It turns out that many structures in Florida may be at risk for termites. Scientists have announced that termites could dramatically increase their impact in South Florida over the next two decades.
Each year, Asian and Formosan subterranean termites cause about $32 billion in damage each year worldwide, when you combine harm to structures and measures to control them. In this case, researchers estimate that subterranean termite activity will expand, which means that half of the structures in South Florida will be at risk of infestation by subterranean termites by 2040.
Six invasive termite species are now established in Florida. Among these, the Formosan subterranean termite, the Asian subterranean termite and the West Indian drywood termite pose particular concern for residents and the pest-control industry. This is largely because these termites cause most of the structural damage seen.
The Miami-Fort Lauderdale area, with about 6 million residents, represents the only locations in the continental U.S. where the distribution of Asian and Formosan termites overlap. Asian subterranean termites stick to South Florida, venturing north only as far as Palm Beach County, but the Formosan termites go from Key West to Charleston, S.C.
For their study, researchers estimated the geographic spread of both termite invaders in South Florida, using records of specimens collected between 1985 and 2015. For each year of the study period from 1990 to 2015, the researchers estimated that any structure within a 500-meter radius from any recorded Asian subterranean or Formosan termite would be at risk of infestation.
The researchers found that since 1990, these two types of termites have expanded their range considerably in Florida because of how far they fly and because more and more people move termite-infested material. As a result, the number of infested structures have increased exponentially.
"Facing the increasing pressure of both invasive subterranean termites in South Florida, area-wide termite management programs could be implemented to provide a long-term sustainable solution for communities," said Thomas Chouvenc, assistant researcher from the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. "If their activity increases, the risk for species interaction and hybridization may also increase."
Termites could be a major issue for Floridians in the future. Because of how much damage they can do, the spread of termites may result in some huge problems moving forward.
