Robert R. Setter, rsetter@shaw.ca1, Suresh Prabhakaran, sprabhakaran@dow.com2, Paul Neese, paneese@dow.com2, Kasey Hutchinson, kasey.hutchinson@ncmail.net1, Jessica Skibbe, n/a1, Adam Skibbe, amskibbe@iastate.edu1, and Joel Fassbinder, joel-fassbinder@uiowa.edu1. (1) The University of Iowa, Facility of Management, 260 USB, Iowa City, IA, (2) Dow AgroSciences LLC, 9330 Zionsville Rd, Indianapolis, IN
The eastern subterranean termite Reticulitermes flavipes Kollar, has been a long-term problem on the University of Iowa main campus. In 1995 facilities staff stopped traditional liquid chemical insecticide applications and drafted an IPM policy. A termite monitoring and baiting program was initiated utilizing the Sentricon® Colony Elimination System, that has since expanded to cover most of the main campus. Regular monitoring efforts have expanded to include detailed building inspections and grounds surveys. In addition to the extensive survey, detection and baiting efforts, indirect controls such as physical barriers and altered storage techniques have been implemented whenever possible. Combined with extensive outreach to all sectors of the campus community, the ongoing termite control and prevention efforts have substantially reduced termite populations and their damage to campus infrastructure and archives. In order to manage and analyze the volume of data being collected, a relational database was designed to handle data collection, basic manipulation and analyses. Palm PC’s are used for data collection in the field along with the Interrogator® for reading station activity, resulting in great savings in labor. Results are mapped in ARCGIS and summarized using crystal reports. Effective suppression and reduced damage to university property over the entire main campus indicate an area wide IPM approach can work for subterranean termites.
Species 1: Isoptera Rhinotermitidae
Reticulitermes flavipes (eastern subterranean termite)
Keywords: IPM, Termite management