Released: March 03, 2006

Termite-Related E-mails Ignoring Established Facts

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Tiny, voracious Formosan termites – which don’t need soil to survive – are rapidly spreading across the Internet. They’re the subject of e-mails from gardeners concerned that the pest may be making its way north in wood mulch and railroad ties from hurricane-ravaged Louisiana.

“If so, the termites are really beating the odds, and their shippers are breaking the law,” said Ward Upham, horticulturist with Kansas State University Research and Extension.

As with many introduced pests, Formosan termites arrived with overseas shipments. They were first identified on the U.S. mainland in the 1960s. They’re now well-established across the southeastern states, Upham said.

“They’re much more destructive and able to live in more places than the termites native to Kansas,” he said. “In fact, Louisiana State University entomologist Gregg Henderson has found clear signs that Formosan termites and fire ants both were present in the levees that failed during Katrina in New Orleans.”

In theory, Formosan termites can’t survive outside the south – 33.5 degrees latitude is close to their limit.

“The problem is, if they can get indoors where it’s warm and they find a source of water, they can survive anywhere that has wood, because they don’t need soil,” Upham said.

Railroad ties could be a carrier because their insecticidal treatment often doesn’t reach the interior wood, he said. Mulch is a less likely vehicle, because the mulch preparation and packaging process itself kills insects and breaks up colonies.

“But I can’t think we have much to worry about anyway in this case,” Upham added. “State agriculture officials already had quarantines in place for wood products from areas known to be infested by Formosan termites. Now Louisiana and Mississippi have extended their quarantines to all areas affected by Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita. The woody debris from those areas can only be disposed of in special landfills within the quarantine sites.”

The Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry has announced that the contractors mulching and hauling hurricane debris know the quarantine regulations and are abiding by them. State and federal agency personnel are examining this debris as it’s deposited into the landfills each day.

The Associated Press has reported that the Texas Administrative Code also has quarantined the shipment of used railroad crossties, products, articles or conveyances that could bring the termite – at any developmental stage – into the state. This includes mulch.

“I suspect everyone in agriculture and horticulture is going to be on the watch until next winter’s cold temperatures arrive,” Upham said. “And, consumers can be alert when they buy and spread mulch this year. If they spot termites, a quick treatment of insecticide should stop that little problem right in its tracks.

“On the whole, however, I suspect this will turn out to be a hoax or someone’s imagination that turned a very small possibility into potential catastrophe.”

Sidebar:

A Letter From Texas

Despite the fact that I consider risks of Formosan termite infestations in mulches to be low, I am recommending that consumers be alert to the presence of termites in bagged or bulk mulches. A quick dousing of a garden insecticide labeled for control of ant mounds or other soil insects will control any termites you observe in newly spread mulch.

If you open a bag and find it infested with termites you might consider resealing the bag and placing it in a larger black plastic garbage bag and exposing it to the hot sun for several days. Raising mulch temperatures to 120 degrees for an hour or more is generally sufficient to kill all insect life.

Another way to ensure that you don’t introduce unwanted termites into your landscape is to purchase garden mulch from a reliable, local source. Many municipalities now produce and sell mulches produced from city yard trimmings and landscape waste. This should be a safe source for mulch and is a great way to “close the circle” and encourage recycling of a valuable resource that would otherwise end up in a landfill.

–Michael Merchant, urban entomologist, Texas Cooperative Extension, Texas A&M University

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K-State Research and Extension is a short name for the Kansas State University Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service, a program designed to generate and distribute useful knowledge for the well-being of Kansans. Supported by county, state, federal and private funds, the program has county Extension offices, experiment fields, area Extension offices and regional research centers statewide. Its headquarters is on the K-State campus, Manhattan.

Story by:
Kathleen Ward,
kward@oznet.ksu.edu
K-State Research& Extension News