By Carrie Burns, Lakeway City Forester

Formosan termites are not yet widespread in Central Texas, but they are a potential threat. The Texas Forest Service and Texas A&M University have set up a trapping program to identify areas of infestation.  You can participate by setting out sticky traps by night lights in your yard or neighborhood from now until June 15 (the annual swarming period).

Unlike native termites, Formosan termites even attack and kill living trees.  In New Orleans, where Formosan termites have been at work for about 50 years, they have damaged an estimated 30 percent of the trees and countless buildings.

In Texas, Formosan termites are slowly spreading west from Houston and Galveston, transported in landscape timbers, mulch, and firewood..  Formosan termites have already established three footholds in Travis County.  In one Austin neighborhood, Formosan termites spread from one home in 1994 to ten or fifteen homes this year.

For more useful information and photos of Formosan termites, visit http://termites.tamu.edu and download Publication L-5233, Formosan Subterranean Termites. 

TRAPPING FORMOSAN TERMITES

Dates:

• Put out sticky traps as many nights as possible from May 25^th through June 15^th.
• Peak flight date is June 1^st. If you can only trap a few nights, aim for that date.

Supplies:

• Sticky fly paper or cheap roach hotels (Cut open to expose sticky surfaces.)
• Yard, porch or street light
• Use clip, clothes pin or duct tape to attach sticky paper to light shade or post
• Address labels
• Wax paper (not cellophane or foil)
• Mailing envelopes
• Optional: Formosan Subterranean Termites publication

Instructions:

1. Clip a small square of sticky fly paper to the light shade or beneath the bulb.



• Size doesn’t matter.  2” x 2” or 3”x 3” is fine.
• If the sticky trap isn’t covered in one night, leave it until it’s almost full.
• Change the trap every night if it fills up quickly.


2. When the trap is full, check for winged termites.



• Check the TAMU website for termite photos.
• Winged ants look similar to winged termites.  See the publication for differences.
• Discard the trap if you see nothing that resembles termites. You’ll catch lots of moths, June beetles and green lacewings.


3. If you find termites, or if you can’t tell what you caught, label the trap with your name, address, county and the date of collection.


• Wrap the trap in wax paper and ship it in an envelope to:

Center for Urban and Structural Entomology
Department of Entomology
MS 2475, TAMU
College Station, TX  77843-2475

• There is no charge for termite identification.

Results:

• Due to the large number of traps to be checked, the TAMU entomologists will only notify residents whose traps positively show Formosan termites.
• If you don’t hear from TAMU, your traps were clear.
• Your address will be kept confidential if Formosan termites are identified in your trap.
• Nearby homeowners may be notified by letter that Formosan termites were found in the vicinity.

TAMU entomologists will urge neighborhood residents to contact a pest control service if Formosan termites are confirmed nearby. If you can’t set traps now, you can inspect your home at any time of the year and send termite soldiers to TAMU for identification.  See the publication Formosan Subterranean Termites for detailed instructions and photos.