Measuring and testing – Inspecting
Reexamination Certificate
1999-02-19
2001-01-30
Raevis, Robert (Department: 2856)
Measuring and testing
Inspecting
Reexamination Certificate
active
06178834
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to termite detectors, concentrators and feeders. It also relates to a method of deploying such devices in concert as a means of detecting, concentrating and suppressing existing termite colonies and protecting a monitored area from future attacks by subterranean termites.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The cyclodienes chlordane and heptachlor were generally regarded as the most effective termiticides in history. They provided 100% control of subterranean termites for 20-30 years or more.
Although chlorinated hydrocarbons had been described since 1873, their insecticidal properties were not discovered until 1939 when Paul Muller, who later received a Nobel prize for doing so, demonstrated the efficacy of DDT. During World War II DDT was credited with saving literally thousands of lives. Later its effectiveness in the field of disease vector control led many to mistakenly believe that it might end the scourge of malaria forever. Not surprisingly, DDT and the related chlorinated hydrocarbons dieldrin, aldrin, chlordane and heptachlor were tested and used extensively as termiticides. For their part, chlordane and heptachlor proved extremely effective against subterranean termites, particularly because even at low rates of application they remained effective in the soil long after the soil was treated.
The extraordinary persistence of the cyclodienes, which helped make them famous as termiticides and as agricultural pesticides, also led to their downfall. It was shown that they accumulated in the food chain, where processes such as biomagnification increased the risk of injury to non-target organisms, including humans.
After the EPA was established in 1970 data began to surface showing noticeable residues of oxychlordane in human fat tissue. Because of these concerns the use of cyclodienes on food crops in the U.S. was banned. Later, despite intense lobbying by the pest control industry, they were further banned from the field of termite control, effective in the month of April, 1987. Other countries followed suit until, today, neither chlordane nor heptachlor may be legally applied anywhere in the world.
This action, while warranted, left a significant void. No equivalent soil drench termiticides have since been discovered to replace the cyclodienes.
In the early 1980's, as it appeared that the days of the cyclodienes as termiticides were numbered, several alternative chemicals were registered with the EPA. Since that time, the number of such alternative products has risen sharply. Reports surfacing not long after the 1987 ban indicated that many of these not only worked as well, but were even more effective than the cyclodienes. However, the new products only lasted in the soil for a few years. Furthermore, their longevity was affected by type, pH, and organic content of the soil. Even under favorable conditions, a significant depletion of termiticide occurred by the end of the fifth year following application.
Homeowners and businesses in the United States of America annually spend in excess of $1.7 billion to combat termite infestations. Therefore a sizeable market for effective termite extermination products and methods exists in this country. Significant expenditures also occur on the European continent, in Asia, and in Australia. Termite damage to wooden structures is a phenomenon that spans the globe. The need for effective termite control exists throughout much of the populated world. Recent Termite Control Developments
Approximately 160 patents relating to termite control were issued by the U.S. Patent Office between 1971 and the end of 1998. Some 108 of these, representing 68% of the total, were filed after the cyclodienes were banned in 1987.
Almost 39% of the termite-related patents issued over the past 26 years involved new termite toxicants. Many of these are used in the same manner as the cyclodienes, i.e., as soil drenches, serving as repellents and barriers against termite infestation. Others are intended to suppress a termite colony's population by poisoning or otherwise rendering ineffective a large number of its members. In this latter group are found contact poisons, biological agents, e.g. Metarrhizium anisopliae, gastrointestinal poisons, e.g., Sulfluramid, and insect growth regulators and chitin synthesis inhibitors, e.g., Hexaflumuron.
A number of physical barriers have also been invented during this period. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,417,017 discloses a stainless steel mesh that is woven so tightly that termites are unable to pass through it.
Besides new toxicants and physical barriers, new methodologies for creating safer, more effective methods of applying chemically based termite barriers have been invented as well. Some of these seek to reduce the risk of human exposure to chemicals:
U.S. Pat. No. 5,465,525 issued Nov. 14, 1995 teaches utilizing a computer-controlled robot having an array of sensors, video linkages and pesticide dispensers. Human operators are located remotely where, safe from chemical exposure, they are able to identify where and how extensively termiticides should be dispensed by the robot beneath architectural structures.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,346,699 issued Sep. 13, 1994 teaches using a wet foaming agent to allow a relatively small amount of termite toxicant to create a termite barrier in a void. The foam is used to fill voids in walls and under concrete foundations and walkways, wetting all surfaces of the void before collapsing. Consequently, termites passing over any surface of the void will receive a dose of the toxicant.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,317,831 issued Jun. 7, 1994 teaches using a permanently installed system of tubes and nozzles to periodically deliver measured amounts of liquid termite control fluids throughout the hard-to-reach sub-floor region of structures with pier and beam foundations. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 5,819,466 issued Oct. 13, 1998 describes a system that performs an analogous service around the perimeters of homes with monolithic concrete foundations.
New approaches have also been developed in the fields of termite detection, monitoring and baiting. When termite colonies are detected early in their development the door is open to suppress them before they can cause any significant damage.
Detection, monitoring and baiting methods focus on pinpointing active termites and feeding them small, measured amounts of termite-specific toxicants. These are contained in tamper resistant bait servers, and act to reduce the population of the termite colony to the point where it cannot infest entities of economic value.
The process of reducing the population of the termite colony to the point where it cannot infest entities of economic value is referred to in the literature as suppression and/or elimination. However, subterranean termites are cryptic organisms whose activities are generally hidden from view, and this makes it difficult or impossible to know for certain that colony elimination has taken place. Furthermore, while subterranean termite biology is still in its infancy, what is already known about these creatures suggests that the termite colony is often capable of surviving even under extremely unfavorable conditions. Together, these facts commend more humble expectations from a given treatment regime than are implied by the term “elimination”. For this reason this process will be referred to in this document as suppression.
Once the termites in a specified area have been successfully suppressed, the area is monitored indefinitely for new signs of active termites. If new signs of active termites are found, a new round of toxicant baiting is initiated.
Termite detection and baiting has been investigated and tested to some degree since before the turn of the century. Scientific interest in this method began to increase in the late 1960's, and continued at.a low level in the 1970's and early 1980's. However, the skill and experience required to properly implement detection and baiting methodologies discouraged widespread exploration for technically or
EntomoBiotics Inc.
Jackson & Walker, LLP
Raevis Robert
LandOfFree
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