Villa Termiti renovation

Project description

The Villa Termiti is a 400-square-foot wooden structure constructed in 1992 with funds provided by California's Structural Pest Control Board.

Construction specifications: quarles et al 2005

Located at the UC Berkeley Richmond Field Station and jointly operated by UC Berkeley's Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management (ESPM) and the UC Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources (ANR), the Villa Termiti has been used for quasi-field research associated with pest management in and around California's single-family homes and other structures. Over the years, the Villa has been cited within dozens of peer-reviewed publications reporting on detection and management of structural pests, including drywood termites, bed bugs, ants, and wood-destroying beetles. The unique construction of the Villa allows for replicated studies within wall voids, attic, subarea, and other structural components. Though the utility of this structure for research has been realized, it has seldom been used for other purposes. Through this project, we propose enhancement of the Villa Termiti to create an interactive training facility that will be used as a venue for video-based learning, online educational modules, and hands-on continuing education of pest management professionals licensed by the Pest Board and DPR. We also propose to develop and provide a pilot video-based online educational program for licensed professionals at the enhanced Villa, focused on structural inspection strategies and pest identification processes. This training program, as well as the many others the enhanced Villa may support in the future, will increase knowledge within participants regarding specific IPM strategies and tactics, pest identification and detection, and reduced risk or alternative approaches to structural pest control. Specific pest systems to be covered in future training programs may include drywood termites, subterranean termites, bed bugs, Argentine ants, German cockroaches, nuisance outdoor cockroaches, wood-boring beetles, rodents, large vertebrate pests, and others. These increases in knowledge will lead to increases in professional provision of IPM services in the structural pest control industry, driving increases in pest control efficacy and decreases in negative impacts associated with pest management, such as environmental contamination by pesticides or unnecessary pesticide exposure events.