AU702813B2 - A termite bait - Google Patents

Description

This invention relates to a bait and particularly relates to a bait for destructive insects such as termites.

Termites are extremely destructive to wooden structures and particularly the soft woods such as pine which are commonly used as supporting frames in buildings, window surround frames, door surround frames, wood panelling and the like.

Termites (or white ants) are light sensitive and will not move over exposed lit surfaces. Instead, termites will move inside a wooden structure and will destroy the structure from the inside out. Termites are able to range over a wide area but do so by forming underground tunnels, or if that is not possible, by forming mud tunnels along a wall or exposed area.

9e4 15 Because of the wide ranging habits of termites, it is often not possible to determine the position of the main termite nest. Therefore, to date, existing termite trails have been poisoned with powdered arsenic. The *termites carry the arsenic back to the main nest which will poison much of the main nest.

Arsenic is of course extremely toxic to humans and great care must be taken to make sure that the arsenic is not inadvertently consumed by children, pets, and the like.

It is know to provide termite baits poisoned with arsenic. Known termite baits include blocks of pine with a hole drilled in the pine. Arsenic powder is poured into the hole and the block is then placed in the ground with the opening below ground level to be accessible to termites. Termites come across the pine block which is a mild attractant to termites and will brush up against the arsenic powder and will take the arsenic powder back to the main nest. From time to time, the blocks need to be removed and inspected to see if termites have eaten the block and carried away the arsenic poison. With the current blocks, this is an unsatisfactory arrangement as arsenic powder can spill from the blocks. That is, the blocks must be held upright to be filled with powder but as termites are not surface ants, the block must then be placed on its side or inverted in a hole which will cause some of the powder to spill. Retrieving the block for inspection will also cause further spillage and possible poisoning of the person handling the block.

The present invention is directed to a termite bait which can overcome the abovementioned disadvantages or provide the public with a useful or commercial choice.

In one form, the invention resides in a termite bait comprising a body being coated or impregnated with a protein, a carbohydrate or a mixture thereof, the body having an upper portion adapted to be at or above ground level and a lower portion adapted to be below the ground level and accessible to termites, a bore extending through 15 the body and having an open end at the upper portion and the lower portion, the bore adapted to hold a termite poison such as arsenic, and means to prevent surface ants from entering the bore at the upper open end.

In another form, the invention resides in a termite bait comprising a body having an upper portion adapted to be substantially at or above ground level, a lower portion adapted to be below the ground level and accessible to termites, a recess in the body in which a **termite poison can be placed, the body being coated and/or impregnated with one or more carbohydrates and/or proteins.

The body may be formed from any suitable material which is fairly dimensionally stable to allow it to be placed into the ground. One suitable type of body is a block of wood such as pine or other soft wood which has a mild attraction to termites. Alternatively, if the body is coated or impregnated with carbohydrates or proteins, the body may be made from plastic, hard wood, metal, or virtually any other type of material which itself may not be an attractant but when coated or impregnated with carbohydrates or proteins, becomes an attractant.

The body can be of virtually any shape or size however in a practical sense, the body is usually a cube or like shape typically having a width of between 50mm 200mm and a height of between 50mm 300mm. The size and shape of the body can vary, for instance depending on the availability of material.

The body has an upper portion which, in use, is adapted to be at or above ground level, but is preferably substantially at ground level. If the body is a cube, the upper portion can be the top wall of the cube.

The body also has a lower portion which, in use, is adapted to be underground and at a level accessible to termites. In practice, the body is placed about 50mm 200mm in the ground as termites rarely venture below this distance. However, in loose soil, bark and the like, or if deeper than normal termite tunnels are found, the lower 15 portion may be positioned at the lower than average level.

Again, if the body is a cube, the lower portion may be the bottom wall of the body.

The body has a bore which, in one form, extends entirely through the body and is open both at the upper portion and the lower portion. For instance, if the body is a cube, the bore can be a straight bore passing from the top wall to the bottom wall.

