Supers:
St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands
William Cissel-National Park Service
Dr. Nan-Yao Su-UF Entomologist
VO: ALTHOUGH THESE CANNONS WERE NEVER FIRED IN THE HEAT OF BATTLE, A WAR HAS BEEN GOING ON IN THIS FORT FOR MORE THAN 200 YEARS. AT THAT TIME, SUBTERRANEAN TERMITES BEGAN THEIR ASSAULT ON THIS HISTORIC LANDMARK IN THE U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS CAUSING MILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN DAMAGE.
CISSEL: "So it was a pervasive problem and none of the commercially available treatments made a dent in the advance of this termite infestation. " (:09)
VO: TO STOP THE FEEDING FRENZY, UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA RESEARCHERS USED A TERMITE MONITORING SYSTEM TO TELL THEM WHEN TERMITE COLONIES WERE PRESENT IN THE FORT. THEN THEY ADDED A BAIT STATION WHICH CONTAINS THE CHEMICAL, HEXAFLUMURON. ONCE TERMITES EAT THE BAIT, THEY DIE WITHIN A FEW MONTHS.
SU: "The bait in the sentricon system contains a chemical called hexaflumeran and that is a chemical that will not kill termite directly but they will not allow the termite to molt. And when they try to molt and they can't complete the molting process, and that's when they die" :(14)
UF ENTOMOLOGISTS SAY THEIR NEXT CHALLENGE IS TO MAINTAIN THE FORT'S TERMITE FREE STATUS FOR AS LONG AS POSSIBLE. IN ST. CROIX, .I'M LINDA KUBITZ REPORTING.