The University of Maryland Urban Structural Integrated Pest Management Program focuses on research and training pertaining to the biology and control of urban pests, especially termites, carpenter ants, wood-destroying beetles, and stinging insects such as bees and wasps. Basic research Our basic research program focuses on life history traits and ecological factors which may have fostered the evolution of termite societies and their reproductive division of labor. Using knowledge of the basic biology and behavior of termites, we are working to develop and assess control strategies that precisely target the economically important subterranean termites, and that minimize the use of pesticides in and around structures.
All termites are social insects.
They live in colonies that can number over a million individuals, each member accomplishing tasks that, in concert, contribute to a robust, adaptable, and productive society. Termite colonies are fueled by a worker force capable of consuming wood, roots, grass, or processed cellulose materials. As decomposers of wood and other vegetation, termites play an essential role in recycling elemental nutrients and in increasing organic matter and aeration in soils. Against this framework of respect for a remarkably exquisite and biologically unique group of insects, however, the reality is that termites cause well over a billion dollars in damage annually in the United States. Wood, the principal component of a termite diet, is a valuable commodity in world commerce, and a prominent structural element of homes and buildings in North America.