Formosan Subterranean Termite Resistance of Borate-Modified Strandboard Manufactured From Southern Wood Species: A Laboratory Trial

Authors

  • Sunyoung Lee
  • Qinglin Wu
  • W. Ramsay Smith

Keywords:

Formosan subterranean termites, oriented strandboard, zinc borate, calcium borate, mortality, weight loss, damage rating

Abstract

The behavior of Formosan subterranean termites (FST) toward zinc borate (ZB) and calcium borate (CB)-treated oriented strandboard (OSB) from southern mixed hardwoods and southern yellow pine was examined in laboratory tests. Loading of ZB and CB in OSB provided protection from severe structural damage, but did not completely eliminate termite activity. The level of borate used showed significant effects on weight loss, percent termite mortality, and termite damage rating. Borate types had a significant effect on the sample weight loss and damage rating, but not on termite mortality. Wood species showed no significant effect on the termite resistance. Correlations between weight loss and damage rating and between weight loss and termite mortality for both wood species were fitted well by a decaying exponential function. A three-way regression analysis showed a significant curvilinear relationship among damage rating, weight loss, and termite mortality. Zinc and calcium borate treatment to retention levels greater than 1.0% BAE provided sufficient protection from FST attack. Additional field tests may be needed to determine whether ZB and CB treatments will protect OSB from large-scale attack by FST and if modified OSB panels will be acceptable commercially.

References

American Wood Preserver's Association (AWPA). 1999. Standard method for laboratory evaluation to determine resistance to subterranean termites. E1-97. AWPA Book of Standards.nArcher, K. J., D. A. Fowlie, A. F. Preston, and P. J. Walcheski. 1991. A termite field test with diffusion treated lumber. International Research Group on Wood Preservation. Document No. IRG/WP/3648. Pp. 1-13.nBarnes, H. M., T. L. Amburgey, L. H. Williams, and J. J. Morrell. 1989. Borates as wood preserving compounds, the status of research in the United States. Document No. IRG/WP/3542. International Research Group on Wood Preservation. Pp. 1-16.nBehr, E. A. 1972. Decay and termite resistance of medium density fiberboards made from wood residue. Forest Prod. J.22(12):48-51.nGrace, J. K., and R. T. Yamamoto. 1994a. Natural resistance of Alaska-cedar, redwood, and teak to Formosan subterranean termites. Forest Prod. J.44(3):41-45.nGrace, J. K., and R. T. Yamamoto. 1994b. Repeated exposure of borate-treated Douglas-fir lumber to Formosan subterranean termites. Forest Prod. J.44(1):65-67.nGrace, J. K., R. T. Yamamoto., and M. Tamashiro. 1992. Resistance of borate-treated Douglas-fir to the Formosan subterranean termite. Forest Prod. J.42(2):61-65.nHarrow, K. 1959. Conditions for leaching. New Zealand Timber J. Wood Products6(1):71.nJones, W. A. 2002 Biological, mechanical, and physical properties of southern yellow pine flakeboard containing calcium borate. M.S. thesis, Department of Forest Products, Mississippi State University. 71 pp.nLaks, P. E., and M. J. Manning. 1997. Update on the use of borates as preservatives for wood composites. Pages 62-68 in Proc. the Second International Conference on Wood Protection and Diffusible Preservatives and Pesticides. Forest Products Society, Madison, WI.nLaks, P. E., B. A. Haataja, R. D. Palardy, and R. J. Bianchini. 1988. Evaluation of adhesives for bonding boratetreated flakeboards. Forest Prod. J.38(11/12):23-24.nLaks, P. E., X. Quan, and B. A. Haataja. 1991. The effects of sodium octaborate tetrahydrate and zinc borate on the properties of isocynate-bonded waferboard. Pages 144-157 in C. Y. Hse and B. Tomita, eds. Proc. Adhesives and Bonded Wood Symposium. Forest Prod. Soc., Madison, WI.nMauldin, J. K., and B. M. Kard. 1996. Disodium octaborate tetrahydrate treatments to slash pine for protection against Formosan subterranean termite and eastern subterranean termite (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae). J. Economic Entomology89(3):682-687.nPreston, A. F., P. A. Mckaig, and P. J. Walcheski. 1986. Termite resistance of treated wood in an above ground field test. Document No. IRG/WP/1300. International Research Group on Wood Preservation. Pp. 1-5.nPreston, A. F., L. Jin, and K. J. Archer. 1996. Testing treated wood for protection against termite attack in buildings. Pages 205-220 in Proc. American Wood Preserver's Association Annual Meeting. AWPA, Granbury, TX.nRadcliffe, M. 1999. Fighting termites with good design and detailing. The Construction Specifier Pp. 47-51.nSean, T., G. Brunnette, and F. Côté. 1999. Protection of oriented strandboard with borate. Forest Prod. J.49(6):47-51.nSu, N. Y., and M. Tamashiro. 1986. Wood-consumption rate and survival of the Formosan subterranean termite when fed one of six woods used commercially in Hawaii. Proc. Hawaiian Entomol. Soc.26:109-113.nSu, N. Y., and R. H. Scheffrahn. 1990. Economically important termites in the United States and their control. Sociobiology17:77-94.nSu, N. Y., and R. H. Scheffrahn. 1991. Laboratory evaluation of disodium octaborate tetrahydrate (TIM-BOR) as a wood preservative or a bait-toxicant against the Formosan and eastern subterranean termites (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae) Document No. IRG/WP/1513. International Research Group on Wood Preservation. Pp. 1-12.nWilliams, L. H., and T. L. Amburgey. 1987. Integrated protection against Lyctid beetle infestation IV. Resistance of boron-treated wood (Virola spp.) to insect and fungal attack. Forest Prod. J.37(2):10-17.nWilliams, L. H., T. L. Amburgey., and B. R. Parresol. 1990. Toxic thresholds of three borates and percent wood weight loss for two subterranean termite species when feeding on treated wood. Pages 129-133 in Proc. First Inter. Conf. on Wood Protection with Diffusible Preservatives. Forest Prod. Res. Soc., Madison, WI.nWozniak, P. J., and J. P. Geaghan. 1994. An introduction to SAS® system for DOS and Windows™. Department of Experimental Statistics, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA. 167 pp.n

Downloads

Published

2007-06-05

Issue

Number 1 / January 2004

Section

Research Contributions

License

The copyright of an article published in Wood and Fiber Science is transferred to the Society of Wood Science and Technology (for U. S. Government employees: to the extent transferable), effective if and when the article is accepted for publication. This transfer grants the Society of Wood Science and Technology permission to republish all or any part of the article in any form, e.g., reprints for sale, microfiche, proceedings, etc. However, the authors reserve the following as set forth in the Copyright Law:

1. All proprietary rights other than copyright, such as patent rights.

2. The right to grant or refuse permission to third parties to republish all or part of the article or translations thereof. In the case of whole articles, such third parties must obtain Society of Wood Science and Technology written permission as well. However, the Society may grant rights with respect to Journal issues as a whole.

3. The right to use all or part of this article in future works of their own, such as lectures, press releases, reviews, text books, or reprint books.