Practical considerations of the formosan subterranean termite in Louisiana: a 50-year-old problem.

In an eleven-year census (1989 through 1999) in the French Quarter of New Orleans and surrounding areas, Coptotermes formosanus alate numbers were found to be increasing dramatically in all years but one. Moreover, in parks and neighborhoods in New Orleans and Lake Charles, LA, as well as in Sam Houston Jones State Park near Lake Charles surveyed in 1998, alarmingly high numbers of this exotic pest were observed infesting live trees. Termite baits and non-repellent termiticides have shown the most promise as practical weapons to combat the unprecedented termite problem in Louisiana. As a result of Federal and Louisiana State Government funding, termite treatments that offer population reduction are being intensively researched, improved upon and rapidly employed in large-scale field tests in Louisiana. Over twenty million dollars has been appropriated from the year 1998 to 2000, to develop new and employ existing tools to fight the Formosan subterranean termite. Fifteen public schools in Orleans, Jefferson and St. Bernard Parishes are being used in a study to evaluate the ability of two bait systems and one non-repellent termiticide to reduce termite populations. In an attempt to reduce the high labor costs associated with bait systems, a signaling device was invented by the author and J. K Paxson that indicates when termites are present in a bait. Application technology using non-repellent termiticides was also developed for treatment of infested trees. In the year 2000, 300,000 trees will be drilled by pest control operators and injection of a foam solution of fipronil or imidacloprid will be attempted. The Louisiana Formosan Termite Task Force Technical Committee is considering ways to implement a wood treatment program for new home construction, and quarantine measures to stop the movement of termites to new areas via the transport of infested wood, especially railroad ties and telephone poles.