[Annual Termite Control Issue] Termite News & Notes

Editor’s note: Suppliers, if you have a termite control product you’d like to have highlighted in an upcoming issue, please send a press release and a high-resolution photo to jdorsch@giemedia.com.

 

Bayer Offers Premise 75 WP ‘Buy Two, Get One Free’ Promotion

www.backedbybayer.com

To help arm pest management professionals with the tools they need for termite swarm season, Environmental Science, a division of Bayer CropScience LP, is offering a “Buy Two, Get One Free” promotion on Premise 75 WP, its non-repellent termiticide.

Now through September 30, 2014, PMPs who purchase two cases of Premise 75 WP will receive one case of Premise 75 WP free of charge.

Premise 75 WP is a non-repellent termiticide that offers high performance, affordability and excellent value. It has been proven to be effective in treating dampwood termites, drywood termites, subterranean termites, and other wood-infesting insects. Premise cannot be detected by termites — so they tunnel into treated areas and become exposed to the active ingredient, imidacloprid.

Additionally, Premise 75 WP features water-soluble packets that allow for easy mixing and reduce potential exposure risk for pesticide handlers. This innovative packaging also has eliminated the use of more than one million plastic containers since Bayer brought this product to market more than 15 years ago.

 

EPA Approves CSI’s FUSE Termiticide/Insecticide Label
www.controlsolutionsinc.com

***updated 4/6/2014***
Control Solutions (CSI) announced EPA approval of FUSE, a new liquid termiticide/insecticide. EPA registration was granted on Nov. 7, 2013. CSI says that FUSE offers a unique formulation of two non-repellent active ingredients, imidadoprid and fipronil. "FUSE is labeled for termite and perimeter pest control applications," said Marie Knox, PCO technical manager at Control Solutions.

"The addition of FUSE is an example of how we at CSI strive to provide what our customers want and need: truly innovative and effective products. We are proud to offer PMPs the highest quality termiticide products available and to offer a true choice when it comes to product selection," said Curtis Clark, executive vice president of Control Solutions.

FUSE will be added to the list of termiticide products offered by CSI, which include imidacloprid-based Dominion 2L and fipronil-powered Taurus SC. CSI liquid termiticide products are formulated and packaged at CSI's state-of-the-art production facility in Pasadena, Texas, the firm says.

FUSE offers PMPs an option for structural protection from termites as well as a non-pyrethroid option for perimeter pest control, CSI reports. The label offers application flexibility for both termiticide treatments as well as exterior perimeter pest control treatments.

 

Talstar Professional Treatment Helps PMP Secure Termite Renewals

www.fmcprosolutions.com

Versatility means a lot to Dave Passon, owner of Advanced Termite & Pest Control in Crossville, Tenn. Finding an insecticide product he can use that is effective for a variety of pests was key to his success in the pest management business.

For Passon, that product is Talstar Professional insecticide.

“I started using Talstar Professional right after I started my own business in 2000,” says Passon. “I began using it for all my outside services — I like it for spiders especially, which are a big problem for us in eastern Tennessee.”

Passon uses Talstar in all of his residential accounts. “It’s an integral part of our general pest control treatments for general insects like crickets, ants, termites, wasps, spiders and beetles,” he notes. “But it’s also a major factor in our termite program.”

Each year when Advanced Termite & Pest Control renews a termite contract, Passon’s technicians perform a general pest application treatment with Talstar. “We also spray the eaves and underneath the house at the time of their renewal,” adds Passon.

Offering the courtesy spray really helps secure renewals, says Passon. “A lot of PMPs just perform the inspection and leave — they don’t even treat anything,” he explains. “But the cost of the product is so reasonable that we can easily do this.”

A New Jersey native who moved to Tennessee 20 years ago, Passon has grown his business from one truck to 14 trucks in the past 13 years.

Managing this high business volume with just 14 technicians and two laborers is often challenging for Passon. But having a reliable cornerstone product like Talstar Professional helps him streamline operations considerably, he says.

According to Passon, Talstar makes inventory a snap because it affects a variety of insects. “Callbacks are very, very minor — I virtually have no complaints,” he says. “You can’t beat Talstar!”

