New Research Findings on Fipronil’s Transfer Effect Reported at NCUE

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. - Pest management professionals attending the National Conference on Urban Entomology last week were presented video documentation and research results of  lethal fipronil transfer among termites, both worker to worker and worker to reproductive, according to BASF Corporation.

Presented as part of a larger study of termite behavior and management conducted by Dr. Xing Ping Hu of Auburn University, the footage captured termite behavior within functional colonies including tunneling and foraging into undetectable Termidor-treated soil and transfer of fipronil, the active ingredient found in the termiticide.

"Without questoon, the power of the fipronil molecule has been well documented in our industry by any number of lab studies and real-world testing," says Hu, an entomologist who regularly conducts research on termites, including Formosan termites. "My objective in this study was to document both analytically and visually, termite behaviors within functional colonies and in response to interaction with fipronil-treated soils."

More research to document Termidor's transfer effect will be forthcoming during the next 18 months, according to Bob Hickman, a market development specialist for BASF, who has collaborated with Dr. Hu on this and other research.