USDA Forest Service: 2021 termiticide report

Abstract

As most pest management professionals (PMPs) know, soil termiticides are required to have specific efficacy data for federal registration by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The data collected annually by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Forest Service Forest Products Laboratory (FPL), Durability and Wood Protection research work unit (RWU 4723) serves to fulfill this need. The FPL-RWU team installs and evaluates wooden test pieces on plots of soil treated with candidate termiticide products. Data from these studies are used in the registration process for overall efficacy and accepted application concentrations for the product label. This annual report is generated to show the current study data for soil termiticide products that have reached federal registration. The data provided are limited to label-approved rates of application for these products. Because the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) observes some plot locations late in the calendar year, this article is reporting on the previous year’s data. For the 2020 report, please see the February 2021 issue of Pest Management Professional (PMP), starting on p. 20. These data studies have been ongoing since their inception in 1938 for the military on plots located in the Harrison Experimental Forest (HEF) near Gulfport, Miss. This location has remained a constant and active part of this program, whereas a number of the other locations has expanded and contracted over the years. At press time, the following sites are in current use: the Chipola Experimental Forest in northwestern Florida, the HEF in southern Mississippi, and the Calhoun Experimental Forest in western South Carolina. Because only native subterranean termite species belonging to the genus Reticulitermes occur at these sites, our test data only applies to members of this termite genus.

Citation

Shelton, T.; Bell, C.; Tang, J.; Mankowski, M. 2022. USDA Forest Service: 2021 termiticide report. Pest Management Professional. October 2022: 45-46, 48-50.