 

Termatrac Announces T3i Support for Android

www.termatrac.com

Termatrac recently announced the release of an Andoid app, which can be used as the display component of a Termatrac T3i. Termatrac now ships an Android device with every T3i termite detection unit. The T3i connects to the Android device via Bluetooth, providing sharper and more responsive viewing, and a simpler user interface than the previously supplied PDA, Termatrac says.

“The support of the Android is great advancement for the T3i, making best use of rapidly advancing technology. It’s a great platform which gives us lots of options for the future,” said Chris Curtis, Termatrac general manager. “Owners of the T3i can also use their own Android devices, whether they be phones or tablets.”

The Termatrac T3i has advanced radar technology and also includes thermal and moisture sensors. Radar technology detects the movement of termites, and thermal and moisture sensors detect temperature and moisture differentials indicating the evidence of termites, giving pest control operators and home inspectors more capabilities to do their jobs better and more accurately, the firm reports.

 

Terminix Service Volunteers Help Preserve Historic Cabins

A total of 17 managers, regional personnel and product representatives volunteered their time and labor to protect the cabins at Gregory Creek Homestead from wood-destroying insects. The volunteer effort was in advance of a Christmas event to be held there in December, Statesville.com reports (Statesville, N.C.).

“We treated eight tiny buildings — the largest being 15 feet by 20 feet — and the termites had done a pretty good number on them. Plus there were two that had powderpost beetle damage,” Terminix Service Regional Manager Sam Foust told PCT.

Foust said he was made aware of the need for the donation from Steve Dowdle, manager of Terminix Service’s Statesville office. The Iredell Museums, which oversees the Homestead, called on Terminix Service to perform the inspection. Due to the extent of the damage, the museum could not afford the treatment, so Dowdle contacted Foust. “We decided to do a cookout and make a project out of it,” he said.

The group used a “three-pronged approach” to rid the century-and-a-half-old log structures of wood-destroying insects. Two of these prongs were the use of termiticides and borates; the third prong was the use of the Sentricon System with Recruit HD. Foust said it took the group about a half-day to complete the work, which would have cost the museum about $5,000.

Foust said it was great to give back. “We live here in the community. Our kids to go to the schools, and have gone here for field trips, so it was great to do something for the community,” he said. — Brad Harbison

 

UF/IFAS Research: Termite ‘Poop’ Nest Material Creates Natural Antibiotic

For 50 years, scientists have tried — but failed — to find a way to use microbes as a means of biological control for subterranean termites.

University of Florida researchers now have discovered why termites have proven to be so disease resistant. Termites use their own feces as nest-building material. The fecal nest promotes the growth of beneficial bacteria, which in turn suppress pathogens — or in plainer words: termite poop works as a natural antibiotic.

Besides improving termite control, the findings could help pave the way for new human antibiotics.

The study, published in the September 2013 in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, began about nine years ago, when postdoctoral associate Thomas Chouvenc, at the time a student, approached his faculty adviser, Nan-Yao Su, with his wish to study termite-pathogens interactions.

Su said he knew from the reams of scientific literature that biological control attempts in termites hadn’t been successful.

“Instead of saying ‘let’s use fungi to control termites,’ I said, ‘Maybe we could turn the tables around and ask ‘Why has it never worked?’” Su recalled.

Su and Chouvenc are part of UF’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. Both are based at the UF/IFAS Fort Lauderdale Research and Education Center.

The research team began to identify and isolate more than 500 strains of bacteria from five termite colonies collected from outdoor sites around Broward County. About 70 percent of the bacteria were shown to be active against a range of bacteria, yeast and fungi.

Researchers then honed in on a specific strain of bacteria called Streptomyces found in the nest material of all five termite colonies.

When they introduced a disease-causing fungus into sterile nest-like environments, they found that the fungus survived and killed the termites. When the Streptomyces bacterium was added to the nest, it protected the termites. When they tested a different bacteria strain against the fungus, it had little effect, leading them to conclude that the Streptomyces bacteria found in the nests may aid the termites by producing beneficial antimicrobial compounds, while feeding on the termite fecal nest.

Chouvenc said it was a time-consuming process but well worth the effort.

“We had to put all of the pieces of the puzzle together and show it was not just an artificial environment that produced this, that it does this in the individual termite nest as well,” he said.

