DURABILITY OF IMPORTED WOOD TO DESERT SUBTERRANEAN TERMITES IN KUWAIT AND THEIR CONTROL BY CHLORDANE AND DURSBAN

Imported white soft wood (Pinus sp.) proved highly susceptible to attack by the termite Psammotermes hybostoma Desneux. Reconstituted blockboard wood was moderately susceptible, while film-faced shuttering plywood was reasonably resistant. Red hard wood (Singaporan Red Marenti) was highly resistant. Compared with Anacanthotermes vagans (Hagen), P. hybostoma was less susceptible to chlordane at low concentrations; but the two species were equally susceptible to dursban even at a concentration as low as 0.01%. Spraying the soil with 1% chlordane or 0.05% dursban prevented infestation by subterranean termites in the Kuwait desert for a complete year. The same effect was obtained when wood was soaked in insecticide before being exposed. Trenching at a depth of 12-15 cm did not prevent termite attack.