Termite Readication Research In Progress

"There are two railroad lines running next to the French Quarter and the Mississippi River that fall outside the current Operation Full Stop treatment zone. The railroad ties are treated with creosote, but where the ties have cracked, termites have invaded untreated pockets of wood inside."

The termites that live in the wooden ties might eventually move right back into the areas where other Formosan termite populations have been reduced. McAllister and her team are focusing on a little less than a mile of track and have already counted eight separate colonies in the study area. They plan to test different types of baits and toxins, placing them at varying intervals along the tracks to see which configuration works best. She expects the project to last several years.

Edgar G. King, Jr., ARS' Mid South Area director, who's been with Operation Full Stop from the beginning, says, "I am pleased with all the cooperation we've received from our partners in the program. Their contributions have been critical to successes in the Vieux Carré, Armstrong Park, and south Mississippi. Fundamental research on the termite's biology and ecology, development of new technologies like the bait matrices and detection devices, and discovery of new chemical and biological control agents will all help ensure sustained control of this destructive pest. Our goal now is to implement these measures throughout larger areas and eliminate the Formosan subterranean termite as a pest of dwellings in these treated areas."—By Amy Spillman, formerly with ARS.