It is possible the team’s findings may help lead to new microbes that can be used to create new antibiotics for human use, Chouvenc said. Beyond that, he said, they want to tackle questions about how termites evolved to maintain their nests’ health, and whether it’s a stable system or one that’s constantly in flux.

If the termites are able to continually recruit the microbial strains they need to stay disease free, Su said, “then we have to find out how the termites do that.”

The research was funded by royalties Su receives, as well as seed money from UF/IFAS research. The other authors were Caroline Efstathion, a graduate student and employee in Su’s laboratory; and Monica Elliott, a UF/IFAS plant pathology professor also based at the Fort Lauderdale REC. — Mickie Anderson, University of Florida news service

For video of this subject, visit http://news.ufl.edu/2013/09/19/termite-poop

 

Nisus: Bora-Care’s AI Penetrates Wood, Delivers Long-Term Protection

www.nisuscorp.com

Bora-Care is a “green” borate-based EPA-registered termiticide manufactured by Nisus Corporation. Pest control companies apply it directly to wood, concrete and foundation penetrations to eliminate wood as a food source and to create a continuous barrier that termites cannot cross. Bora-Care’s unique patented formula allows its active ingredient to penetrate into wood, delivering long-term residual protection, the firm says. Treated wood is also protected against carpenter ants, wood-destroying beetles and decay fungi.

Bora-Care is the only borate-based termiticide registered as a primary termite barrier treatment that has proven product-specific, eoriginal efficacy data required by EPA and also meets the unique standards of the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS), Nisus reports. In addition, Bora-Care treatments meet commonly used building codes and regulations all over the country.

The active ingredient in Bora-Care is disodium octaborate tetrahydrate (DOT), an inorganic salt that will not decompose or volatilize out of the wood once it is in place. Structures may be treated with Bora-Care as a primary subterranean termite treatment during the dried-in phase of construction, or it can be used as a remedial treatment to eliminate current infestations and prevent future infestations in existing structures. A whole-house treatment protects all structural wood against both subterranean and drywood termites as well as other pests.

 

PMP Applies Altriset Termiticide to Home Featured on DIY Network

www.syngentapmp.com

It’s not often that producers of a TV show call your pest management firm out of the blue and ask if you can help them out.

But that’s exactly what happened to Action Termite and Pest Control, Toms River, N.J. The DIY Network was filming Rescue My Renovation, which features licensed contractor John DeSilvia, who comes to the rescue of distraught homeowners who have had their homes left in shambles by a contractor.

When the show’s renovators were working on the bathroom they opened the wall behind the tub and found live termites in the sill plates and wall studs. Although the homeowners did have a bait treatment in place from another pest management firm, when contacted by the network, that company did not want to get involved in the project. So the network did a Google search for nearby companies and found Action Termite and Pest Control, as well as several other companies. Action was the first to respond.

“When we are contacted by the media, we feel it is vital to respond as quickly as possible, given that the media are on deadlines and have other sources that can meet their goals if need be,” said Action President John Russell. “When a call from the media comes in, it is immediately forwarded to our vice president of sales and marketing to qualify the needs, scope and focus of the article to determine if it something we would want to be a part of and to determine which technician, salesperson or manager can best fulfill the needs of the reporter or interviewer. In the case of Rescue My Renovation they had an immediate need but also required a knowledgeable and reputable company to assist them, so it was a perfect for us and them.”

Russell performed a full inspection of the slab home and found termites elsewhere in the home, in addition to the bathroom area.

Russell recommended the treatment be made with Syngenta Professional Pest Management’s Altriset termiticide, a non-repellent termiticide that stops feeding within hours of exposure and acts as a delayed toxicant — paralyzing termites’ mouthparts shortly after contacting treated soil — enhancing translocation throughout the colony.

Russell’s firm switched to Altriset completely a year and a half ago and he says he has been very happy with the product. “Altriset is a product that I am confident selling to a customer,” he said. “I know I am giving them a product that will work, and it is also a product that offers an environmentally sound solution when used according to the label.” Russell added that he has been able to close more termite treatment sales with Altriset and he likes that technicians only need essential personal protective equipment such as long shirts, long pants and shoes and socks when making an application.

