What You Can Do
11 Most Endangered
Historic Buildings Infested with Formosan Termites
Year Listed: 1997
Location: New Orleans , Louisiana
Current Status: Favorable
Threat: Natural Forces
Significance
Formosan termites are literally chewing up the historic buildings of New Orleans and the Gulf Cost states. Introduced to the United States from east Asia in the 1940's, Coptermed formosanus thrived in the hot, humid climate of the South and spread rapidly throughout the Gulf states, attacking not just the built environment but also trees and crops. Treatment to get rid of the termites is costly and complicated. For example, in the French Quarter entire blocks must be treated one at a time. Individual buildings must be tented and fumigated, but it's still not known which chemicals are most effective in the long-term. New techniques such as "baiting" have shown promise, but additional funding is needed to develop new and improved methods to control and eradicate the termite and to establish a national clearinghouse to survey the extent of damage and share information.
Updates
Operation Full Stop is a nationwide termite management program. The program is a cooperative effort of the LSU AgCenter, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the New Orleans Mosquito and Termite Control Board. Its focus is a community-based plan with strategies designed to manage Formosan subterranean termites. Two types of treatments are being used to try to decrease the Formosan subterranean termite numbers in the test area, baits that the pest management professionals monitor on a monthly basis and liquid treatments that are inspected yearly. The Louisiana Formosan Termite Initiative has taken the battle against the ravenous Formosan termite to the next level with a program to treat residential trees in New Orleans and other metropolitan areas.
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