Today, the termite team based in the SRS Insects, Diseases, and Invasive Plants unit in Starkville, MS, is responsible for testing all candidate termiticides (pesticides specifically used to kill termites) to be marketed in the United States. The program got its start in 1935 as the first insect research project in the Southern Forest Experiment Station (now SRS), with much of the early research conducted in cooperation with the U.S. military. The post- World War II housing boom and the emerging development of synthetic insecticides also contributed to a need for systematic termite research. Because forests are the native habitat for termites, it seemed logical for the Forest Service to get involved. In the 1940s, the Station pioneered research on the soil-applied termiticides that are routinely used today.

In the United States, all termiticides must be registered by Federal and State regulatory agencies. In 1947, the U.S. Department of Agriculture was assigned pesticide registration under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act; in 1972, the act was revised and registration put under the authority of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Termiticides became one of two groups of insecticides (along with public health insecticides) requiring efficacy data (how well they work) for registration. Because the Forest Service had developed an international reputation working on termites, and had the infrastructure, including land, to conduct the research, the Agency became involved with testing termiticides for Federal and State registration. This led to the presentday Termiticide Testing Program, which tests all termite pesticides marketed in the United States.

The SRS termite team, led by entomologist Terry Wagner, conducts testing research on four national field sites that also happen to be experimental forests and ranges: the Harrison in Mississippi, the Chipola in Florida, the Calhoun in South Carolina, and the Santa Rita Experimental Range in Arizona. All the sites but the last are owned by the Forest Service. (The Santa Rita is owned by the State of Arizona and managed by the University of Arizona.)

Using experimental forests and ranges to test termiticides has several advantages. Federal ownership means that long-term, stable experiments are possible with little chance of humancaused disturbance. (Hurricane Katrina, however, caused major damage on the Harrison in 2005 and even destroyed some termite research plots.)

The program tests repellent and nonrepellent termiticides, chemically impregnated barriers, and other termite control products. Products typically undergo 24 months of laboratory screening and 5 years of field testing prior to registration. Hundreds of products have been evaluated over the decades, most failing the registration process, which directly benefits the American public by keeping ineffective or unsafe products off the market.

In addition to providing efficacy data for product registration and labeling by Federal and State regulatory agencies, the termite team conducts other applied and basic research on termite biology, ecology, and behavior—both to determine the effects of control tactics on the insects and to better understand how these insects affect forest ecosystems and productivity.

Selected collaborators:

Chemical companies (registrants) and associations:
Responsible Industry for a Sound Environment (RISE), Bayer Environmental Science, BASF, Dow AgroSciences, DuPont, FMC, Sumitomo, Syngenta

Federal Agencies:
U.S. Department of Defense; U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; Federal Housing Administration; Federal Trade Commission; Forest Service (numerous experimental forests, national forests, and research units throughout the country); U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development; U.S. Department of the Interior; U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service

Forest industry associations:
American Forest and Paper Association, American Wood Preservers’ Association, National Association of Home Builders
Pest management industry and associations:
National Pest Management Association (NPMA), State Pest Management Associations, Orkin, Terminix

State regulatory agencies and associations:
Association of Structural Pest Control Regulatory Officials (ASPCRO), Florida Department of Agriculture, Indiana Office of State Chemist, Louisiana Department of Agriculture, Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce, New Mexico Department of Agriculture, North Carolina Department of Agriculture, South Carolina Department of Pesticide Regulation

Universities:
Auburn University, Mississippi State University, University of Arizona

For more information:
Terry Wagner at 662–338–3112 or twagner01@fs.fed.us