When following label requirements, Altriset features an excellent environmental profile and can control termites with a low use rate, Syngenta reports. Russell says the DIY Network producers and camera crew were pleased that Altriset featured such favorable qualities and they felt comfortable having the firm treat while filming occurred.

“I educated one of the homeowners about the product and told her that feeding stops within a few hours once termites forage through the treated soil and I received very positive feedback from her,” Russell said. “The homeowner felt comfortable knowing that this product was going to protect her home 24/7, 365 days a year.”

To learn more about Action Termite and Pest Control visit www.actionpestcontrol.com. To learn more about Altriset, visit www.syngentapmp.com.

 

BASF: The Different Sides of Sustainability

www.pestcontrol.basf.us

Sustainability is a word with many definitions. For the owner of a pest control business, it might mean being economically stable over the long term. For property owners, it might mean making educated decisions that will help sustain their property and the environment.

It was a commitment to sustainability and innovation that led BASF to devote more than five years researching and experimenting with a new formulation Termidor. BASF scientists discovered a molecular breakthrough that amplifies dispersal of Termidor’s active ingredient into the soil, and creates an “enhanced protection zone” around the treated structure.

This new molecular technology was combined with Termidor SC termiticide/insecticide formulation and the next-generation termiticide — Termidor H•E High-Efficiency Termiticide — was born.

BASF says sustainability is a critical part of its business strategy and decision making, impacting the research, development and marketing of every new product. For a BASF product to be considered sustainable, it must balance economic success with environmental protection and social responsibility.

BASF says Termidor H•E High-Efficiency Termiticide meets those sustainable guidelines by offering pest management professionals the same efficacy of Termidor SC termiticide/insecticide, while saving them time, money and labor. It also offers property owners less disruption to landscaping and structures, and a safer, less pervasive barrier for termites, the firm says.

Economically Sustainable. With Termidor H•E High-Efficiency Termiticide, PMPs are able to perform standard termite jobs with 50 percent less water, 77 percent smaller trenches, 33 percent fewer drill holes and 50 percent shallower minimum treatment depths (for most labeled applications). This means increased efficiency on the jobsite and increased profits for the company.

“As far as material savings with Termidor H•E, it starts out with the fuel we save by switching to a smaller termite rig,” said Scott Robbins, technical director for Evansville, Ind.-based Action Pest Control. “We have smaller tanks carrying Termidor H•E to the jobsite, because we only have to carry half the water compared to Termidor 80 WG termiticide/insecticide. We’re running through less drill bits, because we’re drilling fewer holes.”

Termidor H•E High-Efficiency Termiticide eases the application burden for technicians by reducing the average time spent on the job by about 33 percent compared to applications of the industry standard product for residential termite treatment.

“The numbers that BASF did in their time and motion trials, in our experience, are dead on,” Robbins said. “One industrious branch manager of ours created a spreadsheet where we found that in some cases, we were even saving 40 percent on labor vs. (our) previous product.”

Environmentally Sustainable. Termidor H•E High-Efficiency Termiticide treatment reduces utility consumption and lowers logistical impacts, reducing the carbon footprint by 13 to 20 percent (depending on application methods) over industry standard residential termite treatments. Less product is needed to create a protection zone, and smaller soil trenches and fewer drill holes reduce landscape disturbance while lowering fuel and resource demands.

“I think sustainability trends are increasing in the industry,” said Robbins. “Termidor H•E High-Efficiency Termiticide is a trendsetter. It’s good that we’re able to introduce less product into the environment, but still give an effective treatment.”

Socially Sustainable. Termidor H•E High-Efficiency Termiticide still generates that trust with PMPs and their customers by providing the Termidor product line 10-year pledge, allowing confidence in protection of homes without reapplication, and alleviating much of the physical burden on pest control technicians through a simpler application process.

“It’s a win-win-win. The customer wins, because they get the best product on the market, Termidor H•E. Our technicians win, because it’s a less labor-intensive treatment and Action wins through profitability,” Robbins said.

