Formosan Termites Found in North Texas Community

WYLIE – Entomologists with Texas Cooperative Extension are helping a Dallas-area community hunt Formosan subterranean termites, one of the most aggressive and destructive species in the world.

"They're like termites on steroids," said Extension Entomologist Mike Merchant, who is based in Dallas.

Formosans were recently discovered by a pest control company working in Wylie, a suburb of Dallas in Collin County, he said. They were found in several homes clustered in the same neighborhood.

Their presence raises concerns because they destroy more wood than common termites, Merchant said. The area's most common species, the Eastern subterranean, for example, would eat only a section of a wooden beam and move on. Formosans would hollow it out completely.

"We hate to see these guys spread," he said. "We want them stopped."

The Formosan is an Asian species that was transported to the United States aboard trade ships, according to Extension literature on the insect. They were first reported in Houston in 1956. They are named after Formosa, the large island of Taiwan.

They were probably brought to the Dallas-Fort Worth area in railroad ties used to support backyard walls and as borders in landscaping, Merchant said. Since the 1990s, communities in Aledo, Grapevine, Flower Mound and Rockwall have reported having them. Formosan termites have also been found in nine other states with temperate climates.

"People think the ties are insect-proof because they've been soaked in creosote," he said. "But the creosote only soaks in so far."

Source: Agricultural Communications, Texas A&M University System