An emptied New Orleans is seeing the return of one long-time resident it could do without: the termite.
NEW ORLEANS — An emptied New Orleans is seeing the return of one long-time resident it could do without: the termite.
Scientists had predicted the dirty salt water that flooded New Orleans in the weeks after Hurricane Katrina would spell the demise of the voracious Formosan subterranean termites that have plagued the city for more than 50 years.
But Formosans, unlike native termites, can establish colonies in trees or buildings and probably fled to higher ground when Katrina's rains started, insect experts said.
"I think they were in their own evacuation mode," said Ed Bordes, director of New Orleans' Mosquito and Termite Control Board.
Six months ago, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said numerous underground termite colonies had been submerged and were expected to drown.
But those reports were premature.
"That information came from laboratories, not from the field," Bordes said.
In fact, in hard-hit neighborhoods near Lake Pontchartrain, inspectors found live termites in traps that had been submerged in up to 10 feet of water.
Now, as the cash-strapped city known for historic buildings struggles to rebuild after the Aug. 29 hurricane, some entomologists fear a quick return to an old problem that has cost the metro area as much as $500 million a year.
This year, the termite population will be about half the normal number, said Ed Martin, an entomologist with pest control company Terminix. "But -- welcome to Mother Nature -- we expect by 2007 they will be right back where they were."
A HARDY BUNCH
Insect experts say it will take more study to determine how some underground colonies were able to survive the floods.
Formosan termites, first detected in the United States after World War Two, wreak havoc all along the Gulf Coast, and colonies have been detected as far away as California.
The problem is especially acute in New Orleans, where old wooden structures, mild winters, a thick tree canopy and plenty of moisture provide the pests an ideal environment.
For several weeks starting in mid-April, swarms of alate Formosan termites, as the winged, breeding form of the insects are known, would gather around street lights in the early evening.
Pedestrians in the French Quarter dodge and swat at the swarming bugs, and homeowners turn off porch and indoor lights to prevent the termites from entering.
Officials now worry that the city's recovery and cleanup in the aftermath of Katrina may actually worsen the problem.
Before the storm, most houses in New Orleans and surrounding parishes were under contract for termite treatment. But with the displacement of residents, uncertainty over if and when houses will be repaired and the crush of other priorities following the disaster that killed about 1,300 people on the Gulf Coast, many homeowners let contracts lapse.
"That is our big concern," said Frank Guillot, the USDA's Formosan subterranean termite program coordinator. "Like the politicians that lost their political base, pest-control operators lost their customer base."
Mountains of debris around town could be infested. By some estimates, a quarter of the trees felled by Katrina, as well as much of the lumber from downed buildings, contained termites.
Bordes said the Mosquito and Termite Control Board has appealed for federal gunds to treat the estimated 120,000 houses damaged by Katrina, but so far to no avail. Treatment can cost between $500 and $1,000 per house.
Source: Reuters
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