 

New Gut Bacterium Discovered in Termite’s Digestion of Wood

When termites munch on wood, the small bits are delivered to feed a community of unique microbes living in their guts, and in a complex process involving multiple steps, these microbes turn the hard, fibrous material into a nutritious meal for the termite host. One key step uses hydrogen to convert carbon dioxide into organic carbon — a process called acetogenesis — but little is known about which gut bacteria play specific roles in the process. Utilizing a variety of experimental techniques, researchers from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) have now discovered a previously unidentified bacterium — living on the surface of a larger microorganism in the termite gut — that may be responsible for most gut acetogenesis.

“In the termite gut, you have several hundred different species of microbes that live within a millimeter of one another. We know certain microbes are present in the gut, and we know microbes are responsible for certain functions, but until now, we didn’t have a good way of knowing which microbes are doing what,” says Jared Leadbetter, professor of environmental microbiology at Caltech, in whose laboratory much of the research was performed. He is also an author of a paper about the work published the week of Sept. 16, 2013, in the online issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

Acetogenesis is the production of acetate (a source of nutrition for termites) from the carbon dioxide and hydrogen generated by gut protozoa as they break down decaying wood. In their study of “who is doing what and where,” Leadbetter and his colleagues searched the entire pool of termite gut microbes to identify specific genes from organisms responsible for acetogenesis.

The researchers began by sifting through the microbes’ RNA — genetic information that can provide a snapshot of the genes active at a certain point in time. Using RNA from the total pool of termite gut microbes, they searched for actively transcribed formate dehydrogenase (FDH) genes, known to encode a protein necessary for acetogenesis. Next, using a method called multiplex microfluidic digital polymerase chain reaction (digital PCR), the researchers sequestered the previously unstudied individual microbes into tiny compartments to identify the actual microbial species carrying each of the FDH genes. Some of the FDH genes were found in types of bacteria known as spirochetes — a previously predicted source of acetogenesis. Yet it appeared that these spirochetes alone could not account for all of the acetate produced in the termite gut.

Initially, the Caltech researchers were unable to identify the microorganism expressing the single most active FDH gene in the gut. However, the first authors on the study, Adam Rosenthal, a postdoctoral scholar in biology at Caltech, and Xinning Zhang (PhD ’10, Environmental Science and Engineering), noticed that this gene was more abundant in the portion of the gut extract containing wood chunks and larger microbes, like protozoans. After analyzing the chunkier gut extract, they discovered that the single most active FDH gene was encoded by a previously unstudied species from a group of microbes known as the deltaproteobacteria. This was the first evidence that a substantial amount of acetate in the gut may be produced by a non-spirochete.

Because the genes from this deltaproteobacterium were found in the chunky particulate matter of the termite gut, the researchers thought that perhaps the newly identified microbe attaches to the surface of one of the chunks. To test this hypothesis, the researchers used a color-coded visualization method called hybridization chain reaction-fluorescent in situ hybridization, or HCR-FISH.

The technique allowed the researchers to simultaneously “paint” cells expressing both the active FDH gene and a gene identifying the deltoproteobacterium with different fluorescent colors simultaneously. “The microfluidics experiment suggested that the two colors should be expressed in the same location and in the same tiny cell,” Leadbetter says. And, indeed, they were. “Through this approach, we were able to actually see where the new deltaproteobacterium resided. As it turns out, the cells live on the surface of a very particular hydrogen-producing protozoan.”

This association between the two organisms makes sense based on what is known about the complex food web of the termite gut, Leadbetter says. And this relationship, Leadbetter says, might never have been discovered relying on phylogenetic inference — the standard method for matching a function to a specific organism. “Using phylogenetic inference, we say, ‘We know a lot about this hypothetical organism’s relatives, so without ever seeing the organism, we’re going to make guesses about who it is related to,” he says. “But with the techniques in this study, we found that our initial prediction was wrong. Importantly, we have been able to determine the specific organism responsible and a location of the mystery organism, both of which appear to be extremely important in the consumption of hydrogen and turning it into a product the insect can use.” These results not only identify a new source for acetogenesis in the termite gut — they also reveal the limitations of making predictions based exclusively on phylogenetic relationships.

This work was funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, the Programmable Molecular Technology Center within the Beckman Institute at Caltech, a Donna and Benjamin M. Rosen Center Bioengineering scholarship and the Center for Environmental Microbial Interactions at Caltech. — Jessica Stoller-Conrad, assistant science writer, California Institute of Technology