[Termite Control] South Florida Success

The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS), University of Florida, and BASF are nearing completion of a three-year effort to rid South Florida of Nasutitermes corniger, an introduced termite species native to Central and South America and the Caribbean.
Nasutitermes corniger, first identified in South Florida in 2001 by University of Florida entomologist Dr. Rudolf H. Scheffrahn, is an arboreal termite species, building nests within the branches and at the base of trees and other structures. Ant-like in appearance, Nasutitermes corniger has a light reddish-brown, wrinkled head and a black body. It builds free-standing nests on the ground or in trees, with dark brown foraging tubes radiating from the nests to feeding sites, including buildings, other wood structures and trees.
The species is the first of its kind to become established in the United States, and Scheffrahn speculates that the termites had been breeding in Dania Beach, Broward County, Fla., about eight years before their discovery. In the two years following their detection, Scheffrahn and Steve Dwinell of FDACS closely monitored the dissemination of Nasutitermes corniger within a 50-acre area of Dania Beach.

INITIAL ERADICATION EFFORTS. Efforts to eradicate the species from the Dania Beach area began in April 2003, with a concerted effort from the Tree Termite Eradication Task Force — a group made of FDACS and University of Florida personnel, local County officials and Florida pest management professionals — using BASF’s non-repellent termiticide Termidor and several other termite control products.
Nasutitermes corniger activity was later found during routine follow-up assessments of the treated areas 60 days after the initial treatment. After review of the results from the initial treatment, a decision was made to use Termidor for any follow-up applications, the first of which occurred in December 2003 to new and previously active Nasutitermes corniger infestations.

A CONTINUED EFFORT. A follow-up survey of the Dania Beach infestation area was done a year later in 2004 — at that point, there was a dramatic decrease in Nasutitermes corniger activity. Following this survey, an additional treatment was made by Scheffrahn and BASF personnel using Termidor, primarily to an area south of the original treatment area, where only minor Nasutitermes corniger activity was seen during the initial survey.
Following a September 2005 survey, Scheffrahn and BASF representatives made one additional Termidor treatment to outlying infestations. This most recent survey indicated that the efforts were nearing completion — there were zero new infestations within the original area of high Nasutitermes corniger activity in 2003.

FOLLOW-UP AND EVALUATION. “Since our initial applications in 2003, the extent and number of Nasutitermes corniger infestations has been greatly reduced or might now be eliminated thanks to the efficacy of Termidor,” Scheffrahn said. One final survey of the treated area is scheduled for completion in June 2006, at the onset of the rainy season in South Florida. Should that final survey show no activity, Scheffrahn said he hopes to complete a refereed publication, which will document the procedures and results that led to this eradication success.

The author is a market development specialist at BASF. He can be reached via e-mail at bhickman@giemedia.com.