Elimination of Subterranean Termite (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae) Colonies Using a Refined Cellulose Bait Matrix Containing Noviflumuron When Monitored and Replenished Quarterly (original) (raw)
Related papers
Journal of Economic Entomology
The efficacy of bistrifluron, a chitin synthesis inhibitor, in cellulose bait pellets was evaluated on the mound-building subterranean termite, Coptotermes acinaciformis (Froggatt). Three concentrations of the bistrifluron were used: 0 (untreated control), 0.5, and 1.0% over an 8 wk period. Both doses of bistrifluron bait eliminated (viz. termites absent from nest or mound) termite colonies: 83% of colonies (10 of 12) were either eliminated or moribund (viz. colony had no reproductive capacity and decreased workforce) after 8 wk, compared with none of the control colonies. The remaining two treated colonies were deemed to be in decline. Early signs that bistrifluron was affecting the colonies included: 3 wk after baiting mound temperatures showed a loss of metabolic heat, 4 wk after baiting foraging activity in feeding stations was reduced or absent, and dissection of two mounds at 4 wk showed they were moribund. Colony elimination was achieved in around half or less the time, and with less bait toxicant, than other bait products tested under similar conditions in the field, because of either the active ingredient, the high surface area of the pellets, or a combination of both. This suggests the sometimes long times reported for control using baits may be reduced significantly. The use of a mound building species demonstrated clearly colony level effects before and after termites stopped foraging in bait stations.
The effect of bait design on bait consumption in termites (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae)
Bulletin of Entomological Research
The efficacy of baiting as a pest control method relies on the bait appealing to the pest species. In the case of wood-eating termites, bait stations should be designed to encourage termite presence and to maximize their consumption of bait matrix in order to expedite control in minimal time. A field experiment examined the effect of bait size (one large bait or four small baits of equivalent total size, with commensurate inspection and replacement schedules), compaction (tightly rolled or loosely folded) and composition (paper only or paper plus wood) on termite presence and on untreated bait paper removal rates over four months. All three factors were significant, with bait size the most important factor, followed by compaction and then composition. The least effective baits were small, compacted (rolled) paper-only baits with monthly inspections; these had the highest abandonment rate (70%) and had the least paper removed (mean of 24 g). The most effective baits were large, folded paper-plus-wood baits with inspections at two months; these had the lowest abandonment rate (20%) and had the highest paper removal (mean of 112 g). The more than four-fold difference between these baits types demonstrates that bait efficacy can be altered considerably merely by changing bait design without adding new ingredients to the bait matrix.
A simple modification of a prototype commercial bait station (Sentricon™ Colony Elimination System) is described to facilitate collection of large numbers of subterranean termites at field sites. A roll of corrugated cardboard placed into the cylindrical plastic below-ground monitoring station leads termite foragers into an above-ground collection trap. This collection method has been used successfully at field sites in Hawaii, where rainfall and soil conditions prohibited the installation of larger termite traps beneath the soil surface, to collect termites for mark-release-recapture studies. Standardized and durable commercial termite monitoring stations could prove to be useful research tools for studying termite ecology.
Combinatorial Potential of bait matrix against subterranean termites under lab and field conditions
Sociobiology, 2016
Bait matrix of different treatments were evaluated against two termite species i.e. Odontotermes obesus and Coptotermes heimi both under laboratory and field conditions. Mean wood consumption in laboratory bioassays were investigated for 2, 4 and 6 weeks with maximum consumption was noted after 4 weeks. While, field experiment was conducted for 24 there was greater consumption of the loosely bound bait matrix compared to the tightly bound matrix. However, feeding was comparatively high in combinations with attractants. Overall, treated colonies experienced a 90-95% decrease in population size after 24 weeks of baiting. The queen in the royal chamber of the mound was found dead.
