"HUNGRY HOME WRECKERS" Termites infest all houses and 30 percent of the trees in greater New Orleans

There are two kinds of homes in New Orleans' historic French Quarter, says Allen Fugler, vice president of marketing for Lipca, an insurer of pest-control operator: "homes that have Formosan termites and those that will get them fairly soon".

Indeed, the vicious Formosan subterranean termite, dubbed "super termite" by Louisiana State University's agriculture research and extension center, has infested nearly all of the houses and 30 percent of the trees in greater New Orleans, costing homeowners and the state and federal governments $300 million annually in repairs and prevention efforts. Unlike ordinary termites, these pests can literally destroy a wood-framed structure in a few years.

The tab for controlling these ferocious bugs and repairing the property they damage in the 11 states where they've been found is close to $1 billion annually, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service. And the Federal government, which calls New Orleans "ground zero" in its effort to eradicate the persistent pests, is devoting $15 million to the project.

The situation in New Orleans is so urgent that Louisiana's agriculture commissioner recently considered forcing builders to use pesticide-treated lumber for everything from framing to sheathing to kitchen cabinets, a move he backed away from once cost-conscious contractors caught wind of the plan.

But the problem remains: The hardy critters, whose queen can live for 20 or more years and drop 2,000 eggs a day, are "literally eating people out of house and home here," says Fugler, a member of a state Formosan task force. "It's not uncommon to build a home in south Louisiana and in a matter of a few short years have a termite infestation.

The Formosan subterranean termite, apparently shipped from China to ports in Louisiana, Texas, and South Carolina on military cargo vessels after World War II, is far more aggressive than native termites, which dine on dead trees and processed wood. Formosans have a taste for everything cellulose: wood, paper, fruits, nuts, cork and live plants. And they'll gnaw or squeeze their little bodies through virtually anything to get to their food, including electrical wires, plaster, plastic, and the tiniest cracks in concrete. The only help they need is a bit of moisture, which a humid climate, a leaky faucet, or even an oft-watered flower pot on a porch stoop can provide.

Once inside, the hungry home wreckers can devour a dwelling's entire wood structure in tow years, says Julian R. Yates III of the University of Hawaii's College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources. Ron Gomez, a spokesman for the Louisiana Home Builders Association, says builders in Hawaii, where the termites have been a problem since 1913, tell him that a for-sale sign planted in front of a Formosan-infested home can be eaten in a day. And Louisiana-Pacific, which recently introduced a line of borate-treated OSB that company officials claim repels and kills the pests, says a single Formosan can consume more than 1,000 pounds of wood a year, causing 71 times more damage than any other termite species.

The beastly bugs virtually hid from site in southern Louisiana until the late 1980's , when the U.S. Environment Protection Agency banned chlordane, an effective pesticide that's been linked to cancer. Since then, pesticides used to treat new home foundations have proven less effective, by all accounts, easing the spread of Formosan colonies.

Responsibility for keeping the insect at bay has been left largely to homeowners, who, in turn, rely on exterminators to inspect their houses each year and plant baits at a cost of about $1,500 if they find the Formosan. But Mandeville, LA builder Ron Knick says leaving treatment in the hands of homeowners has been ineffective. He cites calls from three former clients whose homes were infested after they let their $85-a-year termite-control contracts lapse. It cost each homeowner between $900 and $5,000 for repairs.

Knick's build/remodel firm, Knick Custom Homes, used L-P's borate-treated OSB and a bit of green wood - pine that was pressure-treated with chromated copper arsenate (CCA), a preservative typically used on wood for outdoor decks - on his latest project. The 2,650-square-foot home cost $4,000 more than usual for framing material, Knick says, adding he's pitching the $165,000 house as "termite proof". L-P estimates that using is SmartGuard adds between 1.5 percent and 2 percent to the cost of building a house.

That's a price even Knick, who calls SmartGuard "a good selling feature", says is too steep for most New Orleans home buyers. "I can't afford to spend another $4,000 on SmartGuard framing materials," says the builder. He got the treated wood for his "termite-proof" house for the same price as kiln-dried material in a promotional deal with his lumber supplier. "At this point in time, [home buyers] aren't that familiar with it.

That could change in short order if a campaign by the National Association of Home Builders and the Louisiana Home Builders Association is successful. The groups are producing consumer brochures explaining how homeowners can keep their houses termite-free, and they plan to ask bankers, real estate agents, and builders to ply customers with them. As part of the plan, potential home buyers also will receive information about other framing material options: SmartGuard; CCA-treated lumber; steel; concrete forms; or untreated lumber. that way, they can decide whether to build with - and pay for - a more expensive material, association officials say.

