PestWorld 2026 Heads to Grapevine, Texas

The National Pest Management Association opened registration for PestWorld 2026 in May, and the show is now just weeks away. This year’s event runs October 20 through 23 at the Gaylord Texan Resort and Convention Center in Grapevine, Texas, in the Dallas–Fort Worth area. The theme is “Built for This Business.”

PestWorld is the largest yearly gathering in the professional pest control world. According to the UK-based National Pest Technicians Association, the 2025 event drew more than 4,500 delegates, including nearly 640 international attendees from 75 countries.

Education is a big part of the draw. NPMA said the 2026 program includes more than 40 sessions across business, fumigation, safety, technical, wildlife and wood-destroying organism tracks. Attendees can pick up continuing education credits along the way, which matters for techs and owners juggling license renewals.

The exhibit hall is billed as the industry’s largest, with more than 250 companies spread across 128,000 square feet. That is where manufacturers, distributors, software vendors and equipment makers show what is new for the coming season.

The schedule opens with a ceremony on Tuesday, October 20. Main stage keynote speakers are set for Wednesday and Thursday, and the event wraps up with a closing celebration called PestFest on Friday, October 23.

Early-bird pricing ended September 3, so anyone registering now will pay standard rates. NPMA’s registration page has the current details.

NPMA describes the show as a place to bring together thousands of attendees from around the world for four days of education, networking, business development and new ideas. For a working tech, that mix can be useful in a very plain way. The technical and wood-destroying organism tracks are where you hear how other companies handle the problems you see on your own routes, from tough German cockroach accounts to termite inspections and wildlife calls. The safety and fumigation tracks cover the parts of the job where mistakes are the most costly.

For owners and managers, the business track and the hallway conversations are often the main event. The past year has brought plenty to talk about: a softer residential lead market at the largest public companies, steady acquisition activity, and a farm bill fight in Congress over whether local governments can set their own pesticide rules.

If you are going for the first time, a few habits help. Look at the session list before you arrive and mark the ones that count toward your state’s credit requirements. Keep the paperwork you need to document attendance. Walk the exhibit hall with a short list of questions about products you already use, not just new launches. And swap contact info with people from other regions, because the best advice at these shows often comes from someone who has already solved your problem somewhere else.