The Waterbury Democrat., 1935-08-08
State Invaded By
 Myriad Of Insects
Local Families Flee Before Invasion-Gas Repels At tack.-Research Provides Information on Termtes'

white ant, the Japanese beetle, and other coleoptrous insects.
 "The termite is closely related to the cockroach family. A queen can lay as many as 35,000 eggs day. The average life of queen ranges from to 15 years. It would require considerable of a mathe- matician with the and of an adding machine to arrive at an accurate total. Within years time she Is capable of laying some 12,775,000 eggs, and if these were all matched each queen certainly would have a large army of offsprings. The egg laying ability of the queen is a striking illustration of how fast these insects breed and why they are spreading to every section or the United States. "The termite can in a relatively short period of tmie invade your home and make it actually unsafe for living. Their work is seldom apparent until they have done con- siderable damage. These subter- ranean insects build tunnels over most any kind of foundation and | Dy LI11S IUSLuOu 6dii eaSSOSo tO >S and other buildings. They shun the light and must make contact with the ground moisture constantly, in
 order to live. Once they gain en- try to a home or other building
 and cannot again get to the earth
 they quickly die. Their favorite place of operation is under the floors. Their favorite food is wood but they will eat rugs, clothing silks, shoes books, paper, rubber
 etc.
 | Temporary Relief
 Il According to the best knowi authorities on termites = thei precention and control - ordinar, spraying affords only temporar. relief. The best known weapon
 against termites is the placing O
 copper or copper alloy shieds De
 tween the foundation walls and th'
 superimposed woodwork of build lings. These shields cover the tor of the masonry and project two inches straight out beyond eacf side of the wall, with the edges
 then Hanged downward at an angle of 45 degrees. Wood posts making contact with the ground are pro- tected against termite attacks by being capped at the base with cop per. which is extended upward to end in projecting shields at point about IS inches above the ground
 Pipes should also be shielded be- | cause these insects will build shel- ter tubes up the exterior of piping, to enable them to reach woodwork. Because copper cannot rust, this
 metal affords permanent protec- ton.
 "Thomas E. Snyder, senior ento- mologist, Bureau of Entomology U. S. Department of Agriculture. has this to say: "The means of stopping termite injury in build- I ing are substantially the same as those to be employed in new con. struction to prevent the entry or termitcs. Inasmuch as contact with soil moisture is absolutely essential to the life of ground-inhabiting termites, reconstruction of a type which permanently breaks and makes impossible the ground con nections maintained between the parent soil colony and any build ing. will result in the prompt dy- ing of any termites remaining in the wood work or furniture or con. tents of the building, even if they have reached the second or third l floors.'
 Keep 'Em Out
 | "J. R. Watson, senior entomolo- gist and head of the Department of Entomology, University of Flor ida, has issued a report on the great damage to property in his state by these insects. Once they get into a building he says, the owner should take the greatest pains to bet them out and keep them out. The underlying prin- ciple of subterranean termite con trol is really very simple. It IS found in the fact that subterranean termites cannot live without main taining contact with the earth. An infested house protected against soil contacts is soon deserted and its inhabitants die; 99 percent oi house dwelling termites are of the subterranean type.'"
 Literature on termite prevention and control can be obtained by writing the Department of Agricul- l ture, Washington, for copy of its Bulletin 101 on this subject, and to the University of California
 Berkeley, and the University oi Florida, Gainesville.
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