Resistance of Methyl Methacrylate-Impregnated Wood to Subterranean Termite Attack

Abstract

Timber from fast-growing tree species is susceptible to by biodeterioration attack, particularly subterranean termites. Impregnation with methyl methacrylate (MMA) potentially increases wood resistance to subterranean termite attack. Four wood species, namely sengon (Falcataria moluccana), jabon (Anthocephalus cadamba), mangium (Acacia mangium), and pine (Pinus merkusii), were impregnated with MMA, and samples of untreated and imidacloprid-preserved wood were prepared for comparison purposes. Small stakes, sized 0.8 cm by 2 cm in cross section by 20 cm in the longitudinal direction, were inserted into the ground for 3 months, and the weight loss of each specimen was determined at the end of the test period. A factorial 4 × 3 completely randomized design was used for data analysis; the first factor was wood species, and the second factor was treatment. The results showed that MMA polymer loadings were 27.88%, 24.91%, 14.14%, and 17.81% for sengon, jabon, mangium, and pine, respectively, and amounts of imidacloprid retention were 7.56 kg/m 3 , 5.98 kg/m 3 , 5.34 kg/m 3 , and 9.53 kg/m 3 , respectively. According to an analysis of variance, wood species, treatment, and interaction of both factors significantly affected the weight loss of wood specimens. Mangium had the smallest weight loss, followed by pine, sengon, and jabon. MMA impregnation into the wood increased the resistance of wood samples to subterranean termite attack during in-ground testing, but the resistance level was lower than that of imidacloprid-preserved wood. Except for mangium wood, the MMA treatment did not significantly affect resistance.

Preference of Subterranean Termites among Community Timber Species in Bogor, Indonesia

“…These subterranean termites are members of the Termitidae family, except Schedorhinotheres sp., a member of the family Rhinotermitidae. In the research of Hadi et al (2018) at the same research site, where this research was conducted, the type of termite found was the Coptotermes curvignathus.…”

Panel products made of oil palm trunk bagasse (OPTB) and MMA (Methyl methacrylate)-styrofoam binder

“…In this study, MMA and styrofoam were used as binders OPTB-particleboard. The use of MMA is expected to improve the quality of OPTB-particleboard, especially its durability as previous other studies carried out [18,19]. In contrast, the use of styrofoam is expected to improve the quality of OPTBparticleboard, especially the physical and mechanical properties of the OPTB-particleboard and help reduce styrofoam waste in the environment [13].…”

Bioactivity of Cajuput Seedling n-Hexane Extract as an Attractant for Subterranean Termite Coptotermes curvignathus Holmgren (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae)

“…Hasman et al (2019) reported that unfavorable environmental conditions can cause termite death. Previous research stated that the research results showed that the average air temperature at the research location was 25.15 ± 1.46℃ with humidity 75%-90%, indicating optimal termite feeding behavior, especially for subterranean termites from the Termitidae and Rhinotermitidae families such as Macrotermes sp., Microtermes sp., Capritermes sp., Schedorhinotermes sp., and C. curvignathus (Arinana et al, 2022;Hadi et al, 2018). In addition, Tampubolon et al (2015) explained that in addition to environmental conditions, the nature of cannibalism in termites also affects termite mortality.…”