In use, the body is placed in the ground either by pushing it into the ground or providing a small excavation followed by insertion of the body. The body can be positioned such that the upper end of the bore is accessible from the surface of the ground while the lower open end directly contacts the ground in an area where termites can access the bore.

From time to time, the body is inspected to see if termites have been attracted to the body. Once termites are noticed, the bore can be filled with a toxin such as arsenic. Termites will access the bottom of the bore and will contact the toxin and will carry the toxin back to the main nest.

It is possible for the body to have one, two or a larger number of bores which can increase the efficiency of the bait.

An advantage of this arrangement is that the body can be placed in the ground. Once termites are detected, toxin can be added to the top of the bore without needing to remove the body from the ground thereby possible contaminating the handler. Also, from time to time, the amount of toxin can be viewed simply by viewing through the open upper end again without having to remove the body from the ground. The arrangement also minimises inadvertent carrying away of the toxin by rain.

As non-destructive ants (that is not termites) are also attracted to the bait, the termite bait according to the invention has some form of means to prevent surface ants from entering the bore at the upper open end. In a simple form, this can be achieved by a plug which can be 15 inserted in the upper end of the bore and which can be removed from time to time to inspect the bore. Other means to prevent surface ants from entering the bore or contacting the toxin are also envisaged and can form part of the invention.

It is preferred that the body is coated or *impregnated with a termite attractant including attractants S containing one or more carbohydrates and/or one or more proteins.

A carbohydrate/protein powder is commercially available and has one use as a health food drink. In an embodiment, the powder can be mixed with water and the body can be placed in the water such that the powder coats or impregnates the body. If desired, the water containing the powder can be boiled up to further improve the coating or impregnation of the carbohydrate and/or protein on or into the body.

An embodiment of the invention is illustrated in Figure 1.

Figure 1 shows a termite bait comprising a body 10. In the embodiment, body 10 is a wooden pine cube having a dimension of 70mm X 70mm and a height of 150mm.

Two holes 11, 12 are drilled through the block from a top wall 13 to a bottom wall 14. The holes extend entirely through block 10 and are open at the top wall 13 and the bottom wall 14.

Plugs 15, 16 are provided to plug the top of bores 11, 12 to prevent surface ants from touching the toxin.

In use, the block is inserted into the ground 17 such that top wall 13 of block 10 is substantially flush with the surface 18 of the ground. The bottom wall 14 is then about 150mm below the level of the ground which is in a zone where termites can be present.

The block is maintained in position and is inspected from time to time by removing plugs 15, 16 and seeing if termite activity is noted. If termite activity is noted, arsenic dust is then poured into the bores and 15 the plugs are replaced.

It is preferred that block 10 is brightly coloured, for instance with a red dye so that it is easily identifiable.

In one embodiment, block 10 is coated or impregnated with a termite attractant. A termite attractant is a mixture of carbohydrates and protein and S* the attractant is coated or impregnated on or in the block by mixing the powder in water, adding the block and heating **the water possibly to boiling point to enhance the impregnation or coating.

It should be appreciated that various other changes and modifications can be made to the embodiment described without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed.

II THE CLAIMS DEFINING THE INVENTION ARE AS FOLLOWS: i. A termite bait comprising a body being coated or impregnated with a protein, a carbohydrate or a mixture thereof, the body having an upper portion adapted to be at or above ground level and a lower portion adapted to be below the ground level and accessible to termites, a bore extending through the body and having an open end at the upper portion and the lower portion, the bore adapted to hold a termite poison such as arsenic, and means to prevent surface ants from entering the bore at the upper open end.

2. The termite bait of claim 1 wherein the body is substantially cubic in shape, the upper portion comprises the top wall of the body, the lower portion comprises the bottom wall of the body, the bore extends entirely through 15 the body and is open at the top wall and the bottom wall of the body, and the means to prevent surface ants from entering into the bore at the upper open end comprises a removable plug.

3. The termite bait of claim 1 and claim 2 substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawing.

**DATED this 4th day of August 1997 Jan Vasa CORNISH By his Patent Attorneys CULLEN CO.