Novel technologies for subterranean termite control

When building repair cost is included, the economic impacts of termites may reach up to $11 billion annually the United States. The dollar amount spent on termite control will continue to grow as the living standard in developing countries is improved and more termite pest species are transported by human commerce. Currently-registered soil termiticides include chlorpyrifos, permethrin, cypermethrin, bifenthrin, fenvalerate, imidacloprid, and fipronil. Physical barriers such as stainless-steel mesh and soil particle barriers are also available but have yet to see widespread use; while insecticide-impregnated polymer barriers may become available in the near future. Aside from these barrier techniques, population control using baits have become more widely adopted by the industry in recent years. Baits containing hexaflumuron, sulfluramid, or diflubenzuron are currently available for the pest control industry. As evidenced from these developments, future technologies need to conform to efficacy and environmental standards. It is no longer satisfactory to rely merely on barriers for structural protection from subterranean termites, and future control measures need to address structure protection through population management of subterranean termites (i.e., baits). It will probably become less acceptable to spray a large quantity of insecticide in soil to protect a house from subterranean termites, and future technologies need to use less pesticide (i.e., baits), no pesticide at all (i.e., physical barriers), or controlled-release pesticide barriers (i.e., insecticide-impregnated polymer).