Acoustic Evaluation of Trees for Coptotermes formosanus Shiraki (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae) Treated with Imidacloprid and Noviflumuron in Historic Jackson Square, New Orleans, Louisiana

Abstract

Nine years of periodic acoustical monitoring of 93 trees active with Formosan subterranean termite,Coptotermes formosanus Shiraki, were evaluated for imidacloprid tree foam and noviflumuron bait to reduce termite activity in trees. Long term, imidacloprid suppressed but did not eliminate termite activity in treated trees. Noviflumuron bait did not significantly reduce the proportion of trees with high termite activity but significantly increased the number of trees with no termite activity. Noviflumuron changed termite distribution by possibly eliminating only some fraction of numerous colonies whereby surviving colonies avoided trees containing dead termites.

Keywords

• Formosan termite
• AED
• reinvasion