Termite baiting and its impact on policy, performance standards, and the pest management industry in the U.S.

Initial attempts to bait termites were not resoundingly successful.  Early efforts included “fluid baits,” “straw or chaff soaked in a solution of sugar and sodium arsenite,” or arsenical compounds mixed with “treacle” or honey. The termites avoided sugar-based baits. In the early 1900’s, we were still learning about termite biology and behavior as it related to control. Decades later, Sentricon® was launched in 1995. Bait development drove a “golden age” of termite research. Baiting was a mind-bending approach to termite control compared to the application of soil termiticides and the timing of a commercialized product could not have been better. The pest control industry had just lost chlordane and many qualified companies abandoned the termite control market. Termite baits forced a change in in the policy and practice of termite control. Currently, in some parts of the U.S. baiting is preferred because it is less complicated to install than the effective application of soil termiticides, is more environmentally friendly, and more successful with highly destructive species such as the Formosan subterranean termite.