The scope of this paper is to compare commercial formulations of aqueous products containing silver for their ability to prevent termite damage by Eastern subterranean termites in a no-choice laboratory test. Five commercial products were tested in order to explore a broad range of formulation and silver forms: colloidal, ionic and nano-particles. Southern pine wood blocks were dip treated in each solution for 30 seconds, dried and weighed. No-choice tests were run for 4 weeks at 26ºC and 85% RH. Mortality and visual ratings were recorded at the end of the test period. For comparison, some formulations were compared or combined with additives, eg NHA at .33%, with and without silver. Formulations varied in viscosity from aqueous dispersions to slurries. Results showed several formulations to have excellent capacity to limit termite feeding and wood mass loss during the 4 week test: silver dispersion, zinc nanoparticles plus silver and silver protein plus NHA. It is not clear if silver is the primary active component in all these formulations. Nevertheless, silver is not likely to be a stand-alone treatment for control of termite damage but may make an important additive for paints and preservatives.

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