Louisiana Places Quarantine to Prevent Spread of Termites Through Mulch

In the face of concern that Formosan subterranean termites (FST) may be prevalent in the wake of the 2005 Gulf Coast hurricane season, the Louisiana Department of Agriculture & Forestry (LDAF) has placed a quarantine on the movement of wood products out of the affected region.

Evidently, a good deal of Internet activity was prompted by a news release on the Louisiana State University (LSU) Web site in October 2005. The news item warned that the New Orleans and Southern Louisiana pest could find its way to other areas of the state or country if people move wood infested with FST. Picking up on the chatter, the North Carolina State University entomology and plant pathology department followed up with some research.

“We have actually been tracking this situation since mid-October and following discussions with the North Carolina Department of Agriculture we did not see any imminent risks based on other actions that Louisiana state regulatory officials were implementing,” the university said in a news item passed on from the Nursery & Landscape Association Executives of North America. “Louisiana’s Department of Agriculture & Forestry established a quarantine that requires all woody debris in the quarantined (hurricane-affected) areas to be shipped to an approved landfill within the designated quarantine area. All contractors that are mulching and hauling the debris know the regulations and are abiding by them.”

More specifically, LSU posted the following quarantine provisions as outlined by the LDAF.

• Movement of wood or cellulose material is prohibited unless either (1) it is fumigated or treated for Formosan subterranean termites and is approved for movement by the commissioner or his designee(s) or (2) written authorization is given by the commissioner or his designee(s) for the movement of untreated wood or cellulose material from the quarantined parishes.
• Temporary housing cannot be moved from the named parishes until written authorization is given by the commissioner or his designee(s).
• All architectural components (beams, doors and salvaged wood) cannot be sold or placed in any structure in any parish until the architectural components are fumigated or treated for Formosan subterranean termites.
• Additionally, it is strongly recommended and urged that all new construction and reconstruction of structures in the quarantined parishes use termite-resistant materials. Termite-resistant materials include pressure-treated wood (borates, ammonical copper quat or copper azole) or non-cellulose materials.
• The quarantine is in effect until it is rescinded by the commissioner of agriculture. If a waiver of a requirement or an authorization to carry out one of the prohibited acts is granted, it does not rescind or modify the quarantine.

The quarantine was imposed on Oct. 3, 2005 in 12 parishes affected by the hurricanes, including: Calcasieu, Cameron, Jefferson, Jefferson Davis, Orleans, Plaquemines, St. Bernard, St. Charles, St. John the Baptist, St. Tammany, Tangipahoa and Washington parishes.