Evaluation of the Virulence of the Termite Species Occurring in the French Tropical Overseas Territories

IRG/WP 18-10913

M Kutnik, I Paulmier, J Vuillemin

The French tropical overseas territories are strongly affected by termites’ activity, which is especially devastating because the species encountered there are among the most virulent in the world. That is why in these regions it is particularly important that producers and users of wood-based products are provided with materials and preservative products whose durability and efficacy has been thoroughly tested and can be relied on. Specifically, the biocide actives used in wood preservatives and manufactured termite barriers available on the construction market need to demonstrate efficacy against the termite species in question and adequate performance in real-life situations of long-term use. Past studies have demonstrated that differences exist between particular species – especially between European and tropical termites – in terms of their sensitivity to biocidal treatment. These studies highlight the importance of testing preservative products and construction materials against the termite species which occur in the areas for which the products are intended. European and French standards have been initially developed for performing efficacy assessments on the Reticulitermes subterranean termites and so they cannot be used as such for testing against tropical subterranean termites and other groups of termites (drywood and tree termites). In view of this, clearly there is a need to amend the existing protocols and develop new, more suitable ones which will make possible effective testing of the resistance of various wood or non-wood based building materials to the tropical termites species present in the French overseas territories. The Viterdom project has two aims. One is to identify, for each territory concerned, the reference termite species that should be used in testing the relevant efficacy of wood preservatives and termite barriers and the durability of native wood species and wood-based materials. The other is to develop new test protocols that will allow us to determine the performance of both treated and untreated material in use.


Keywords: French overseas territories, tropical termites, termite virulence, efficacy, barrier

Conference: 18-04-29/05-03 Johannesburg, South Africa


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