BAITING RETICULITERMES (ISOPTERA, RHINOTERMITIDAE) FIELD COLONIES WITH ABAMECTIN AND ZINC BORATE-TREATED CELLULOSE IN GEORGIA

Field trials of subterranean termite bait efficacy require interpretat ion of descriptive statistics more often than application of the scien tific method. The cryptobiotic life history of subterranean termites, their loosely defined colony territories containing several loci of ac tivity, and current research tools for their study often precludes def initive conclusions. Five locations with observed termite activity in and around structures in Georgia were included in baiting studies usin g a cellulose powder bait matrix with either abamectin or zinc berate hydrate against Reticulitermes spp. These experiments are described in the form of case studies. The data collected at two sites only involv ed observations of termite activity. At the other three sites, numbers of termites, wood consumption, and bait consumption were recorded fro m established termite monitors. Interpretation of the data collected v aried in relation to the amount of information collected at each site and results ranged from complete reductions in termite activity follow ing bait removal to bait removal followed by no indication of reductio ns in indices of termite activity. The problems associated with constr ucting a cause and effect relationship between bait applications and r ecorded changes in indices of termite activity are discussed. These in clude verification of colony associations, verification of bait consum ption by one of several colonies within the baiting area, determinatio n of colony movement or fractionating, and separation of normal variat ion in activity indices versus impact of bait removal.