Field studies conducted at New Orleans City Park confirmed the scientists' lab findings. In the study, they installed yellow pine stakes next to the ARS bait matrix. A few weeks later, they checked for termite feeding damage. The results showed that the termites were nine times more likely to attack and eat the baits than the pine stakes. This summer, licensed pest control operators in New Orleans began monitoring seven homes in which the ARS bait matrix had been installed.
Similar trials are also underway in Florida, Mississippi and Alabama.
Rojas says the baits, which contained diflubenzuron, were installed in seven New Orleans homes last June. Biweekly inspections revealed termite feeding on the baits as soon as two weeks after their installation. Once that happened, termite activity declined in about six weeks, mirroring findings in the lab. The ARS research center where Rojas and Morales work will also install the bait in several of its buildings as well as around infested trees on the facility's property. Like many buildings and trees in the Greater New Orleans area, the ARS center also has been invaded by the Formosan termite.