Apopka, Fla. — After nearly a decade of starts and stops, the University of Florida will establish a termite training facility for pest management professionals.
The Orkin Termite Training Facility will be housed at the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences in Apopka, Fla., about 20 miles northwest of Orlando.
"We want to raise the bar (and) not only have better practices, but more consumer protection as well," said Faith Oi, a scientist with the university’s department of entomology and nematology.
Oi has been involved in the project since 2000, but said the idea of a termite training facility in Florida has been around for at least a decade.
"The state is really long, and we have very different climates, even within the state we have different building construction types, different (pest control) practices, different pesticides, even," Oi said. "The expectations for pest control are very complicated."
Oi said that pest management professionals in Florida face pressures from not only the myriad pests of the Sunshine State, but also from the constant wave of people moving south and the ever-changing landscape of federal and state regulations.
"Native Floridians know what the bug pressure is like," she said. "The pest population is very diverse, as are the people who live in Florida. Trying to meet those needs, along with regulatory needs, makes it a very complicated situation."
More than 2 million people moved to Florida between 2000 and 2006, according to figures from the U.S. Census Bureau — the third largest growth of any state.
Oi said the training center will focus on termites, because the insects can cause the most damage and, by extension, carry the most potential for liability and lawsuits. She said the new termite training center could help expedite the establishment of similar schools for the control of other pests.
A GREAT EXAMPLE. Florida’s facility won’t be the first such facility at a major university. That honor goes to Clemson University, which has operated its training center since 1989, and acts as the model for many other similar facilities across the country.
Eric Benson, entomology professor and extension specialist at Clemson, said the South Carolina facility is the footprint of a 2,000 square-foot building — only without the building, just some joists — and has several types of foundations.
"We try to make it typical of the things (technicians) would find in South Carolina," he said.
Oi said the UF facility also will have different types of foundations and a rough frame up of a house, so technicians can apply what they learn: how to treat a monolithic slab differently from a floating slab; how to calculate the correct amount of termiticide to use; and how to drill through the structure to apply it.
PAYING FOR IT. The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services agreed to pay $150,000 if the university would come up with the same amount.
The government backing for the termite training facility comes from something called the Dixon Fund, which collects fines levied by the state against pest management professionals who violate the state’s rules and regulations. The money pays for pest control education, research and, now, training.
Apart from the fine money, the center will be funded by donations from several pest control companies. Orkin, the facility’s namesake, gave $150,000.
TRAINING IMPACT. Michael Page, chief of the Florida Bureau of Entomology and Pest Control, said that since October 2006 the agency has issued bills totaling more than $112,000 against pest management professionals and companies.
"When we can have a center where training can be conducted to improve knowledge and techniques associated with termiticide pre-treatments, it more than likely will decrease the amount of fines that are associated with this sector of pest control services," Page said. "That’s essentially what I’m hoping will happen." n
For more information about the center contact Liz Felter at 407/884-2034, ext. 141.
The author is assistant editor of PCT magazine and can be contacted at cbowen@giemedia.com.