Feeding rate of termites in wood treated with borax, acetylation, polystyrene, and smoke

Abstract

Mindi (Melia azedarach) wood with density of 0.43 g/cm 3 from Indonesia and sugi (Cryptomeria japonica) wood with density of 0.34 g/cm 3 from Japan were treated with borax preservative, acetylation, polystyrene, and smoke. Treated and untreated wood samples were tested for resistance against subterranean termite (Coptotermes curvignathus) and dry wood termite (Cryptotermes cynocephalus) in the laboratory according to Indonesian standards. In addition to determining resistance of treated woods to termite attack, this work also evaluated termite feeding rates. The results showed that mindi has better resistance to subterranean and dry wood termite attack than sugi. All treatments effectively increased resistance to subterranean and dry wood termite attacks as shown by treated wood samples having less weight loss, higher resistance class, higher termite mortality, and a lower termite feeding rate compared to untreated wood. Daily termite feeding rate of untreated mindi was 50.3 lg/ termite and sugi 95.8 lg/termite, the feeding rate of sugi was higher than mindi probably because sugi has a lower density and contains early wood, which both make termite feeding activity easier. The wood treatments effectively decreased the daily feeding rate of the termites.

Subterranean Termite Resistance of Polystyrene-Treated Wood from Three Tropical Wood Species

“…The average weight loss of the three types of untreated wood was 46.7% and that of polystyrene-treated wood samples was 9.0%, indicating that polystyrene-treated wood had much better resistance than untreated wood to subterranean termite attack. This result was in line with Hadi et al [ 6 , 16 ]. Untreated mangium had the lowest weight loss compared with sengon and pine, and these results were in line with the rating of wood resistance against termite attack.…”

“…The order of these values is related to the wood density, from lower to higher values. Lower-density wood was more easily penetrated by styrene monomer, borax, and acetic anhydride because more voids were present compared to higher-density wood [ 16 ].…”

“…Past studies based on laboratory tests according to Indonesian National Standard [ 15 ] showed that jabon wood ( Anthocephalus cadamba ) impregnated with methyl methacrylate has better physical-mechanical properties and resistance against subterranean termite ( Coptotermes curvignathus ) attack than untreated wood. According to other previously published laboratory Indonesian standards, both mindi wood ( Melia azedarach ) with a density of 0.43 g/cm 3 and sugi wood ( Cryptomeria japonica ) from Japan with a density of 0.34 g/cm 3 had high levels of resistance to subterranean and dry-wood termite ( Cryptotermes cynocephalus ) attack [ 16 ]. A previous study investigated resistance of polystyrene-treated samples of four wood species, namely Salix alba , Alnus glutinosa , Populus maximowiczii , and Pinus silvestris , against drywood and subterranean termites indicating that polystyrene wood was much more resistant than untreated wood to the termites [ 6 ].…”

Improvement in mechanical, physical and biological properties of eucalyptus and pine woods by raw pine resin in situ polymerization

“…Considering that the pine resin is responsible for the natural biological resistance of the tree due to recalcitrant chemical compounds like phenols and terpenes (Ljunggren et al, 2020), it was expected that the resin impregnated wood would show this effect. Previous studies on woods treated by in situ polymerization showed mass losses in the 6.7-9.6 % and 3-5 % range for hardwoods (Gascón-Garrido et al, 2013;Scholz et al, 2010) and softwoods, respectively (Scholz et al, 2010;Gascón-Garrido et al, 2013;Hadi et al, 2015;Acosta et al, 2020b). According to Venäläinen et al (2014) a mass loss above 10 % (as in the current study) indicates structural impairment in wood specimens exposed to accelerated decay tests with soil contact.…”

Color change and termite resistance of fast-growing tropical woods treated with kesambi (Schleichera oleosa) smoke

“…Yatagai et al [9] reported that wood vinegars made from mixed chips of Cryptomeria japonica and Pseudotsuga menziesii (wood vinegar A), Quercus serrata (wood vinegar B), and Pinus densiflora (wood vinegar C) exhibited high termiticidal activities against Reticulitermes speratus. Some chemical modification methods on wood have also been developed, including acetylation [10], furfurylation [11], impregnation with polystyrene [12], impregnation with methyl methacrylate [13], as well as smoked wood [14].…”