Management of Drywood Termites: Past Practices, Present Situation and Future Prospects - Urban Insect Pests: Sustainable Management Strategies - page 143

termites in our attempts to disrupt their
exploratory and swarming behaviours. The
recent identifi cation of a periodicity in
diurnal and seasonal foraging activity of
drywood termites that is strongly correlated
with temperature (Lewis et al., 2013) could
lead to interventions that include heating
suspected infestations to make them more
apparent to detection devices as well as
increase exposure and effi cacy of manage-
ment tactics. Studies from Australia have
made the exciting discovery of drywood
termite acoustic signalling that communi-
cates location and quality of wood resources
(Evans et al., 2005, 2007), which presents
opportunities to develop novel techniques
and devices that attract or repel these pests.
Additional innovative fi ndings from Japan
suggest drywood termites can be attracted
to and controlled using a bait system
(Indrayani et al ., 2008). Finally research
continues to improve our understanding of
the effi cacy of pesticidal interventions
employing slow-acting and non repellent
active ingredients (Rust and Venturina,
2009; Lewis et al ., 2011), as well as
improvements and enhancements in the
uses of fumigants and heat (Scheffrahn et
al ., 1995; Lewis and Haverty, 1996; Su and
Scheffrahn, 2000; Getty et al ., 2008; Pereira
et al ., 2009), all aimed at minimizing
detrimental side effects to structures and
the environment.
Increased political and regulatory insist-
ence for improved air and environmental
quality during and following treatments for
drywood termites will continue to impact
future research and pest management
industry applications. The recent reporting
of residues of some registered professional

products in urban creeks (Ensminger et al. ,
2013) suggests that monitoring of waterways
will impact current and future pesticidal
interventions aimed at managing drywood
termites. The movement toward employing
botanicals and essential oils, commonly
used in foods and beverages and therefore
considered safe (Hollingsworth, 2005;
Cloyd et al. , 2009), as pesticides for drywood
termite control will probably continue to
accelerate. Their registration, supporting
effi cacy and safety will, however, also see
increased federal and state oversight. What
is not yet clear is the interplay between
consumers, pesticide policy, pesticide regu-
latory agencies, pest management industry
and environmental lobbying efforts in
negotiating their differences. Also not cer-
tain is the willingness and acceptance of
consumers to pay for drywood termite
control services that feature monitoring and
management, which could involve compli-
cated technology and longer service time,
rather than elimination or eradication
(Lewis, 2003).

Acknowledgements

Special thanks go to Dr Michael Haverty for
reviewing earlier drafts of this manuscript.
We also wish to thank Samantha Teplitzy,
reference assistant, and Norma Kobzina,
Librarian Head, Information Services at the
Marian Koshland Bioscience & Natural
Resources Library UC Berkeley for providing
searches for technical papers and references
used in the manuscript. Norma was espe-
cially helpful from the beginning and will
be missed.

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