The plan was developed after the Louisiana legislature granted sweeping authority to state agriculture commissioner Bob Odom to mandate across-the-board changes in local building codes so builders would have to use treated wood in all new homes. When the state home builders association objected, Odom initially agreed to limit the mandate to new Orleans, an edict the group rejected as well, says spokesman Gomez. Finally, Odom, who is working with an advisory task force, put the plan on hold. Gomez says the builders hope the commissioner with hold of long enough to give them time to lobby the legislature during its next session in spring 2001 to rescind Odom's code-altering power.

Like Knick, who says, "If I had a vote, I would vote against [mandatory use of treated lumber] because of the added expense," the association's leaders say such a rule would drive up home prices without curing the area's termite infestation. "We can offer all options to builders and homeowners, but please don't do this mandate," says Gomez.

Builder Randy Noel, Louisiana's representative on the NAHB board and chairman of its Formosan task force, agrees. He estimates building with treated lumber would likely cost 30 percent more because of the extra care contractors must take handling and disposing of the chemical-doused wood. And carpenters and construction crews will face added health risks if constantly exposed to treated wood.

Manufacturers, however, disagree. "Absolutely not," argues Mel Pine, manager of communications for the American Wood Preservers Institute. Pine says several studies from Hawaii, where Formosan termites are rampant and builders have been required to use treated lumber or steel for years, show that construction workers who handle CCA-treated wood have no different health problems than those who work with untreated lumber.

"Anything that's going to cost more, they resist unless they think it's going to be a giant seller," says Metairie, LA builder Leonard Isacks, who has built three houses using borate-treated lumber from Osmose. Talk about health problems, he says, is a "smokescreen by builders in a tight, competitive market. They don't want to do anything that doesn't show to the public and help sell a house. They'd rather spend their money on pretty picture windows."

"The HBA really does a disservice to people," continues Isacks. The well-off buyers of his custom-built homes, however, are in a better position than many buyers to absorb the extra cost, he says, which has averaged 2 percent.

The upside of the controversy, notes Gomez, is that builders are putting their heads together with pest controllers in an effort to find a compromise. "For the first time, they have had meetings with pest-control operators so they can coordinate what they're doing," he says. Typically, contractors cross paths with exterminators only when they treat soil before a foundation is laid.

Cole Schober, executive director of the Louisiana Pest Control Association in Baton Rouge, agrees that cooperation will engender a suitable stopgap solution while all parties wait for scientists to figure out how to kill off critters. And he agrees that educating consumers is the smart next step.

"The homeowners' No. 1 need is to be cognizant of the conditions that likely will increase the possibility of a Formosan termite infestation," Schober says. These include moisture from leaky faucets or plants that are too close to the home; soil above the slab; stacks of firewood leaning against the house; wooden landscaping ties that bring the bugs perilously close to the dwelling; and, of course, expired termite-control contracts.

Builders, likewise, need education on the matter, Schober notes. He says construction crews should not walk on treated soil before pouring a foundation, as each footstep lifts some of the chemical from the ground and potentially leaves an untreated speck of dirt - enough to allow a crafty termite to survive. In addition, he says, crews should not leave wooden stakes or form boards lying near the house or under the foundation. And builders should leave 6 inches of the concrete foundation exposed to make it harder for termites to bore their way into the house from the soil.

Still, Schober admits, "Even if you do all of those things, you can't guarantee that you won't have a problem. But if you do all of those things, the likelihood of getting Formosan termites is greatly reduced."

Yet he says the bugs may always be an issue. "This problem was created in 50 years; it's not going to go away in five," he says.

In the meantime, the USDA and Louisiana State University, among others, are scurrying to create more potent chemicals for use in bait traps, which are planted along the perimeter of a home to keep the termites far from an untreated structure. L-P is marketing its SmartGuard, along with Osmose's Advance Guard - borate-treated studs and joists to complement L-P's treated OSB - in Louisiana, Texas and Florida, and builders are watching for other manufacturers to offer some competition so prices will drop.

Meanwhile, one manufacturer, P.I.M. Development of Kaneohe, Hawaii, crafts removable baseboards so exterminators can easily look for the mud tunnels through which termites travel into a home. And Hawaiian builders are experimenting with mesh wire that's installed as a barrier inside walls to catch termites before they can get into the wood frame.

"There is no silver bullet for control that we know of," says Schober. And there may never be: The University of Florida's Department of Entomology says the Formosan termite, once established, has never been eradicated from any area.