The efficacy of the Sentricon™ Colony Elimination System containing Recruit™ II termite bait (Dow AgroSciences LLC, 0.5% hexaflumuron) in controlling active subterranean termite infestations has been demonstrated in numerous studies. This baiting system and other termite baiting systems are now widely used, and generally accepted tools for remedial termite control in North America, Hawaii, and other parts of the world. The role ofbaiting systems in prevention of termite damages and long-term structural protection, however, is more controversial than their use in remedial control. We discuss three lines of evidence in support of the use of baits for long-term structural protection: (1) successful control of termite populations with baits in remedial studies allows a conceptual leap to preventative efficacy, since baits target colonies and populations and cannot be evaluated directly for prevention in the manner of soil insecticide barriers; (2) field and laboratory studies demonstrate that termite colonies feed on multiple resources and continue to radiate outward from each of those resources in search of additional food, increasing the likelihood of rapid bait discovery; and (3) results of our long-term field studies over the past decade demonstrate that newly invading termites will reuse existing galleries in the soil left by earlier colonies that lead to monitoring stations, were detected in monitoring stations, and were subsequently eliminated without any noticeable evidence of structural infestation or damage.
American Entomologist, 2009
Sixty-two termite colonies, representing Reticulitermes flavipes (Kollar), R. virginicus (Banks), R. hageni Banks, and Coptotermes formosanus Shiraki, were baited with 0.5% noviflumuron applied to in-ground stations at 24 buildings in Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Georgia from 2004 to 2007. Microsatellite DNA analysis was used to identify termite species and colonies. Half of the buildings were infested with termites at the start of baiting. The bait efficacy trials were the first started and completed after Rule 5E-2.0311, “Performance Standards and Acceptable Test Conditions for Preventive Termite Treatments for New Construction,” was adopted in Florida. Noviflumuron (0.5%) bait, replenished quarterly, met all the performance standards of the rule and eliminated termite colonies, even if bait was depleted before replenishment, auxiliary stations were not baited, and extreme weather conditions occurred. All initially baited termite colonies infesting the properties were eliminated in <1 yr (range, 29–275 d). All infested buildings had structural infestations that were eliminated in <1 yr (range, 62–266 d). No buildings showed structural infestation by termites for the remaining duration of the trials, >1 yr after the initial elimination of termite activity (range, 366–732 d). Significant differences in bait consumption and days to elimination by termite species were documented. More than half (54%) of the properties had new termite activity in monitoring stations after the first bait cycle. DNA analysis, which is not required by the regulations, confirmed that termites baited during subsequent bait cycles were new colonies that had not been baited during the first bait cycle. Without DNA analysis, regulators would have interpreted the sites with recurring activity in monitors by the same previously baited termite species as a failure of the bait to control initially baited colonies.
Evidence Supporting the Use of Termite Baiting Systems for Long-term Structural Protection
The efficacy of the Sentricon*Colony Elimination System containing Recruit* II termite bait (0.5% hexaflumuron) in controlling active subterranean termite infestations has been demonstrated in numerous studies. This baiting system and other termite baiting systems are now widely used, and generally accepted, tools for remedial termite control in North America, Hawaii, and other parts of the world. The role of baiting systems in prevention of termite damages and long-term structural protection, however, is more controversial than their use in remedial control. We discuss three lines of evidence in support ofthe,use ofbaits for long-term structural protection: (1) successful control of termite populations with baits in remedial studies allows a conceptual leap to preventative efficacy, since baits target colonies and populations and cannot be evaluated directly for prevention in the manner of soil insecticide b&Jriers; (2) field and laboratory studies demonstrate that termite colonies feed on multiple resources and continue to radiate outward from each of those resources in search of additional food, increasing the likelihood of rapid bait discovery; and (3) results of our long-term field studies over the past decade demonstrate that newly invading termites will reuse existing galleries in the soil left by earlier colonies that lead to monitoring stations, were detected in monitoring stations, and were subsequently eliminated without any noticeable evidence of structural infestation or damage.