Termiticidal Effect of Bitumen and Creosote oil Treatments on Selected Nigerian Wood Species
IRG/WP 16-30689
Termiticidal Effect of Bitumen and Creosote oil Treatments on Selected Nigerian Wood Species
Termites attack has been a major threat to wood materials in construction. The study investigated the termiticidal effect of bitumen and creosote oil mixture on the resistance of some commonly used indigenous wood species namely: Celtis zenkeri, Terminalia ivorensis, Albizia lebbeck, Cola gigantea and Terminalia superba to termites in Akure, Ondo State, Nigeria. The wood species were obtained from a sawmill in Akure South Local Government Area of Ondo State, Nigeria. The wood samples were separated into five samples each for sap and heartwood using 35 × 35 × 450 mm dimension. Thereafter, they were treated with mixture of bitumen and creosote using hot treatment method. The preservative absorption by the wood samples was determined, coupled with the weight loss of the wood after exposure to termites’ attack in the graveyard for 12 months. Macrotermes sybhylinus was identified as dominating termite species in Akure environ. Weekly visual observations of the stakes were carried out as specified in ASTM D3345-80 Standards for 12 months. The wood samples were withdrawn after 12 months of exposure to termites and weight loss due to attack was estimated. The field test results showed that treatment with bitumen and creosote oil mixture greatly increased the resistance of the five wood species to termites attack. It was also observed that heartwood portion of wood species were resistant to termites attack. The Analysis of variance indicated that there was significant difference between the resistance of treated and untreated samples at 5 % level of significance. From the results obtained, it was evident that bitumen and creosote oil mixture in 70:30 proportions proved very effective as a preservative for protecting wood against termites attack.