WAR AGAINST THE TERMITES – PART 2
24 hours had gone by. All was calm and peaceful. Another day went by. Not a pip. Hey, this is cool, piece of cake.
But it proved to be only a false sense of security. A typical lull before the impending storm. On the third day, the termites returned with a vengeance. Overnight, the dirt tubes, tunnels, freeways and mould hills were back. The speed and urgency of their reconstruction was simply mind boggling. You can not help but admire their tenacity and determination. Regardless of my sentiments and my impartiality to ants (a childhood obsession), truce is not an option. This defiant act of provocation called for an all out WAR.
A quick research reveals that the “Shock & Awe” tactic will not work. These subterranean armies will simply disappear underground and continue their guerrilla warfare. I believe Sun Tzu (Art of War) will recommend fighting the enemy from within. In pest control terminology, it is called baiting. The strategy is to bait the worker termites with poison laced food. They in turn will bring the poison back to the colony. Eventually, the whole colony will be wiped out. A close analogy in human terms will be an out of control A H1N1 virus.
The Chinese manufactured bait is readily available in any hardware store. 48 hours after administering the bait, I checked out the battle field. A few queen termites could be seen, staggering around aimlessly. I mercifully put them out of misery.
2 weeks had passed. No sign of new activity. It might be a bit early to declare the winner of the battle for round 1. Nevertheless, I am very optimistic that there will be no necessity for a Part 3 to the story.
2 June 2009
But it proved to be only a false sense of security. A typical lull before the impending storm. On the third day, the termites returned with a vengeance. Overnight, the dirt tubes, tunnels, freeways and mould hills were back. The speed and urgency of their reconstruction was simply mind boggling. You can not help but admire their tenacity and determination. Regardless of my sentiments and my impartiality to ants (a childhood obsession), truce is not an option. This defiant act of provocation called for an all out WAR.
A quick research reveals that the “Shock & Awe” tactic will not work. These subterranean armies will simply disappear underground and continue their guerrilla warfare. I believe Sun Tzu (Art of War) will recommend fighting the enemy from within. In pest control terminology, it is called baiting. The strategy is to bait the worker termites with poison laced food. They in turn will bring the poison back to the colony. Eventually, the whole colony will be wiped out. A close analogy in human terms will be an out of control A H1N1 virus.
The Chinese manufactured bait is readily available in any hardware store. 48 hours after administering the bait, I checked out the battle field. A few queen termites could be seen, staggering around aimlessly. I mercifully put them out of misery.
2 weeks had passed. No sign of new activity. It might be a bit early to declare the winner of the battle for round 1. Nevertheless, I am very optimistic that there will be no necessity for a Part 3 to the story.
2 June 2009
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