban Pest Management Specialist for the state of Virginia. Her research and extension work focus on bed bugs, German cockroaches, ants and termites in buildings, with an emphasis on hands-on professional training and reduced-chemical control methods. She has developed IPM programmes for schools and public housing in Virginia and was inducted into the Pest Management Professional Hall of Fame in 2019.
Dr. Robert (Bobby) Corrigan
Urban rodentologist, owner of RMC Pest Management Consulting
RMC Pest Management Consulting, New York (USA)
Dr. Robert (Bobby) Corrigan is an internationally recognised authority on rodent control. He earned his master's and PhD in rodent pest management at Purdue University and runs RMC Pest Management Consulting, advising cities, government agencies and food-industry companies, including as principal instructor of the New York City Rodent Control Academy. A sought-after keynote speaker, he was inducted into the Pest Management Professional Hall of Fame in 2008 and received the PCT/Syngenta Lifetime Achievement Award in 2024.
Dr. Thomas Chouvenc
Associate Professor of Urban Entomology
University of Florida, UF/IFAS Fort Lauderdale Research and Education Center
Dr. Thomas Chouvenc is Associate Professor of Urban Entomology at the University of Florida's Fort Lauderdale Research and Education Center (UF/IFAS). His research focuses on subterranean termites, in particular the invasive Formosan and Asian subterranean termites and their hybrids in Florida, and on the structural damage they cause. He works on early detection, prevention and control, developed an interactive termite distribution map for Florida and trains pest professionals through UF/IFAS termite courses.
Prof. Michael F. Potter
Professor Emeritus of Entomology
University of Kentucky, Department of Entomology (emeritus)
Prof. Michael F. Potter is Professor Emeritus of Entomology at the University of Kentucky (USA), where he worked for thirty years as extension professor on pests of people, buildings and property. He previously served as National Technical Director at Orkin and as an industry research entomologist. Potter is widely regarded as a leading chronicler of the global bed bug resurgence and pioneered perimeter termite treatments. He received the NPMA Pinnacle Award and is in the Pest Control Hall of Fame.
United Kingdom
Dr. Richard Naylor
Entomologist, Director of R&D at Cimex Store; trustee of The Bed Bug Foundation
Cimex Store Ltd (Chepstow, UK) / The Bed Bug Foundation CIC
Dr. Richard Naylor is an entomologist and Director of Research & Development at Cimex Store (Chepstow, United Kingdom) and trustee and Senate Chair of The Bed Bug Foundation. He completed his PhD at the University of Sheffield on bed bug ecology and dispersal and has studied the species for over twenty years. His laboratory rears bed bugs for research and detection-dog training and tests products in realistic test bedrooms. He trains professionals and publishes on bed bug control.
Prof. Steven Belmain
Professor of Ecology, Centre Leader for Sustainable Agriculture for One Health
Natural Resources Institute, University of Greenwich
Prof. Steven Belmain is Professor of Ecology and Centre Leader for Sustainable Agriculture for One Health at the Natural Resources Institute, University of Greenwich (UK). He is a leading international researcher on rodent populations and ecologically based rodent management, with projects across Africa and Asia on crop damage, rodent-borne disease and alternatives to rodenticides like fertility control. In 2022 he received the Lifetime Recognition of Excellence Award in Rodent Biology. He is a Fellow of the Royal Entomological Society.
Netherlands
Dr. ir. Bastiaan Meerburg MBA
Head of Bayer Innovation Center Wageningen
Bayer AG, Bayer Innovation Center Wageningen
Dr. ir. Bastiaan Meerburg MBA has been Head of the Bayer Innovation Center Wageningen (Netherlands) since December 2023. He previously directed the Dutch Knowledge and Advice Centre for Pest Animals (KAD) and worked as a senior researcher and department head at Wageningen University & Research. He obtained his PhD in 2006 at the University of Amsterdam on zoonoses in wild rats and mice. His expertise covers rodent control, prevention, IPM and regulation in the European pest-control market.
Germany
Dr. Reiner Pospischil
Entomologist, founder of PMP-Biosolutions
PMP-Biosolutions, Bergheim (Germany)
Dr. Reiner Pospischil is an entomologist and the founder of PMP-Biosolutions in Bergheim near Cologne (Germany). He has more than forty years of experience in pest management and previously worked as an expert at Bayer, where he was co-inventor on patents including fly gel baits and flea-control products. He specialises in the development and efficacy testing of biocides against cockroaches, flies and bed bugs, identifies arthropods, prepares expert reports and is a prolific author and trainer for the sector.
Dr. Jens Jacob
Rodent researcher, Julius Kühn-Institut
Julius Kühn-Institut (JKI), Institute for Epidemiology and Pathogen Diagnostics, Rodent Research, Münster
Dr. Jens Jacob is a rodent researcher at the Julius Kühn-Institut (JKI), Germany's Federal Research Centre for Cultivated Plants, based at the Institute for Epidemiology and Pathogen Diagnostics in Münster. His work covers rodent population dynamics, monitoring and management, rodenticides and resistance, rodent-borne pathogens and risk assessment. He sits on the EPPO Panel on Rodent Control and the German Expert Committee on Rodenticide Resistance, chairs the Working Group Vertebrates and co-edited the handbook Rodent Pests: Ecology and Management (CABI).