[Annual Termite Issue] Money Tree

Protecting urban infrastructure from destructive termites such as the Formosan subterranean termite, Coptotermes formosanus, has been an ongoing battle in Texas. With more than 27 counties now documented with Formosan termites, the battle against this opponent has largely been focused on urban dwellings. However, very few people have stopped to focus on the impact Formosan termites are having on urban forests. Researchers at Texas A&M University, the U.S. Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS) Operation Full Stop Program, headquartered out of New Orleans, and private industry, are working together with PMPs to identify new tactics for control and management of this challenging opponent.

RESEARCH OVERVIEW. Area-wide control efforts are being evaluated in Aransas County with hopeful expansion to additional counties. The city of Rockport was selected as a research site because the introduction dynamics of Formosan termites there were better documented than in virtually any other county. In addition, the city of Rockport has drafted municipal legislation (City of Rockport, Ordinance No. 1349, Chapter 106, Section 106-20) that deals with corrective measures and/or guidelines to be enforced when Formosan-infested trees, mulch or structural timbers have been discovered. Discarded infested materials (from Formosan termites) placed into landfills are an important source for this exotic pest.

Many cities in Texas, and across the Gulf region, have unwittingly contributed to infestations through careless disposal of infested wood materials, particularly recycled railroad ties and wooden pallets. When present, Formosan termites will aggressively consume the heartwood of living trees, structurally weakening them and creating a safety hazard that goes unrecognized until a strong windstorm topples the tree. This was most evident when Hurricane Rita hit Texas in 2005. In Beaumont, upwards of 40 percent of felled trees marked for local landfills by the Army Corps of Engineers were infested with Formosan termites. Their present locations in landfills remain unknown.

In many instances, these trees are combined with other wood debris and taken to adjacent county landfills or remediation sites where termites will tunnel out of infested trees and establish themselves in the immediate area (see photo below). In other instances, reproductive alates will swarm to adjacent trees and establish arboreal nests, oftentimes from pruning scars on large mature hardwoods, their favored food sources. Many of these trees have tremendous value, whether for historic reasons or due to their added value to properties where they have been planted.

One such instance of this was in Baytown, Texas, where the entire history of the city is tied to land deeded to the town from a private citizen that requested their family’s contribution be remembered by preservation and memorial of an oak tree. This tree was determined to be infested with Formosan termites in 2006, and through coordinated efforts by Texas A&M, the city of Baytown, the Texas Forest Service, and private industry, the tree was saved from Formosan termites.

Clint May and his father Pat of Coastal Exterminators volunteered their time and effort to assist with remedial control measures on the tree. The tree was baited with in-ground and above-ground bait stations using Sentricon ESP and AG technologies (donated by Dow AgroSciences). After five months of continuous feeding and monitoring, Formosan termites were successfully controlled in this tree. Following this, the tree was drilled and treated with Termidor (donated by BASF) as a preventative. While the efficacy of termiticide treatments into trees requires additional testing and evaluation, results from Texas A&M have demonstrated 100-percent control in urban dwellings treated with Termidor applied to soils for Formosan termites (and other subterranean termite species) in Texas after eight years of annual inspection and chemical analysis. Further evaluations of other active ingredients for tree applications are anticipated in the future. Results from similar applications in New Orleans have shown relatively good efficacy for treatment of trees with both imidacloprid (Premise) and with other novel chemistries currently under development.

Many chemical companies generally frown on combination approaches to controlling any pest. Simply put, they want to believe that their chemical or technology is singularly responsible for control or elimination. However, this is counter to everything we know in an integrated pest management (IPM) approach. When used in combination, these technologies enhance our ability to preserve and protect urban forests, and this creates an entirely new niche market for many PMPs who are willing to combat this difficult pest in the South. Once considered the bane of “tree-huggers” existence, now PMPs are becoming their greatest ally, protecting urban forests from Formosan termites one tree at a time.

COOPERATION CRITICAL. Coordination with municipal governments and home-owner associations has proven to be essential when attempting area-wide control efforts. Access to areas that can be vigorously and systematically evaluated is essential to assess the long-term impact through targeted control efforts such as these. Formosan termites can be managed and area-wide control can become a reality if there is a commitment by all interested parties.

Municipal regulations at the local city level are one of the most important ways this may be achieved. The legislation being considered by the city of Rockport is the first of its kind in Texas. Legislation at the state level is also helpful, but it must be properly funded and sustained. Currently in the state of Texas, there is a Formosan quarantine that the public knows virtually nothing about (see Texas Register, Rules 19.180, 19.182 and 19.183). Unfortunately, there is no state funding for termite research, education or training (of inspection officials) on this problem, and the areas of Formosan infestation have continued to increase. If it were not for federal financial support for Formosan termite research (through USDA-ARS), there would be virtually no funding at all in Texas for this important pest. For this reason, pest management professionals who operate in these areas have a real opportunity to rethink how they address their termite control bids to their customers. They need to think more broadly and address control in trees at these accounts, labor costs for monitoring, and treatment costs for disposal of infested timbers.

There is tremendous interest from home-owners and businesses in protecting high-value trees. This directly translates to possible niche marketing of tree treatments. It also has the ancillary benefit of actually attempting population management (through baiting scenarios) while preserving and protecting both urban forests and structures alike with conventional and non-conventional applications. Most homeowners are concerned for the health and protection of high-value trees on their properties. This creates an opportunity for pest management professionals to increase their profits for added services in Formosan termite-affected areas, while providing a more thorough and comprehensive control program for their customers. Quite often pest management professionals get focused on protecting the structure without giving enough concern or effort toward addressing protection of their customers’ trees.

If more pest management professionals embrace this approach, there will be untold benefits to whole communities by the concerted population reduction of Formosan termites while simultaneously protecting future invasions into adjacent structures. The bottom line is that this is good for your profits, better for your customers, and better for everyone living in areas where Formosan termites are present.

Author’s note: Pest professionals should check with their local regulatory agency to see if special licenses or certifications are required to treat trees for termites.

Dr. James W. Austin, formerly an associate research scientist working in the Center for Urban & Structural Entomology at Texas A&M University, now is a senior research scientist with BASF. He can be reached at jaustin@giemedia.com. Dr. Roger E. Gold is a professor and holds the endowed chair for urban entomology in the Department of Entomology at Texas A&M University. He can be reached at rgold@giemedia.com.

Formosan Facts

• One of the most destructive termite species in the world
• Consumes wood rapidly
• Sometimes referred to as the “Super Termite”
• First documented U.S. infestation occurred in Charleston, S.C., in 1957
• Currently found in Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas
• An isolated population was found near San Diego in 1992
• Colonies are much larger than native subterranean termites
• Some colonies contain more than eight million individuals
• The often-quoted claim that they eat concrete is an urban legend
• Native to the Far East (China, Taiwan, Japan)
• Will build above-ground nests
• Build large nests known as carton nests made up of soil, chewed wood or plant matter, and their own saliva and feces
  Source: University of Florida IFAS Extension