It appears the city is winning the war on termites.
An update on the city’s termite control program says Guelph’s termite population reached a new low in 2017, with just 11 city properties now having termites.
“Most of the termite activity was located in two parks, Goldie Mill and John Galt, rather than on residential properties,” says the report.
The city report says there was a 35 per cent reduction in the number of termites trapped as part of the control efforts in 2017 over the previous year.
A total of 116 other properties that were being monitored have been downgraded from red to blue or from blue to white status.
The city has been dealing with an infestation of the eastern subterranean termite (Reticulitermes flavipes) since the 1970s.
“This insect pest can be difficult and expensive to control and can cause serious structural damage to wood frame structures and housing,” the city report says.
In 2017 none of the four termite areas of the city had more than two active properties, the report says.
In 2007 the city program put out nearly 3,000 termite monitoring traps
In 2008 and 2009, habitat removal and parasitic nematodes were used as the primary methods control and suppression.
In 2010 zinc borate was introduced as a treatment method under an experimental program that ended in 2016.
Insect specific nematodes and chemical spot treatments were used for control in 2017.
After this year, “given the lower level of current activity and the shrinking area in need of further monitoring, the project will be scaled back to a summer-only part time monitoring project in 2019 and 2020.
“Current plans call for ongoing monitoring and management until all areas are deemed to be controlled.”
The full report can be found here.
