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In this video, Rosina Robson, Chief Executive of the British Pest Control Association, reflects on a year of momentum, challenge and progress for the Association.  

From public health campaigns and policy work to volunteer-led change, workforce initiatives and record engagement, she looks back at what BPCA and its members have achieved together in 2025 and shares a message of thanks, reassurance and seasonal goodwill as the year draws to a close. 

The speech in full 

Hello everyone –  

I’m Rosina Robson, the Chief Executive at the British Pest Control Association.  

As we head into the end of the year, I wanted to take a few minutes to say a very simple but very sincere thank you. 

Thank you for your support, for your trust, and for backing the Association through another busy year. And a very special thank you to our volunteers. Committee members, Board members, working group contributors, forum speakers, mentors, and everyone who’s put their hand up to help BPCA do more, and do it better. 

You make a bigger difference than you probably realise. 

A year of momentum 

If I had to sum up 2025 in one line, it would be this: BPCA is going from strength to strength. 

We’ve delivered more, reached more people, and put pest management in more of the right conversations than ever before. But it’s not just about volume. It’s about impact. 

We’ve focused on the work that helps you run better businesses, develop your teams, and protect public health, while also standing up for the sector when regulation and policy decisions don’t reflect what happens in the real world. 

Getting the sector together 

Let’s start with one of the highlights: PPC Live in Harrogate in March. 

PPC Live is our flagship one-day event, and it did what it’s meant to do: brought the UK pest industry together. Networking, expert talks, hands-on kit demos, and that sense of “we’re all in this together” that you don’t get from a webinar. 

We also celebrated Best Pest Pic at PPC Live, with shortlisted images on display and the winner revealed at the show. It’s a bit of fun, but it also tells a bigger story. We’re here to protect people, and we should be proud of the work this sector does. 

Practical support when it matters 

Talking of highlighting our role in society, we had moments where the public health risks were very real, and we had to move fast. 

During the Birmingham bin strikes, BPCA stepped up media work and then launched the “While the binman’s away, the pests will play” campaign. It was a rapid, hyper-local response using billboards, digital ads, print and video. 

The point wasn’t to scare people. It was to cut through, get sensible prevention advice out quickly, and direct residents and businesses towards professional pest controllers. That’s what a trade association should do: spot the problem, act fast, and help members be the answer.  

We’re honoured that this campaign has been shortlisted for a Trade Association Forum award.  

Volunteers: the engine of BPCA 

Now, I want to come back to volunteers, because one of the most important things we did in 2025 was run BPCA’s first-ever Volunteer Days. 

Two days, residential, bringing together committee members, the Board and staff to co-create strategic projects and transform how volunteers shape BPCA’s work. 

That might sound a bit corporate, but here’s what it really means. 

It means we’re not just asking volunteers to “sit on a committee”. We’re building a model where your insight and experience genuinely drive our priorities and the way we deliver them. It’s a more modern approach, and it’s already paying off. 

This new approach saw us pick up an Association Excellence Award for membership engagement. Thank you to everyone who took part, and I hope to see even more people at our bigger Volunteers Forum in 2026. 

Standing up for the sector 

A big part of BPCA’s job is saying the difficult things, clearly, and backing it up with evidence. 

This year, we published an open letter to Defra highlighting failures in the glue trap licensing regime and calling for reform. We continued dialogue through the summer on enforcement and licensing because, if the rules aren’t workable or enforcement is inconsistent, it’s members and animal welfare that pay the price. 

We also responded to consultations and policy discussions that affect your day-to-day work, including anticoagulant rodenticides, and we made sure pest management was visible in wider national conversations, from food policy in Scotland to parliamentary work on resilience and animal disease. 

That’s not “nice to have”. That’s protecting the sector’s ability to do its job properly. BPCA is the only registered lobbying organisation solely for pest management in the UK. Without members like you, we couldn’t do this critical work.  

Growing the workforce and opening doors 

If you’ve heard me talk about priorities, you’ll know workforce is right near the top. 

This year we launched pestcareers.org.uk, a sector-wide careers hub to show real stories, real routes in, and real opportunities. We premiered the Drive the Talk recruitment film with real technicians, because the best advert for this industry is the people actually doing it. 

We introduced the Open Doors Charter, a public pledge for inclusive recruitment and welcoming workplaces. We hosted a Young Pest Professional special Digital Forum to showcase new speakers and new voices. 

This all ladders up to something simple: making pest management a career people choose, not something they stumble into by accident. 

The numbers tell the story 

Now, let’s talk results. 

We surpassed 4,100 people on BPCA Registered, making it the largest CPD scheme in the UK for the pest management sector. 

We hosted 2,800 people on Digital Forums and webinars this year, plus another 1,100 at in-person events. 

Over 25 million people have seen our work in the press. 

More than 110,000 people used Find a Pest Controller to protect their homes and businesses with the help of a BPCA member. 

And we received 103 new membership applications from businesses who want to join our mission and be part of driving excellence in pest management. 

That’s reach, reputation and growth. And it benefits every member. 

Challenges ahead, but we’ve got your back 

We’ve got challenges ahead. Regulation is tightening. Expectations are rising. The public and policymakers want proof, competence and accountability. And businesses everywhere are feeling cost pressures, recruitment pressures and the sheer workload. 

But here’s the point I want to land on. 

Your Association has your back. 

We’ll keep pushing for fair, workable regulation. We’ll keep putting pest management into the public health conversation. We’ll keep building training and CPD that supports real professionalism. And we’ll keep helping you tell your story to customers, communities and decision-makers. 

A Christmas message 

Finally, I want to wish you and your teams a very merry Christmas. 

If you can, please take some proper rest. Step away from the phone. Give yourself a chance to reset. This is a demanding job at the best of times, and you’ve earned a breather. 

Thank you again for everything you’ve done this year, and for everything you do every day. 

From all of us at BPCA: have a great Christmas, and we’ll see you in the new year. 

Source: Online