Bandana Shrestha, University of Kentucky – John Osmun Scholarship Recipient
Many cockroach treatments begin only after an infestation has already taken hold. Bandana Shrestha is working to change that.
As a doctoral student in Urban Entomology at the University of Kentucky, Bandana is researching new ways to stop German cockroach infestations before they become established. Her work focuses on improving baiting strategies so pest management professionals can provide faster, more effective, and more sustainable control in real-world environments.
In addition to prevention, Bandana is studying how insecticides move through cockroach populations after bait consumption and how treatment methods may influence insecticide resistance over time. By better understanding these processes, her research aims to help pest management professionals maximize treatment success while protecting the long-term effectiveness of available products.
Bandana hopes her research will continue to bridge the gap between academic research and everyday pest management by providing practical, evidence-based solutions that can be readily applied in the field. She plans to use her Pi Chi Omega scholarship to further her professional development through conferences, workshops, specialized training, and research tools that will help her continue contributing meaningful solutions to the industry.
Bandana Shrestha, a doctoral student at the University of Kentucky, is researching proactive cockroach management strategies that help pest management professionals prevent infestations before they become established. Her work focuses on improving treatment effectiveness while supporting long-term, sustainable pest management practices.