Formosan termites major problem in the state By James Ronald Skains "We know that the Formosan termites are a major problem in New Orleans, Lake Charles, south Baton Rouge, and the north-shore of Lake Ponchartrain,'' David Fields, Assistant Director of Pesticides and Environmental Programs for the Office of Agriculture & Environmental Sciences, told the Piney Woods Journal. "To a lesser degree, Formosan termites are a problem in Monroe, Alexandria-Pineville, and the western part of Louisiana around Toledo Bend Lake," Fields, who has been with the Department of Agriculture and Forestry since the early 1990's, acknowledged. "We have suspicions that the termites have gained a foothold in the Shreveport area but as of yet, we have no positive proof,'' Fields added.\par }{\plain "New Orleans has suffered the most extensive damage in the state, especially in the French Quarter and the live oak trees around the city,'' Fields explained. "We've also treated trees in the Lake Charles area." "Most Formosan termite colonies are located in the ground; however, aerial colonies can occur as long as there is a steady source of moisture,'' Fields pointed out. "Wood and moisture are the two ingredients that Formosan termites need in order to survive.'' This writer attended a Property Owners Association meeting at the Country Club of Louisiana (CCL) on January 20 which was highlighted by a presentation on the destructive power of Formosan termites by Dr. Gregg Henderson of LSU. Dr. Henderson is a nationally recognized expert on Formosan termites, having been on the front lines of the Formosan termite fight in New Orleans since the 1990's. "A mature Formosan termite colony may hold as many as seven million termites and eat 13 pounds of wood a day,'' Dr. Henderson, with the LSU Ag Center explained during his presentation at CCL. "Mature colonies don't happen over night, but grow from just a few termites over a period of years, to hundreds of thousands if not millions of Formosan termites in one colony.'' "One of the major problems with Formosans is that the colony may be located underground as far as 100 yards from the house in which they are eating,'' Dr. Henderson pointed out. "To successfully deal with Formosans, you need to first find the damage in the home; secondly, you have to determine how they are getting into the house; and thirdly, you need to find the source of termites, which is usually an underground nest.'' To illustrate his points about Formosan termites, Dr. Henderson used pictures of actual Formosan termite damage to a house in the CCL. Dianna Long, the homeowner mentioned by Dr. Henderson with the Formosan termite damage told the Journal, "We had no idea that we had active termites in our house until we were cleaning a window sill in February over a year ago. The fingers of the person doing the cleaning went through the window sill which had been eaten up by the termites.'' "We then cut out a couple of holes in the drywall where we thought other termites might be and sure enough we began to uncover all kind of damage and live termites,'' Long recalled. "By the time we finished taking down drywall, we had found one corner of our house had been eaten up by Formosan termites and several other areas severely damaged.'' "The Formosan termites had even gotten up to the second floor of the house and had eaten the ends off some of the floor joists,'' Long emphasized. "Also, they had eaten the 2x4 frame from under a second floor window. We also had found carton nests in that area.'' "However, the most terrifying termite experience happened around Mother's Day last year,'' Long remembered. "One night, my husband and I were sitting in our den watching TV and eating ice cream when the Formosan termites swarmed inside the house. Termites were flying around; some fell on us and even into our ice cream!" "I had no idea of what was happening. I had never heard of termites swarming," Long said. "I freaked-out. I didn't know what kind of insects were falling on us. At that point, I decided that we were moving out of our house until the pest control company got rid of the termites and repaired the damage to our house,'' Long continued. "Can you imagine having to move out of your house because of Formosan termites?" Long asked. "After we moved out, more drywall was taken down and more damage was found. One contractor has estimated that it will take nearly $300,000 to repair our house." "Formosan termites usually swarm around Mother's Day each year," Dr. Henderson explained. ``When the termites swarm, they are trying to start a new colony from an old colony." "Fortunately when the Formosans swarm, most of the termites die before they can start a new colony," Dr. Henderson added. "The termite colony is made up of queens who do the reproductive work, soldier termites who guard the nest and worker termites who forage for the wood and bring it back to feed the colony." "What makes it so difficult to fight or even control Formosans is the soldier termites who guard the nest," Dr. Henderson pointed out. "These Formosan soldier termites have some innate ability to detect the worker termites who have come into contact with a pest control product that will kill the termites in the nest. When a soldier termite detects a worker termite that is contaminated, it kills that termite to keep it from going back into the colony which would help kill the termites," Dr. Henderson added. David Fields with the Department of Agriculture Pest Control Agency explained the CCL situation and the role his Agency plays in the Formosan termite problem in Louisiana. CCL is an exclusive gated golf course community located on Highland Road in southeast Baton Rouge near I-10. "Several years ago when we were first called out to CCL to investigate a Formosan termite compliant, I quickly saw one of the major problems," Fields recalled. "The CCL had a homeowner rule that none of the concrete slab of the house could be exposed. This was an open invitation to the Formosan termites to invade a house," Fields explained. "Most houses out there had flower beds and mulch right up against the house. We recommended that CCL change that rule and leave a six inch exposed area of concrete between the ground and the wall frame of the house," Fields noted. "This helped but did not alleviate the Formosan problem. We understand that when CCL was developed, a lot of trees and wood debris was buried in large holes dug in the ground." Fields commented. "Buried wood is a haven for Formosan termites. Our agency regulates the pre-treatment for termites on new houses as to proper application and also the treatment to existing houses," Fields elaborated. "The pest control contractors must apply the treatments as prescribed by our rules and also the recommended usage on the labels of the pest control material. We regulate these two functions very closely in this Agency and require all pest control operators to be licensed and certified," Fields explained. "However, our Agency is not empowered to get involved in any damage claims because there is not any set procedure on the books. The damage claims are between the homeowner and the pest control companies. The control of Formosan termites is, by the nature of the situation, a challenge," Dr. Henderson acknowledged. "No one wants anyone to know that they have a termite problem on their property because it might reduce the value of the property. Secondly, once Formosan termites are detected in your house or building, they will usually keep coming back to that location until the colony is located and killed off with traps or some other termite pesticide treatment," Dr. Henderson said. "If you detect Formosan termites in you house or building, don't procrastinate in taking action because within two or threes years from the time Formosans invade your property, they can do major structural damage," Dr. Henderson concluded. |