The Chinese Government Is Concerned About The Growing Termite Population
The Chinese Government Is Concerned About The Growing Termite Population
If you think that termites are problematic for Americans, then you should pay a visit to the country of China. Between the years of 1935 and 1985 the amount of termites species discovered in China jumped from seventeen to two hundred and one. Many of these termites are native to the country, but some may have been non-native as well. Studies show that termites have managed to infest an area equaling 22,200,000 square meters in China. The economic cost of termite damage in China has reached .33 billion dollars in just a single year. There are many termite species that exist in China, but most termite species belong to the Coptotermes genus. Among these many species, the C. formosanus is by far the most damaging of all Coptotermes species. These termites can inflict tremendous damage on manmade structures due to the relatively high number of individual termites that exist in C. formosanus colonies. Termites have caught the attention of high officials working within China’s government due to the damaging effects they have on railroad cars, boats, ships, buried communication cables, crops, forest trees and perhaps most troubling the dams of reservoirs.
- formosanus termites can build nests within reservoir dams. These nests can become large enough to form enormous cavities within dams. These cavities compromise the architectural integrity of dams, and some experts believe that affected dams could collapse as a result of C. formosanus nesting activity. In addition to C. formosanus many other termites belonging to this genus have proven destructive to many different natural and manmade structures. The Chinese government has responded to this vast termite related destruction by dispatching trained “termite control units” to large cities within the country. Many Chinese citizens have addressed the termite issue by forming anti-termite societies. In 1983 the government formed the National Cooperation Center for Termite Control. This institution employs scientists that are tasked with developing cutting edge termite eradication techniques. Since its founding this government termite-control institution has made progress that parallels the countries high rate of economic development.
Do you think that termite control techniques in America would be more successful if Chinese methods were emulated?
