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Carbon DioxideCO2 Lures Pests to Their Deaths
EurekAlert, 1/15/98
A Colorado State University scientist's discovery may lead to a safer and cheaper way to prevent termites from infesting homes, where they cause an estimated $750 million in damage in the United States annually. Entomologist Louis Bjostad found that termites' natural reliance on carbon dioxide to find food and shelter can also be used against the insects as a non-toxic alternative to current forms of pest control. Termites are naturally attracted to carbon dioxide for two reasons. Rotting wood - the termites' main source of food - releases CO2, a process that likely guides the insects to food. Now Bjostad and his colleagues are using the discovery to create a substance that slowly releases CO2 underground to lure termites away from houses and other structures where they cause damage. Because it occurs in abundance naturally, CO2 offers an inexpensive, non-toxic alternative to current methods of pest control, Bjostad said. Many soil-borne insects also rely on CO2 to locate food and shelter. If so, the gas could be used to steer other agricultural and household pests away from places they do harm.
