Twelve study sites were established in coastal Mississippi to test the efficacy of an area-wide control strategy using a bait-toxicant in an underground termite interception and baiting system. The goals of these studies are to reduce or possibly eliminate populations of Formosan subterranean termites (Coptotermes formosanus Shiraki) within a neighborhood setting and to determine potential ecological relationships between termite activity and select tree species. This strategy aims at protecting all structures and vegetation located within an area from the devastation caused by these pests not just an individual structure. Approximately 150 monitoring stations were installed in each neighborhood. Of these, approximately 20 percent were strategically placed around various tree and shrub species. Every station is being monitored monthly for the presence of termites and, where appropriate, the quantity of bait-toxicant consumed. Baiting efforts began in March 2001 and work is ongoing. Two genera of termites (Coptotermes and Reticulitermes) have been found to infest the monitoring stations within the sampling pattern as well as within the stations adjacent to various tree species.
Species 1: Isoptera Rhinotermitidae Coptotermes formosanus (Formosan subterranean termite)
Keywords: monitoring, colony elimination
The ESA 2001 Annual Meeting - 2001: An Entomological Odyssey of ESA