Efficacy of bait supplements for improving the rate of discovery of bait stations in the field by formosan subterranean termites (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae)

Abstract

Field tests of four different bait supplements were conducted in City Park, New Orleans, LA. The four bait supplements tested included two different formulations of decayed material, a sports drink, and the combination of an application of an aqueous solution of Summon Preferred Food Source disks with the disk itself. Although all the bait supplements in this study resulted in a slightly greater number of treated stations discovered compared with control stations, only the application of the aqueous solution combined with the disk caused a significant increase in the number of stations discovered by termites. This treatment resulted in a significantly greater rate of discovery of treated stations versus control stations after only 14 d in the field. Termites were able to discover six times as many treated as control stations after 14 d, 9 times as many after 28 d, and 12 times as many after 42 d. These findings provide evidence that the diffusion of an aqueous solution into the soil underneath monitoring stations significantly decreased the length of time required for termites to infest stations.