Operation full stop in full swing

Agricultural Research, July, 2003 by Frank S. Guillot

When you think of agricultural research, you usually think of wheat fields, cattle ranches, or chicken flocks. But agricultural research can sometimes have a very urban focus. Such is the case with Operation Full Stop, a cooperative program spearheaded by the Agricultural Research Service. It's aimed at beating back the Formosan subterranean termite in New Orleans' famed French Quarter and elsewhere.

Formosan termites are exotic invaders from Asia believed to have entered the United States more than 50 years ago by stowing away in crates, pallets, and other packing materials aboard ships bringing supplies and troops back home from the Pacific Theater during and after World War II.

Spreading from the ports, Formosan termites began a subterranean colonization of the country. But they remained virtually unknown until the mid-1960s when their population appeared to explode. Today, they have infested parts of 11 states and are costing more than $1 billion each year in damage, repairs, and control efforts.

Startlingly successful in its adaptation to the southern United States, this invasive species has become a special menace to the legendary French Quarter, threatening the neighborhood's historic buildings.

In 1998, Congress called on ARS to lead the effort to find a way to handle the Formosan termite and take immediate action to protect the landmark neighborhood.

ARS has always been a leader in areawide pest management research, and the agency has had significant success dealing with foreign invasive species. Not all invasive species are agricultural pests. But the same entomological expertise is needed to battle such invaders whether they live in the country or in the city. And based on the termites' biology and aggressive foraging behavior, an areawide strategy was clearly needed.

Another advantage ARS provided was a sophisticated research complex--already located in New Orleans. The Southern Regional Research Center offered a well-equipped base for scientists near one of the world's largest concentrations of this problem pest.

ARS and other members of the team, including Louisiana State University Agricultural Center, New Orleans Mosquito and Termite Control Board, University of Florida, and University of Hawaii (where Formosan termites are also a problem), immediately began to seek ways to halt the invasion. Other collaborators include Texas A&M University, Mississippi State University, and the University of Mississippi.

Fortunately, just as the program began, the pest control industry was introducing several new technologies to battle native termites. For the first time, termite control was going on the offense--with baits and poisons designed to kill termites--instead of defense, with barriers to keep termites out of buildings and homes.

ARS began to adapt these new technologies into an areawide approach against foreign termites. At the same time, fundamental research into the insect's biology and habits was also begun to develop new approaches to stopping the Formosan termite.

A unique aspect of Operation Full Stop is the way in which the research has been carried out. Usually, research starts in the laboratory, moves to field trials, and then eventually makes its way through technology transfer into the hands of users.

But Operation Full Stop has involved the public and local pest management professionals from day one. The termite emergency in the French Quarter required that some control measure be started right away. New technologies arising from fundamental research would be applied in the French Quarter as they emerged.

Areawide suppression in an urban area is very difficult. The French Quarter has 2,900 households, and every one of them has to be completely involved. This contrasts with traditional termite control methods, which have always been done house by house, structure by structure. But such piecemeal attacks do not work against the Formosan termite. So public education and outreach have been basic components of the project from the beginning--not after the research has been completed--because people need to know that conventional methods of control do not solve the Formosan termite problem.

And when you are talking about protecting a historic area from destruction, there can be no true "untreated control" area for comparison. We can only compare damage and termite numbers from year to year to confirm that we are making progress.

Education has another important role. We need to teach the public to recognize the Formosan termite when it spreads to a new area so that control can be taken before the insect becomes entrenched. That's a critical part for communities to play.

But in the 5 short years that Operation Full Stop has been under way, we have made significant progress. What we are learning in the French Quarter is already helping to create techniques to deal with the Formosan termite throughout the Southeast. You can read about the success of the team's research on pages 4-8 of this issue of Agricultural Research. And if you live where Formosan termites may be a threat, you may want to check out further details at www.ars.usda.gov/is/fullstop.

Frank S. Guillot

ARS Formosan Termite National Program Coordinator

New Orleans, Louisiana

Environmental Groups

10/06/2003

New Orleans is world-famous for its fantastic cuisine, but there's one group of diners the city doesn't welcome: Formosan subterranean termites. They're gnawing their way through the historic Vieux Carre, and that's just the appetizer as far as these voracious invaders are concerned. All told, Formosan subterranean termites cost consumers about $1 billion nationally each year including repair expenses.

The pests aren't stopping with structures. They also damage one of our native treasures: the live oak trees. Recently, they killed "Thirsty Oak," a treasured tree in City Park. One-third of New Orleans' historically important live oaks are infested by Formosan subterranean termites. That loss is beyond any dollar figure.

