The Sentricon® System was featured in PCT magazine’s Annual Termite Control Issue (February 2017) for a study in New Orleans that began in 1998 and was completed in 2015. This is the largest and longest-lasting research project involving Formosan subterranean termites and bait technology.
Dr. Nan-Yao Su, a distinguished professor of entomology at the University of Florida, shared his in-depth research on Formosan termites in Armstrong Park. He found that in areas with many termite colonies, elimination of one colony may result in the re-invasion by a neighboring colony. That brings us to the big question: Is it ever possible to maintain a termite-free area?
The article centers around Phase V of the research, which ran from 2010 to 2015, but also gives background on the previous phases. Recruit® HD termite bait, which became commercially available in 2010, was used in the latest research phase.
Results of this long-term study at Armstrong Park produced the following findings:
- In an area with high termite pressure, it is normal to have multiple colonies present in the neighborhood.
- In an area with many termite colonies, elimination of a colony typically results in the re-invasion by a neighboring colony, which has to be baited and subsequently eliminated.
- A persistent baiting program can eliminate all detectable colonies in a large area and establish a termite-free zone within two years.
- If surrounded by active termite populations, a termite-free zone may be fully reoccupied by termites from outside in 53 months.
- Placement of Recruit HD can produce a termite-free zone for as long as the bait program is maintained.
- Areawide management of subterranean termites is a sustainable approach to managing subterranean termites. The use of Recruit HD now makes areawide baiting economically sustainable from a service standpoint.
Click here to read the full PCT article.
