The impact of Operation Full Stop, New Orleans, Louisiana on suppressing Formosan subterranean termite (Coptotermes formosanus) colonies: 10 years later.

Abstract

The Formosan subterranean termite management initiative dubbed "Operation Full Stop", sought to protect structures within New Orleans' historic French Quarter. This program, lasting from 1998 to 2012, was able to decrease the overall population of Formosan subterranean termites in the area but did not eliminate all detectable colonies. Since Operation Full Stop ended in 2012, there has been a significant decrease in the number of alates observed in the French Quarter during reproductive flight season. Pedigree analysis was conducted on alates trapped during major swarm events in 2021. It was determined that an average of 7.25 (SD = 2.95) distinct colonies per glue trap were contributing to these swarm events. A bait-use survey was also conducted in the French Quarter, in which all accessible properties were checked to determine whether termite bait products were still in use within the French Quarter. We determined that approximately half (51.00%) of the structures in the French Quarter still currently have bait products installed around their perimeter. The interception of durable baits by neighboring termite colonies may be the reason why there has not been an increase in alate numbers since Operation Full Stop ended.