There are only 14 Guelph homes with active termites

It appears the City of Guelph is winning the war on termites.

According to the Guelph Termite Control Program annual report, there are only 14 properties in Guelph still active with termites, the lowest level ever since the city started its official termite program in 1999.

In 2011 there were 104 active properties.

The city first began tracking and battling the termite problem in the 1970s.

"It is anticipated that the program will continue to see a reduction in termite activity in 2017 and may achieve a level of apparent inactivity on managed blocks by the end of 2018," states a report heading to City Council's Committee of the Whole on Monday.

For the past seven years the city has used the compound zinc borate to battle termites.

That experimental licence issued by Pest Management Regulatory Agency has come to an end and the city will be switching to a treatment method that uses a trap, treat and release program with a fungus deadly to termites and nematodes - microscopic organisms that feed on termites.

"Residents on the 14 properties that were active in 2016 will be asked to sign a consent form for insect-specific pathogenic nematode and fungus treatments," the report says.

The main area of termite activity and treatment remains a block on either side of Woolwich Street north of Downtown Guelph, but even that has been reduced to five active properties on four blocks, the report says.

There remains some activity in the King Street area and the John Galt Park area.