The termites don't belong here--they are exotic pests. Evidence indicates they came to Louisiana as stowaways in ships returning home from World War II. Since their natural enemies didn't accompany them on their pilgrimage to the Crescent City, the termites have been free to spread their colonies with abandon. Just ask people in Texas, Florida, Hawaii and South Carolina — they're infested, too.

The time has come for the "Second Battle of New Orleans." The program's name: Operation Full Stop. The goal: beating these invaders back to manageable levels. It's a tough task because pesticides currently available are not as persistent as those banned prior to 1988 for environmental and health concerns. It's also a challenge because their populations have exploded to such great levels.

The program will include special termite control efforts in 15 target blocks in the Vieux Carre, all connected and radiating out from Jackson Square. The program will also cover 32 acres in Louis Armstrong Park, and 15 New Orleans-area schools will participate in the project. The program is three-part: detection, treatment and monitoring. The termite population as a whole in New Orleans may not diminish, but the technologies developed in the program can be used to reduce termites anywhere.

Scientists with the Agricultural Research Service are teaming up with the Louisiana State University Agricultural Center to find ways to fight the termites with environmentally-friendly controls. The New Orleans Mosquito and Termite Control Board also is a very active team member. "Command Central" for this war will be ARS' Southern Regional Research Center in New Orleans. What we learn in Louisiana will help our termite-tormented neighbors in other states. The Audubon Institute is part of the educational component of the program.

What activities will the program include?

We have a three-part strategy of detection, treatment and monitoring.

Detection:

Throughout the treatment, area researchers will distribute monitoring tubes. These tubes won't have bait--just wood. The purpose of these monitoring tubes is to give scientists an indication of where the termites are.

Treatment:

Based on where the wood gets eaten, the researchers will substitute bait for the wood. The bait will contain a growth regulator or a slow-acting poison. This is the foundation for the large-area elimination of the termites. Other control technologies will be used, too. Once the population is eliminated, the bait will be removed. For buildings and homes that are infested, researchers will use a small container to get the toxicant into the colony.

For structures being attacked by larger number of termites, or for trees under attack, a spot- treatment with EPA-approved chemicals may be used. Improved building sanitation, such as preventing leaks and water build-up, will be carried out to prevent future infestation. Termite barriers such as stainless steel mesh or treated wood may also be installed.

Monitoring:

After the termite populations are eliminated, researchers will continue to check populations, using the wood-filled monitoring tubes. The goal is to detect and kill the termites before they cause damage in the future.

How can you be sure these treatments won't hurt other native insects, plants or fish?

The bait tube is in the ground and has a tamper-proof seal so curious animals don't take it apart. Moreover, the openings that allow the termites access are very small. The baiting process is designed to place the chemicals where the termites are. Once the termite activity disappears, the bait is removed.

What can you do to save the live oaks? What other trees can be affected?

Traditional pesticide treatments have been of limited use and are not labeled for use in trees. In addition to oaks, cypress, ash and other trees are at risk. The best hope for the trees is that these new controls will reduce termite populations. One of the big problems is that Formosan subterranean termites can reproduce in extremely high numbers, so a few--but enough-- survive attempts at control. If these baits stem their numbers by disrupting their life cycle or killing the queen, it will help all the trees. Trees, too, can be treated. New methods including baiting and direct injection of toxins are being explored.
Will this project help cut down on nuisance swarms of termites?

It will reduce the nuisance swarms in areas that are being treated, but not throughout the rest of the city. When the results of the test are widely distributed, property owners across the city can use the techniques and materials through professional pest control operators.
How is this project different from current control efforts?

Previous efforts focused on defending single buildings by treating soil around them. This project will hit the termites where they live--in the colony. We will give termite workers toxins which they in turn will feed to the entire colony. We won't focus on building by building; we'll be treating entire areas. We've seen this work in smaller experimental units.

We'll try a number of approaches in addition to the baits. We will look at biological control-- bringing in the termites' natural enemies in to stem their growth. Of course, we'd have to be sure any biological import is safe for Louisiana and the nation's ecosystems. We'll also work on designing better baits, finding ways homeowners can reduce infestation that can spread to urban forests, and creating physical barriers to protect homes and our precious live oaks. This is an all-out assault on the Formosan termite.

For more information, contact the Southern Regional Research Center, Agricultural Research Service, USDA, New Orleans, La. 70179. Telephone: (504) 286-4444.

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