Termite Interceptors

 Making Termite Control Easier, More Efficient, and Safer

Choosing the Right Approach...

by Jerry Cates

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The EntomoBiotic™ Termite Interceptor, Annunciator, & Inoculator (TIAI), Max E. Badgley--Platinum Edition, attracts and concentrates termite workers, allows fast inspections to determine if termite feeding is taking place, and enables users to inoculate termite colonies with biological agents to control them.

The History of Termite Detection

For many years, a family of remarkably effective but highly toxic chemicals, used as soil drench termiticides, had an all-encompassing grip on the U.S. termite control industry.  They were so effective that a single treatment all but eliminated termite incursions into the structures where they were applied.  In those days, termite control specialists applied chlordane as a panacea, often in places where other, less toxic and less persistent products were more appropriate. Chlordane's low price and brute-force effectiveness kept competitors at bay.

Concerns about the toxic effects of organochlorines on mammals led to a phased ban on their usage.  This culminated in a total ban in the United States in 1987.  Less toxic methods of termite control were needed to fill the resulting vacuum.  As the variety of termiticide formulations increased, application techniques changed in subtle ways.  Instead of applying a single chemical everywhere, one was applied for soil drench purposes, another for wood preservation, and a third for treatments of active infestations inside structural walls.

In parallel with this minor revolution, termite detection, using specialized devices, emerged as a viable adjunct to termite control.  Deemed unnecessary before, such devices suddenly found widespread appeal. Using such aids, termite specialists found themselves better able to perform measured treatments that were based on qualitative and quantitative analyses of the threats termites posed to specific portions of structures at the treatment site. 

As termite detection devices evolved, they became more specialized.  Their designs corresponded to where they were intended to be used or placed. Passive detectors (hand-held devices that sniffed out exotic gasses, listened for acoustic signatures, or located termite excavation voids in wood) competed with active detectors (stationary devices placed where termites could infest them and signal their presence) for a share of the market. 

Inventors of several active detectors claim their devices need to be used in wall placements as well as in the soil. With the introduction of termite bait in the 1990's this idea gained traction.  Most bait manufacturers sold both in-ground and in-wall detection and baiting devices for their bait products, at least for a time.

We began designing termite detectors in 1987, focusing on active, manually operated devices that are placed in the soil around structures and landscapes. That focus produced a series of designs that simplified the interface between humans and termite interceptors.  Over time the designs of our devices were expanded to include faculties for treating the termites that were detected.  Those patented features were further modified and refined until, today, they enable termite specialists to perform effective termite colony nullification without resorting to the use of toxic chemicals.

Integrated Reduced Impact Methods (IRIM™)

EntomoBiotics Inc. emphasizes rational, integrated approaches that reduce dependency on chemical interventions.  We pioneered the use of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) techniques in sensitive places like schools, nursing homes, hospitals, medical clinics, and scientific laboratories.  In time, our methodology--trademarked as Integrated Reduced Impact Methods (IRIM™)--evolved into an all-encompassing program that manages all the pests at a customer's site, including a specialized interdiction, interception, and inoculation program for termite colony nullification that we call i³. 

The combination of termite colony interdiction, interception, and inoculation (i³) is inseparable from its parent IRIM™ program. IRIM™ i³ is a simple, logical, full-circle approach that provides a cost-effective approach and, when implemented properly, assures both immediate and long-term customer satisfaction. 

With IRIM™ i³ it is unnecessary, and even counterproductive, to use in-wall termite detection and baiting devices. In place of traditional termite interdiction programs that inundate the soil around structures with toxic chemicals, IRIM™ i³ interdicts termites inside the structure using least-toxic or non-toxic termiticides. Termites are then intercepted in the soil around the structure, where they are inoculated with harmless (to humans) entomopathogenic nematodes and other biological agents:

          • i¹ -- Directly interdicting active and potential termite infestations in wooden components of structures, carried out in parallel with other pest management interventions, in accordance with time-honored IPM techniques but using the latest, state-of-the-art chemical-free, toxicant-free, and least-toxic materials available:

                    Repairing correctable landscaping and construction issues that risk continued or future termite infestations in structures, and instituting an inspection program that insures these issues remain in good repair.

                    Preventing future termite infestations in wooden components of structures, by applying non-toxic termiticides and least-toxic wood preservatives at all uncorrectable risks, followed by regular inspections and re-treatments of those components, as needed.

           • i² -- Placing EntomoBiotic™ Termite Interceptors & Inoculators (TIAI⁾ in the soil, around the perimeters of structures and in landscaped areas, and intercepting termites foraging in that soil, followed by regular inspections to determine when termites are intercepted. 

           • i³ -- Repeatedly inoculating the intercepted termite colonies with non-toxic biological termiticides, such as entomopathogenic nematodes to nullify the ability of  intercepted termite colonies to infest and damage manufactured structures and botanicals such as shrubs and trees.

With IRIM™ i³, Maintenance is Key

The key to keeping client costs, and service expenses, low is a continuous program of interdiction, interception, and inoculation, in combination with ordinary pest management service work.  The result of such a program is a satisfied client, whose site is simultaneously free of termite infestations and chemical toxicants.

IRIM™  i³ with EntomoBiotic™ Termite Interceptors & Inoculators (TIAI⁾: a Win/Win Combination

Today's professional termite-control specialist wants sound approaches that make the job easier, safer, and more effective. Improving the speed and value of each service visit raises profit margin and customer satisfaction equally, while lowering customer costs and exposures to toxicant chemicals. 

The EntomoBiotic™ Termite Interceptor, Annunciator, & Inoculator (TIAI) was invented by an experienced, pragmatic, termite specialist who understood those objectives, and labored to insure that all of them were achieved.

More...

Links to Important Articles related to Termite Control Methods:

Timothy Myles, University of Toronto: http://www.utoronto.ca/forest/termite/newcont.htm Dr. Myles examines and critiques the various approaches to termite control.  Myles is a recognized authority on termite biology and methods used in their control.  He holds several patents on termite detection and treatment methods.

Michael Potter, University of Kentucky: http://www.uky.edu/Ag/Entomology/entfacts/struct/ef604.htm Dr. Potter answers questions homeowners ask about termite control methods

Vernard Lewis, University of California, Berkeley: http://axp.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7415.html  Dr. Lewis discusses how to manage termites in homes using the latest methods available.  Lewis is a recognized authority on alternative methods for termite detection and control, and has performed pioneering research in the field of acoustic detection of termite infestations.

Dini Miller, Virginia Tech University: http://www.ext.vt.edu/pubs/entomology/444-500/444-500.html  Dr. Miller supplies detailed information on latest termite control methods available.

Roger Gold et al, Texas A&M University:  http://insects.tamu.edu/extension/bulletins/l-1785.html Dr. Gold explains how to select a pest control company to perform termite control.  Gold is devoted to improving the way professional termite control is performed in the United States.  Multitudes of Texas pest management professionals have benefited, over the years, from his advice and mentoring.  He presently serves on the Texas Structural Pest Control Board.

Xing Ping Hu et al, University of Alabama: http://www.aces.edu/pubs/docs/A/ANR-1022/ Dr. Hu explains IPM tactics for subterranean termite control, and evaluates common myths related to termites.

Gary Bennett, Purdue University: http://www.entm.purdue.edu/Entomology/ext/targets/e-series/EseriesPDF/E-4.pdf  Dr. Bennett describes various termite control techniques.

Please send suggested additions to the above list, or corrections to any of the captions provided, to jcates@austin.rr.com.

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